Biggest Year-to-Year Team Turnarounds

Top 5 by Increase in Winning Percentage
1) Belgian Wiffles   (2013-2014)   +.464   (.143 » .607)
2) Islanders   (2014-2015)   +.303   (.143 » .406)
3) See Yas   (2015-2016)   +.215   (.339 » .554)
4) King Friday   (2012-2013)   +.215   (.214 » .429)
5) King Friday   (2013-2014)   +.214   (.429 » .643)
Top 5 by Increase in Run Differential
1) Islanders   (2014-2015)   +191   (-223 » -32)
2) Belgian Wiffles   (2013-2014)   +165   (-157 » 8)
3) Mattseals   (2011-2012)   +133   (-135 » -2)
4) Wolfpack   (2014-2015)   +106   (-97 » 9)
5) Wicked Aces   (2012-2013)   +105   (40 » 145)

Evolution of Pitching Rotations Under the Cap

2013 TEAM PITCHING ROTATION PERFORMANCE
TEAM IP K BB K/BB KPI WHIP KPI-WHIP FINISH
WA  121.0 307 96 3.20 2.54 1.07 1.41 1
EL  126.2 303 147 2.06 2.39 1.61 0.78 2
WW  121.2 261 104 2.51 2.15 1.64 0.51 4
HB  131.2 260 155 1.68 1.97 2.28 -0.31 3
DU  113.0 277 253 1.09 2.45 2.48 -0.39 6
KF  154.2 293 207 1.42 1.89 2.44 -0.55 5
BW  132.1 209 146 1.43 1.58 2.94 -1.36 8
IS  125.1 258 276 0.93 2.06 3.71 -1.65 7
WSEM  1026.1 2168 1384 1.67 2.11 2.32 -0.21
2013 Only 3 of 8 team pitching rotations have a sub-2.00 WHIP and a positive KPI-WHIP (37.5%). Top 4 pitching teams take the four playoff spots. #Chalk
2014 TEAM PITCHING ROTATION PERFORMANCE
TEAM IP K BB K/BB KPI WHIP KPI-WHIP FINISH
WA  169.2 423 110 3.85 2.50 0.96 1.54 1
EL  176.0 408 119 3.43 2.32 1.07 1.25 2
BW  180.1 441 139 3.17 2.45 1.30 1.15 4
FS  139.2 360 168 2.14 2.58 1.80 0.77 5
ON  126.0 272 90 3.02 2.16 1.41 0.75 7
WW  115.0 233 106 2.20 2.03 1.70 0.33 6
HB  158.2 332 178 1.87 2.09 1.89 0.20 9
KF  139.0 296 181 1.64 2.13 1.94 0.19 3
WO  133.1 208 271 0.77 1.56 3.38 -1.32 8
IS  93.1 165 171 0.96 1.77 4.20 -2.43 10
WSEM  1430.2 3138 1533 2.05 2.19 1.82 0.38
2014 8 of 10 team pitching rotations have a sub-2.00 WHIP and a positive KPI-WHIP (80%). Top 4 pitching teams make playoffs, but the number 8 pitching rotation plays its way in. #Darkhorse
2015 TEAM PITCHING ROTATION PERFORMANCE
TEAM IP K BB K/BB KPI WHIP KPI-WHIP FINISH
RC  169.2 409 116 3.53 2.41 1.14 1.27 2
WA  145.1 337 84 4.01 2.32 1.12 1.20 1
SY  169.2 360 99 3.64 2.13 1.46 0.67 8
FS  172.2 407 183 2.22 2.36 1.69 0.67 3
WO  167.2 343 161 2.13 2.05 1.56 0.49 4
EL  152.0 318 179 1.78 2.09 1.96 0.13 6
HB  176.2 367 181 2.03 2.08 2.06 0.02 6
IS  157.2 325 195 1.67 2.06 2.06 0.00 5
WSEM  1310.0 2866 1198 2.39 2.19 1.64 0.55
2015 6 of 8 team pitching rotations have a sub-2.00 WHIP (75%), but all 8 teams post a non-negative KPI-WHIP (100%). The number 8 pitching rotation plays its way into the playoffs along with the top 2 and numbers 4 and 5. #Parity
Evidently, the performance of pitching rotations around the league has come closer and closer over the years. There is no bad rotation to speak of from the 2015 season. Today's number 8 rotation would fit in the top 4 two years ago. Every staff is now dealing more strike outs than they are allowing walks or hits, and there is no longer a single team far removed from the numbers put up by the rest of the league. This has created a world where the eighth best rotation is good enough to be a playoff team. Every rotation is now throwing in playoff contention. For a deeper look at parity, just compare the average run differential of playoff teams and the shrinking divide of runs allowed over the past 3 years:

2013 2014 2015
Average Run Differential of Playoff Teams   82.8 48.6 27.4
Difference Between High & Low Runs Allowed   253 266 101
Standard Deviation of Runs Allowed   76.8 78.6 33.7
Average run differential of playoff teams reduced by 58.6% in 2014 with the introduction of the talent cap, then reduced by another 56.4% in 2015 with the salary cap. Read: "Blowouts and domination are dwindling." The salary cap also closed the gap between the highest and lowest runs allowed by a pitching rotation, decreasing it to less than 40% of either preceding year. The standard deviation of runs allowed across the league saw similar reduction by nearly 60% from the previous seasons. #GettingThere

The Real NWLA MVP: Who is Farkas?

by Carl Coffee
To say that Stephen Farkas had a nice year of wiffleball in 2014 would be a huge understatement. Without ever playing organized wiffleball prior to joining the Belgian Wiffles, he played like a seasoned veteran both in WSEM and NWLA Tournament play. By June 1st, he already had four perfect games, a WSEM record. He then joined the National Team, and without throwing a pitch in any of the four round robin games, pitched two shutout games in the playoffs en route to winning the Tournament MVP award. Then back in WSEM play, he set the single season strike out record, and then led his team who went 4-24 the year before, to a runner-up finish in a very competitive season.

