With the league enjoying its first week off since the start of the season, I feel it is the perfect time to reflect back on the first 5 weeks of the season and note some interesting observations.  I will do this again around mid-season and then again late season.  I will try to just stick to the numbers and trends and not personal opinions as those are pretty much meaningless.  So sit back and enjoy Chapter 1- A New Beginning.

The off-season brought about a plethora of changes to the league.  A new commissioner, new ballpark, new uniforms and some new rules made for some early season adjustments, but all for the betterment of the player experience.  The new 16-team format has not only created deeper team rosters, but has also led to a very healthy sub list.  We have already seen some teams benefit early on from the quality of subs they were able to acquire.  So, looking back at the first ten games, I wanted to offer up my five intriguing observations:

1.  Bob Weinfeld Division Dominance
     The first four weeks featured all inter-divisional matchups.  The standings for each division were nearly mirror images, with the Weinfeld Division sporting all but one of its eight teams with a .500 record or better.  On the flip side, the Silverman Division featured only one team with a winning record.  The teams is the Weinfeld Division had a 39-25 record overall to prove their dominance early on.  How will this all play out the remainder of the season?  Stay tuned.

2.  Walks-a-Plenty
     One of the new adopted rules was the use of pitching screens and with that came the introduction of the strike mat.  For the first couple weeks, pitchers were operating with a small window, as the plate itself was not a strike.  This was discussed and decided by the captains to include the plate as a strike and later on to modify the color of the mat to white.  My observation here is to look at the number of walks and the impact it has had on the season thus far.  After ten games, three teams have earned 50 or more walks.  The Astros and Red Sox are tied for first in their division and happen to have the top two walk totals of 56 and 53 respectively.  The Legends are the third team with 50 walks and currently have a winning record.  In contrast, the Astros have issued only 6 free passes for a +50 differential.  The Mariners are the only other team allowing single digit walks with 8.  The takeaway here?  Pitching is even more of a weapon for teams who make their opponent earn their trip to base.  The strike out number has also risen, which I would think will level off as players become more accustomed to the new zone.  

3.  Short Fields? What?
     The one constant you would hear year in and year out when games were played at Heritage Fields is "Oh you got the short fields more so you hit more homers."  The common thought was that homer numbers would decline without the existence of the shorter fields.  I don't have the numbers from 2020 in front of me from the games played in Plano, but I would be willing to bet that it would be close to even or possibly greater this season.  Through 10 games, we have seen a total of 225 homer runs hit.  Granted, a hand full of those may have been in the park jobs but that is still a high number.  Of the 16 teams in the league, twelve have a total of 12 home runs or more.  Ryan Driggers leads the league with 11 and a couple others are just behind with 9.  Team batting averages have also seen a climb.  This could be a result of deeper rosters due to only having 16 teams, the net protecting the pitchers which allows hitters to use the middle without concern, or maybe players have just gotten better.  Whatever the reason, we see nine teams with a .500 team batting average or better.  Interestingly, seven of those nine teams are playing in the same division.  I will let you guess which division that would be.  

4.  Are Clowns Scary or Funny?
     I can tell you that the Clowns may have been funny immediately after the draft, however they are seeming to be much more scary as the season has gone on.  Everyone was scratching their heads when this roster was assembled by captain John Unell.  A look into the numbers will tell you all you need to know here.  Although they just missed the team batting average cut at .499, they have an OPS of 1.240 and have scored the second most runs in the league at 133.  The more impressive things about this is that they started the season missing several of their key players.  They currently sit with a 6-4 record and only one game out of first place in the division.  You have to tip your hat to captain Unell.  He has made the pieces work effectively thus far and have put them in a great position going into division play.  Can they sustain this success?  There is no clowning around with this squad.  You better bring your A game.  

5.  Who Said Captaining is Hard?
     Having been a captain since 2017, I can attest that it isn't as easy as the Taco's rookie captain is making it look.  Craig Dyer seems to have learned from his mentor Cuddles Haas and has led his team to a division leading 7-3 record.  They also tout the first ever husband-wife combo in league history and have one of the cutest mascots in league history with Myles in the dugout.  I need to say that, for the record, the first shalom league team Myles ever was the mascot of was the Orioles of 2018.  They can't take that away from us!  Nevertheless, this team has had an impressive early season run and Dyer is proving to be a captain of the year candidate for sure.  As long as Cuddles stays out of the way, this team could be a force in that division for the remainder of the season.  Tip of the cap to Dyer.  

Well that is all for now.  I hope you enjoyed the first edition of observations.  If not, there is always next time.  Until then, keep swinging for the fences and sprinting to the back plate!  See you all next week!