KANNAPOLIS — This should not be a wrap-up story on the Piedmont Boll Weevils’
1999 baseball season.Not
yet, anyway.
The Boll Weevils were a talented
team possessing what turned out to be the best pitching staff, ERA-wise, in all of
professional baseball. They had power hitters, speed, defense behind the plate ... and did
I mention that pitching staff?
But when the South Atlantic League
playoffs began Sept. 7, the Boll Weevils were nowhere to be found.
And neither were the power hitters
(Nate Espy and Carlos Duncan were out injured), the speed (Jason Johnson had a hurt
shoulder), most of the pitching staff (Brad Baisley and Franklin Nunez had arm injuries
and Derrick Turnbow had been promoted to Clearwater) and catcher Jeremy Salazar (gone to
Clearwater).
Injuries, errors and just plain
bad luck plagued the Boll Weevils throughout the second half of the season. After just
missing out on winning the first half pennant in the Central Division, Piedmont began the
second half 9-2. It then lost 14 of its next 19.
For the year, Piedmont finished
with a whopping 233 errors, 47 by second baseman Alex Fajardo, who was converted from the
outfield in a Phillies experiment-gone-bad.
But still, on the last night of
the regular season, Piedmont had a shot at a wild card berth. It needed to sweep a
doubleheader from Greensboro while Hickory lost to force a one-game playoff with Hickory.
Hickory did its job, falling 10-5.
Piedmont did half of its job, winning the first game 7-2 but losing the nightcap 2-1.
The team finished 69-71 for the
year.
Manager Ken Oberkfell and hitting
coach Jerry Martin were still proud of their young troops. With two weeks remaining in the
season, the playoffs seemed a definite long shot. The team was lethargic.
But the Weevils then found life,
winning five in a row going into the second game of the doubleheader.
“We had a tough season,”
said Oberkfell, who finished his third year in Kannapolis. “We lost a lot of
ballgames we should’ve won, But hindsight is 20-20. I’m not looking back. These
guys busted their tails, especially late, to get us back in it. They have nothing to be
ashamed of.”
Martin agrees. “To their
credit, they turned it around,” he said. “This was a team that could compete in
this league.”
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When you talk about the Weevils,
you must start with the pitching. Four hurlers won at least 10 games and Baisley, the
19-year old diaper dandy, tossed a no-hitter. And with a little help, Baisley, along with
Turnbow and all-stars Carlos Silva and Greg Kubes, could’ve all won at least 15.
“What hurt were errors,”
said Martin. “All of our starters could’ve won three or four more games.”
Turnbow finished 12-8 to lead the
pitchers. Carlos Silva and Greg Kubes each won 11 and Baisley was rolling with 10 until he
was put on the shelf by Philadelphia after 149 innings.
“The most I had thrown before
was 63 in high school,” Baisley said.
Piedmont also had the saves leader
for most of the season. But an injury to Cary Hiles prevented him from holding the lead,
finishing one save off the best mark in the lead. He had 26.
Baisley had the SAL’s third
best ERA (2.26). Despite losing nine of his last 11 games, Kubes 11-12) was fifth in ERA
(2.59).
Kubes, a big right-hander from
Texas, led the league in complete games (4). He and Silva were 4-5 in innings pitched (165
and 164).
“I think we saw one of the
greatest pitching staffs to ever come through here,” said general manager Todd
Parnell. “If you ask Jerry or Obie or (pitching coach) Carlos Arroyo, people who know
baseball, they’ll tell you we had pitchers who are going to be pitching in the major
leagues one day.”
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But while the 3.03 team ERA led
all of pro ball, the hitting never hit its stride. Piedmont was 11th of 14 SAL teams with
a .244 average.
There was not one Weevil in any of
the SAL offensive stats. The leading hitter, Carlos Acevedo (.286), played in only 53
games. Surprising Alejandro Giron hit 283. Shayne Carnes rebounded from an early 0-for-29
slump to finish at .269. Only two players ( Giron and Carnes) finished with over 50 RBIs.
The leading home run hitter turned out to be Eric Schreimann with 12 — and he played
in only 76 of 142 games.
The results were this. The Weevils
had 48 games where they scored two or fewer runs. The team was 10-38 in those games.
It was hard on Oberkfell, who has
coached his final game in Kannapolis, according to team officials. Sources say he will
either be in High Class A Clearwater or at Double-A Reading.
“I hope to move up,” he
said. “I have nothing but good feelings about Piedmont and my three years here. But
there’s a good chance I won’t be back.”
Even more un-boll-weevible than
the errors or the injuries or the departure of Oberkfell, is the fact that despite the
best pitching staff in the pros, not a single Boll Weevil was named to the league’s
all-star team.
The Weevil all-stars? Arroyo was
named Pitching Coach of the Year and Parnell was named by his peers as General Manager of
the Year.
It was that kind of season.
A season that should still be
going.
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Ronnie Gallagher is the sports
editor of the Post. |
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