LIBERTY BELL MEN'S BASEBALL LEAGUE

Opening Day is upon us, and the 2024 season of the Liberty Bell Men's Baseball League brings some new wrinkles. After 7 seasons, the Wookies have moved on from the LBMBL to the Bux-Mont 28+ League. Matt Gill managed his squad to an overall record of 92-78, making the playoff Semi-Finals every year from 2018 to 2023. The LBMBL salutes them, and their players, on nearly a decade of fun and competitive baseball.

However, it won’t be the last we see of the Wookies! The LBMBL has merged with the Bux-Mont League, added a team to replace the departed Wookies, and will be playing as the Liberty Division of the Bux-Mont League. The 2024 season will include four “interleague” games for each LBMBL team against members of the Bux-Mont League’s 28+ division!

Additionally, the league will be using a four team bracket this year, which means the standings and seedings matter even more! In previous years top teams would gun for a first round bye or the #1 overall seed to take advantage of the re-seeding bracket each round, but now with only the top four of six teams making the playoffs we should see an extra emphasis on regular season wins, week in and week out, leading to a more competitive and engaging regular season for players and fans!

On that note, we welcome the Lions to the LBMBL. Managed by Devin Mood, the Lions are a young team out of Lower Moreland, PA comprised almost entirely of newcomers to the league. We are excited for this infusion of new and exciting talent and can’t wait to see what they can do against the returning Comets, Dirt Dawgs, Marlins, Padres, and Red Sox.

Opening Day Schedule:

Comets vs. Dirt Dawgs @ Arch Bishop Ryan HS

Marlins vs. Padres @ Collegeville Community Park

Red Sox vs. Lions @ Liberty Bell Field

The 2023 Cy Young Award winner is the Marlins’ Kyle Werman! The men’s league stalwart had another impressive season in all three facets of the game, but his year on the mound was equal parts dominant and unique. While only started three games, he was tied for second in the league in appearances (9) and went multiple innings in all but one of those outings. Kyle led qualified pitchers in ERA (1.75), WHIP (0.81), and tied for first Win % (a perfect 5-0 record) and his versatility and availability on the bump was a key cog in the Marlins’ 1^st place season and undefeated post season run.

While it did not factor into voting for this award, the league would be remiss if it did not mention Werman’s two-way success. Similar to 2022 CYA winner Pat Reilly, Kyle also posted a .333/.511/.485 batting line with 10 Stolen Bases (and 0 CS) while playing Shortstop and Catcher!

Congrats on your Cy Young Award and another remarkable year on the diamond, Kyle!

Kyle Werman, Marlins, #10, P/SS/C

As we gear up for the 2024 season let’s take a look back at our 2023 LBMBL award winners:

The 2024 Liberty Bell Men’s Baseball League MVP is Brandon Newcomb! The Dirt Dawgs Second Baseman was a consistent offensive force throughout the season while also playing top notch defense at the keystone. Brandon led all qualified hitters in batting average (.481), Hits (25), On Base Percentage (.554), OPS (1.208), and Total Bases (34) and was second in Runs Scored (18) and tied for second in Homeruns (2).

Congratulations Brandon on an outstanding season!

Brandon Newcomb, Dirt Dawgs, #12, 2B

The Conshy Marlins captured their first LBMBL title Sunday, defeating the reigning 5-time champion Dirt Dawgs 3-1 and 8-2. The sweep in the championship series completed an undefeated run through the playoffs outscoring their opponents 26 to 7. The Marlins avenged previous losses to the Dirt Dawgs in 2021 and 2020, proving the third time was the charm for manager Nick Sun and his squad.

Kyle Werman pitched a complete game in the first game of the series, allowing only one run in against a potent Dawgs offense. Then as he has done so many times in his career, rolled straight into Game 2   and threw 5 1/3 innings of 2-run ball and allowing the Marlins bats the time they needed to come alive for 8 runs. Werman helped himself out at the plate as well. going 2-6 with an RBI and 2 HBP.  

 Jordan Lee went 6-7 at the plate throughout the series.  In the clinching Game 2 Jordan powered the offense’s 8-run attack, coming up clutch in every at bat he had.  He went 4-4 with 5 RBI, two doubles, and two runs scored.  

 Rob Zinsmeister had 4 hits on the day from the leadoff spot for the Marlins, including a double in Game 1 and a huge two run home run early in Game 2 to extend the Marlins lead. 

 Sam Plaugher had the best overall day defensively for the Marlins.  He made multiple big plays at third base to keep the Dirt Dawgs from putting together any big innings.  

 As we’ve seen in years past, the final three outs against the Dirt Dawgs sometimes seem impossible.  Dennis Higgins’ boys once again threatened in the bottom of the 7th of Game 2, putting men on first and second with nobody out.  Matt Seiple then robbed Cody Clarke of a would-be base hit up the middle with a diving stop, converting it into a double play.  Tyler Leonard then shut the door and secured the formerly elusive first championship for the Conshy Marlins.  

(Sean Jones, Padres #11)

Another week, another impressive two-way performance in the Liberty Bell League! This time it was Sean Jones of the Padres whose 5 hit 9 RBI day and 4 1/3 IP on the mound powered the Padres to a sweep of the Red Sox. Jones came on in relief of Kevin Sompel in Game 1 of the double header and settled in after allowing the go-ahead runs, locking down the Sox bats through extras into the bottom of the 10th. That set the stage for his heroics in the box, ripping a walk off single to right field for the win. Sean stayed hot for Game 2, going 2 for 3 with a double, 4 RBI, and 2 Runs scored to lead his team to a decisve sweep! 

