Nov 02 2067: League Champions - by loganmcguinn on January 30th, 2025
The Yellow Jackets are League Champs! After last years struggles at the end of the season which saw them miss the playoffs the Yellow Jackets finished the season strong going 15-2 in October. The offense while not much power lead the league in hits and batting average and tied for first in OBP. However, the pitching staff was what lead this team to the promise land. Leading the East in ERA, FIP, BAA, WHIP, K,s and QS.
The Yellow Jackets kept up their hot streak taking the series in 6 games. Gorman Hunter who slashed .360/.429/.720 won Series MVP
Coach Portillo was excited to be back on top after a 11 year gap.
Nov 02 2057: Back 2 Back League Champs! - by loganmcguinn on December 22nd, 2022
The Yellow Jackets in a contest to see who were the best Yellow Jackets defeated Laramie 4-2 in this years V.6 League playoffs. Caesar Tirado who should be the league MVP after winning the triple crown stayed hot in the playoffs winning the series MVP after hitting .519 with 2 home runs.
The clinching game was the last for life long Yellow Jacket Felipe De La Rosa. He had a rocky start being chased out of the game in the 4th inning but the bullpen finished the game strong by only giving up 1 more run and 3 total hits. Javier Mercado who is not know for his power had 2 home runs and 5 RBI’s in the final game.
Coach Mudcat Portillo celebrated with the team and said he was proud of all the players and coaches who worked so hard throughout the year.
The Yellow Jackets will be making several personal moves with the retirements of Felipe De La Rosa and Gilberto Suarez and the release of Kenneth Hiller, Javier Mercado and Benito Silva. However Owner loganmcguinn thinks the Jackets will still be a strong contender next year with the young talent in the minors that will graduate.
Oct 30 2056: League Champions! - by loganmcguinn on October 5th, 2022
After starting out the season slow at 13-14, the Yellow Jackets slowly chipped away and won the east by finishing the season 15-2 and winning 103 games. Continuing with that hot streak they swept the West Jordan beavers. Averaging over 8 runs across the 4 games, the Yellow Jackets came back in the late innings in both game 3 and 4 with big offensive innings. Scoring 6 runs in the 8th of game 3 and t runs in the 9th of game 4 to win the series.
Chico Carrillo who is a prime candidate for season MVP, won the series MVP but leading the team in homeruns and RBI's hitting over .700 with runners in scoring position.
Coach Portillo was thrilled for the franchise stating all the hard work and sometimes heart ache over the past 6 and a half years finally paid off.
Oct 22 2053: Playoffs in first year - by loganmcguinn on February 14th, 2022
The Yellow Jackets moved in the the V.5 league this year and are in the playoffs for the second year in a row. After starting out the season 25-35 and at the bottom of the division they came all the way back to win the east on the last day. With a record of 48 -32 with they kept up their winning ways after getting over .500 at the all star break.
Carmelo Madrid and Glenn Upton have been the constants on the offense and are solid candidates for all league. With the trio of Guy Devine, Felipe De La Rosa and Jeronimo Mendoza they have one of the strongest top end rotations in the league and were able to ride them to the top of the east. Devine has a strong case for Cy Young as well. The bullpen was fortified by Benito Silva who was tied for the league lead in saves and is another candidate for all league.
Manager Mudcat Portillo was excited to be back in the playoffs, " we were a young team last year that no one gave a chance and made it one game away from winning the league. Now after our original struggles this year we were again counted out. I think I would prefer just just always win than this rollercoaster ride. But I am glad we are here and look forward to competing for the league title."
Best of luck to Woodland and may the best team win!
Aug 02 2053: Yellow Jackets Catching Fire - by loganmcguinn on January 24th, 2022
For the first 60 games of the season the Yellow jackets were a bottom feeding team 10 games under .500 at 25-35. Since then they have gone 24-11 and won all series but one against the league leaders Woodland which they lost 3 games to 2 and lost one game in extra innings. It was kicked off with a 8 game winning streak at the end on June.
Pitching has been key as the trio of Guy Devine, Felipe De La Rosa and Jeronimo Mendoza have carried the team. Guy Devine is a front runner for the Cy Young this year with his play and Benito Silva has been the best reliever in the league being tied for first in saves and a microscopic 0.62 ERA.
The offense has been led by Glenn Upton who leads the league in batting average and RISP and top 4 in OPS, SLG, HR's and RBI's. Carmelo Madrid who leads the lead in walks is 4th in runs and 7th in OBP.
Coach Portillo is encouraged by the play but also said "the season is still early and we need to keep this energy up to throughout the year. The Raiders have also been playing great and it will be tough to catch up and pass them if we don't keep working."