This isn’t an article about Stephen Farkas’ pitching accomplishments. Everyone knows those. This is an article about Stephen Farkas, the person. Farkas is very loud. Farkas is very intense. Farkas doesn’t know how to "take it easy." Farkas is passionate. Farkas is kind. Farkas is weird. A lot of those traits are common for a wiffleball player. What isn’t common is Farkas’ skillset.

Few pitchers with such power and force have the accuracy that Farkas has. Few pitchers with his dominance will be the first to shake your hand if you are one of the few to hit a home run off of him. At first, I thought this had to be an act. No one can be this nice and genuine. Ace pitchers are usually prima donnas. Farkas was always the first one to help me set up the fields, and the last to leave. He would drive to the gas station when he wasn’t playing to get water for other teams. He would show opposing pitchers how to throw his signature pitches.

Playing with Farkas was a dream. When it was his turn to pitch, you knew it would only take one run for him to win the game. When not pitching, he would be in the outfield diving and jumping all over the place to help his team. League members who weren’t around him as much took longer in figuring out if he was a genuine person. By mid-season, he pretty much won everyone over.

In a sport where people come and go, it’s tough to tell how long Stephen Farkas will stick around for. If these are the glory years of wiffleball, I am very lucky to have met Farkas when I did. His first words to me over facebook chat when I asked if he could throw were: “I am an ok pitcher.” Well Stephen, I would say you are a little bit better than “ok.”

10 Best Jerseys in WSEM History

Teams are starting to leak their jersey designs for the 2015 season - and yes, teams still need to have uniform jerseys for the 2015 season. So, we figured why not look to the past and dig up some inspiration for teams that are in need of a push. After all, we're midway between the draft and the first preseason tournament; this is the last time things are going to be quiet for awhile! We've repurposed the power rankings machine to handle a task for more complex than ranking teams or players - one in which there are no numbers to quantify or compare. Without further ado, the following are the ten best jerseys ever worn in WSEM history.


10. Onanism (2014)
Ambisextrous, Wet, Nose Blow Joe, Flip Dick, Louisville Snuggler... I'm not particularly a fan of NOB (names on back), but when they're executed with such fantastic style as this it's hard not to smile.

9. Mattseals (2012)
Possibly the best color scheme seen in WSEM history, and featuring one of our most amusing logos. Points lost for the white business wrapping under the arms. Using the bright green as the jersey's main color could still have propelled these higher.

8. Ducks (2013)
Brightening the base color to a kelly green would have made these a top contender. The forest green is too dark alongside the black details, but the logo still puts this one in a good spot on the list. The athletic gold outlined numbers on back add a bold touch.

7. Westside Warriors (2011, 2013)
The inaugural winner of a "best look" award in 2011 now sits at #7 overall. That is a good thing. Although the 2014 logo update was great upgrade, the original jersey design with its slanted script is far more unique. That gets you points. The orange numbers also add a lot more character than the white used on its successors.

6. Belgian Wiffles (2014)
Ask me if yellow on yellow makes sense, and I'll tell you "no." Show me yellow on yellow, and I'll eat my words. The fronts are a little clunky, incorporating two lines of script and the logo, but Mrs. Swingin' Buttersworth keeps this look very fun. Spin around, and this design just oozes butter: so fitting. Yellow on yellow shouldn't work, at all, but the unconventional results are remarkable.

5. Flying Squirrels (2012, 2014)
You knew the baby blue and brown combo had to crack this list. The home blues with brown print have always seemed a little more unique than the inverse blue-on-brown version. The "bushy" script is classic yet playful all at once, with the squirrel forming the 'S' and acorn dotting the "i". Hands down the best color scheme in sports.

4. Wicked Aces 2012-14
Incorporating the player number into the club logo on front is an awesome feature. Granted, I may be a bit partial to this idea due to nostalgia. Nonetheless, that coupled with the sleeve patches (Aces primary on right, WSEM logo on left) made this one of the most detailed and creative jerseys back in 2012. The look's aged well, and still gets high marks.

3. El Diablos 2014
Even with anthracite and black being the dominant colors, the teal elements refuse to take a back seat here. Outlined in white, they really pop off the dark base. Logo on the left breast and front-number staggered below opposite: a classic baseball style for a team that is quickly becoming an iconic wiffleball franchise.

2. Campus Commandos (2012)
Sports teams should generally avoid wearing camouflage. That said, when your name is Commandos it's the best look you can put on. Instantly recognizable on the field from any angle, while definitively representing the team name. The 2012 logo emblazoned across the front is also one of WSEM's finest.

1. Holy Balls (2014)
Logos usually get plugged into a spot on the jersey. A jersey rarely (never?) becomes the team's logo. But that's exactly what happened when the Balls made their 2014 threads a wiffleball: the 8 holes wrapping around the player's chest and back. Creativity in your design concept will get you a lot of points, and concepts don't get much more creative than this. … At least not yet.