(Pat Reilly, Wookies, #11)

Wookies Lefty and reigning Cy Young Award Winner Pat Reilly earned Player of the Week honors after a dominant two-way Sunday against the Red Sox. Reilly threw 6 shut out innings while striking out 9 batters in Game 2 of the double header to secure the win and the sweep for his squad. Entering the 4th inning with the game tied 0-0, he blasted a pitch to deep right field for a go ahead, game deciding two run homerun. The Wookies are off to a hot 3-1 start behind the strong pitching of Reilly, 2020 CYA Winner Zach Welsher, and Pat Carney.

(Matt Bull, Comets, #6)

Heavy rain Saturday morning     and overnight into Sunday led to the cancellation of games for the Dirt Dawgs, Marlins, Red Sox, and Padres but some hard work from Comets manager Pete Harper meant the LBMBL would not be shut out on Opening Day. The Comets took on the Wookies at John Boyce Field, and while the teams split to earn a win apiece the big story was Game 2 starting pitcher Matt Bull. The former Ursinus Bear authored a dominant outing to start the league's, and his team's, season with a Complete Game 18 Strikeout effort that led to a 3-2 Comets victory. Matt allowed only 5 hits as he went the distance, while adding a double and a single at the plate for good measure.

Meanwhile, the Wookies welcomed back two players who were absent for the 2022 campaign: Zach Welsher and Pat Doheny. Welsher, the 2020 Cy Young Award winner, led the Wookies from the mound with a Complete Game Shutout powered by 8 Strikeouts and only 4 total baserunners and each player had a double to pace the offense in the 3-0 Wookies victory. 

PHILADELPHIA -- The Dirt Dawgs bounced back from a Game 1 loss to take Games 2 and 3 from the Muckdogs at Arch Bishop Ryan High School, claiming their fifth straight league championship. Their unprecedented run was put to the test early when the Muckdogs, led by MVP Finalists Seth Regensberg and Kyle Jackson, blew out the defending champs 13-3.  The Muckdogs jumped ahead early, putting up a seven spot in the second inning highlighted by a Mark Gervasi homerun, his first of two on the day, but what looked like a possible knock out punch only seemed to wake up the battle tested Dawgs.

The Dirt Dawgs came right back in Game 2 and returned the favor with a blowout win of their own. The Dawg bats were quiet the first time through the order vs Muckdogs starting pitcher Kevin Elwell, but came to life to score eight runs in the  4^th inning in which they sent 12 batters to the plate. When the dust settled the series was tied at one game apiece with a total of 16 runs scored in each game.

Of course, Game 3 was a 5-3 nail biter. The Dirt Dawgs scored three runs in the first, keyed by the veteran trio of Stanton Tentnowski, Dan Gavlick, and Wes Baylor, each of whom scored in the inning. After the Muckdogs responded with a run of their own in the bottom half of the second inning, the Dawgs got it right back with Baylor crossing the plate again, this time on a RBI single by Mike Kerns.  The Dawgs then held off a potential Muckdogs comeback, with a run scored in the 4^th and 5^th inning as well as traffic on the bases in the 6^th and 7^th. In fact, the Muckdogs sent the tying or go ahead run to the plate in the last four batters of the game, but just could not come through with the big hit. Meanwhile, Dawgs showed their championship mettle, inducing two fielder’s choice groundouts to second base and getting the final out on a groundout to shortstop Shane Albertson with the tying runs on base to lock up Championship #5. The final out was fitting, as Albertson was voted MVP of the Championship Series. The infielder was involved in numerous run saving, and even game saving, plays throughout the three game set as well as contributing a big RBI double in the Dawgs Game 2 rally.

After four seasons of being pushed to three games in the semifinal round each year, most notably by these same Muckdogs last year which required a walk-off grand slam in Game 3 by 2021 League MVP Wes Baylor to survive and advance, the Dirt Dawgs were pushed to the brink in the Finals. The Muckdogs gave them their best shot two years in a row, but the championship pedigree of the Dawgs won out.

Congratulations to the Dirt Dawgs, Muckdogs, and all LBMBL teams on a fine 2022 season! See you in the Spring!

Pat Reilly, 2022

While the 2022 MVP was a closely contested race between four different players, the Cy Young Award this season was a landslide in favor of the left handed ace of the Wookies, Pat Reilly. The second CYA winner from the Wookies in three years (Welsher, 2020) Reilly was a workhorse in 2022 as he led the league in Innings Pitched with 71 - a full 18 innigs more than number two on the list, and third place CYA finisher, Julio Viera of the of the Padres. En route to throwing a Complete Game in eight of his nine starts, Reilly also led the league in ERA (0.89) and was second in WHIP, but first among Starting Pitchers (0.75).

Congratulations to Pat on a phenomenal season on the mound, he was in a league all his own in 2022!

Adam Oddo, 2022

Outfielder Adam Oddo of the Comets took home the league Most Valuable Player award in 2022, edging out two-way dyanmo Seth Regensburg and slugger Kyle Jackson of the Muckdogs in a ballot that saw nine different players get at least one vote. Oddo was an offensive force out of the leadoff spot for manager Pete Harper's club as he led the league in Batting Average (.544), On Base Percentage (.644), Hits (37), and Plate Appearances (87) while only striking out once all season. A true on base machine, he was quite literally the toughest out in the league, and you were going to have to earn it in the field!

Congratualtions, Adam, on an incredibly impressive season - and congratulations to all other candidates for their great production on the diamond in 2022.