A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE JUICED BALL LEAGUE

 

Here is a brief history of the league including a posting of the combined team standings in the five years since the 1996 rebirth of the JBL. Remember, the teams listed are current franchises and don't necessarily reflect the current owner's values, especially the Up and Comers that spent the first two seasons as the computer "Inept Steins" and were beaten to a pulp with regularity by the real owner's teams. Anyway, here they are (1996-2001):

 TEAM  W  L  GB  PCT.
 Siberian Express  351  177  -  .665
 Flat Earth Society  317  211  34  .600
 Masterbatters  305  215  42  .587
 Bates Motel  307  221  44  .581
 The Four C's  279  237  66  .541
 Lincoln Loungers  266  262  85  .504
 Splendid Splinters  257  267  92  .490
 Ryan's Express  242  274  103  .469
 Rubber Arms  225  267  108  .457
 Last Rites  216  300  129  .419
 Cape Fear  211  313  138  .403
 Up And Comers  131  365  204  .264

* Now for a little background on the teams listed above: Siberian Express (titles in 1994, 1997 and 1999) is an original JBL franchise begun when the old league developed in the early 1980's. Brad assumed control of the team prior to the 1990 JBL season. Bates Motel (last title in 1996) is also an original franchise taken over from its original owner by "Spud" Allen prior to the 1990 season and then by its current owner Joe during the 1991 season. Masterbatters (title in 2000) was a true expansion team as Tony selected his first squad from the unprotected lists of the other teams in the league prior to the 1991 season. Flat Earth Society (title in 1992) is another original franchise taken over by Dave during the 1989 JBL season. Jerry's The Four C's (title in 1998) was one of three expansion franchises brought into the league prior to the 1996 season when the JBL was restructured following a strike-shortened 1995 season. Lincoln Loungers is an original franchise managed by Joel Merrill until the 1999 season when the controls were taken by Jeff. Marc's Splendid Splinters was another of the 1996 expansion franchises originally run by Mac Ioder until 1998 when the Splinter stepped in. Ryan's Express (last title 1988) is an original franchise owned by Billy Stark until 1996 when Dave Vecsey took the team for one season prior to Ryan taking control in 1997. Rubber Arms (titles in 1989 and 1991) is an original franchise owned by Shelley Epstein until the 1996 season when Tom became the owner until 2001 at which time John took the reins. Cape Fear (titles in 1990 and 1993) is an original franchise and was held by Jerry Brune, a founding father of the league, until 1994 when it was taken over by Mike Murphy. Murph had the team until 1996 when it was briefly taken over by Brian "Rip VanWinkle" Ludwig prior to being rescued by its current owner Kevin. Last Rites was another of the 1996 expansion teams and was managed by Scott Blicharz until mid 1999 when Ross took over. Up and Comers was added as a computer team in 1996 to make up an even numbered, 12-team league. It remained a computer team until 1998 when it was taken over by Steve Aeschelman. Dennis, the current owner, took over the team prior to the 1999 season. Titles won prior to 1988 are unknown at this time.

 

NUMBER ONE DRAFT SELECTIONS BY YEAR-BY-YEAR

 

Here is a list of the players taken with the first overall pick in the draft each season since the rebirth:

 1996  Chipper Jones  by Flat Earth Society
 1997  Pat Hentgen  by Flat Earth Society
 1998  Jaret Wright  by Cape Fear
 1999  J. D. Drew  by Flat Earth Society
 2000  Rick Ankiel  by Splendid Splinters
 2001  Paul Wilson  by Cape Fear
 2002    by Up and Comers
     
     
     

 

SOME SINGLE SEASON LEAGUE RECORDS

 

Here are a few league records from the archives. They are listed by their current team name (see breakdown above for actual owner during the season shown). The Inept Steins (computer team) was not considered eligible for inclusion for season or series records.

Most Wins, Single Season - 64 by Siberian Express (1997)

Most Losses, Single Season - 69 by Cape Fear (1997)

Most Home Wins, Single Season - 34 by Siberian Express (1997)

Most Home Losses, Single Season - 34 by Rubber Arms (1999)

Most Road Wins, Single Season - 34 by Masterbatters (1999)

Most Road Losses, Single Season - 37 by Cape Fear (1997)

Most One-Run Wins, Single Season - 21 by Last Rites (2000)

Most One-Run Losses, Single Season - 21 by Last Rites (1996) and Cape Fear (1997)

Most Runs Scored, Single Season - 642 by Lincoln Loungers (2001)

Fewest Runs Allowed, Single Season - 272 by Lincoln Loungers (1996)

Most Runs Allowed, Single Season - 568 by Up and Comers (2001)

Fewest Runs Scored, Single Season - 286 by Splendid Splinters (1996)

Most Runs Scored, One Series - 63 by Flat Earth Society vs. Cape Fear (2000)

Fewest Runs Allowed, One Series - 2 by Splendid Splinters vs. Up and Comers (2001)

 

JUICED BALL LEAGUE NO-HITTERS

 

Andy Benes - Siberian Express vs. Rubber Arms - World Series, Game 6 (1994)

Juan Guzman - Cape Fear vs. Bates Motel (1998)

Mike Hampton - Rubber Arms vs. Splendid Splinters (1998)

Tim Hudson - Flat Earth Society vs. Splendid Splinters (2000)