B League Picayune
Often in error, never in doubt.
Volume 7, Issue 63 – October 30, 2025
Games of October 27 were canceled due to wet conditions at Krieg. The end-of-season luncheon has been rescheduled for Monday November 3.
Start times for today’s games were pushed back 30 minutes due to the (surprisingly) chill overnight temperatures.
Games of Thursday October 30:
11:00 a.m.: Blue (5.5 – 7.5) at Maroon (7-6):
1 2 3 4 BUFFET FINAL Blue 0 5 1 2 1 9 Maroon 4 5 3 5 X 17 Pitchers: Blue – Tommy Deleon; Maroon – Jeff Stone. Mercenaries: Blue – Jack Spellman; Maroon – Peter Atkins (for one inning – see below), Gary Coyle, Donnie Janac, and Ray Pilgrim. Umpires: home – Chunky Wright; bases – Mike Garrison. Perfect at the plate: Blue – Tom Brownfield (3 for 3 with a double); Maroon – Ken Brown (4 for 4 with a double), Ivan Budeselic and Tom Kelm (both 3 for 3), Gary Coyle (2 for 2 with a walk), and Bobby Miller (4 for 4 with two doubles).
Dave Berra’s weather report: 59 degrees, felt like 58; humidity 37%; wind from the Northwest at 6 MPH. Sunny – wonderful!
Jeff Stone retired Blue 1-2-3 in the top of the first on three fly balls – to right-center fielder Ken Brown; right fielder Peter Atkins, filling in briefly for late-arriving Ivan Budiselic; and left-center fielder Donnie Janac – and that pretty well set the tone for the whole game. Maroon scored four times in the home half on four singles, Bobby Miller’s double, and walks to Scott Wright and, with the bases loaded, Gary Coyle. Maroon won the inning and in fact won or tied each of the first four innings, rolling to a fairly easy victory.
Both teams scored five times on seven hits while making just one out in the second inning, Blue on a series of singles, Maroon on four singles and doubles by Bobby Miller, Jeff Stone, and Don Solberg. The only out Maroon made came on a weird little play: Scott Wright swung and just tipped a pitch, which clipped the front of the mat and rolled a few inches into fair territory. Scott didn’t run the ball out; catcher Daniel Baladez picked the ball up from fair territory and eventually threw to first for the out, plate umpire Chunky Wright correctly ruling that the ball had not hit the batter, was therefore fair, and Scott was out.
Blue’s first four batters hit safely and then the fifth walked to start the third inning, but they came away with only one run. Jimmy Sneed, Tom Bellavia, and George Brindley smacked line singles to begin the frame, Jimmy scoring, but Tom was out 9-6-2, Ken Brown to Bobby Miller to Tom Kelm, trying to score from first on George’s hit. Tom Brownfield followed with a double, and a walk to David Pittard loaded the bases, but Jeff Stone got out of the jam, retiring Jim Foelker on liner off the handle of his bat to Bobby Miller for the second out, then getting Tommy Deleon to ground into a 3-6 force, Ivan Budiselic to Bobby.
Maroon also had its first five batters reach to start its half of the third, all singles, but got three runs out of it, the third scoring on a bases-loaded 4-6 force hit by Scott Wright, Bobby Miller out at second on a bang-bang play. Tommy Deleon then got Jeff Stone to pop out to third baseman David Pittard and Don Solberg to ground out 4-3.
Blue scored two runs on three consecutive two-out hits – a single by Steve Sandall, a double by Jimmy Sneed, and a two-run single by Tom Bellavia – but Maroon once again won the inning, scoring five times on five singles and Ken Brown’s double. Ken, Bobby Miller (two-run single driving in the fourth and fifth runs), Gary Coyle, Ivan Budiselic, and Tom Kelm all completed perfect days at the plate with hits in the inning – the five of them combined to go 16 for 16 with a walk and three doubles.
Blue was chasing nine runs entering the buffet. All six of its batters squared up on the ball, but only three of the line drives resulted in singles, with Tom Brownfield and David Pittard completing perfect days at the plate, Tom’s pinch-runner – George Brindley, maybe? I’m not sure – scoring on Tommy Deleon’s hit. Jim Foelker again lined out to shortstop Bobby Miller, Daniel Baladez’s liner was caught by Donnie Janac in left-center, and Jack Spellman absolutely crushed a line drive to left field, only for Don Solberg to be perfectly positioned to make the game-ending catch, as seen here:
Final score:Â Maroon 17, Blue 9
Noon: Green (5.5 – 7.5) at Gray (4-8):
1 2 3 4 BUFFET FINAL Green 5 1 3 5 X 14 Gray 0 0 1 2 0 3 Pitchers: Green – Chunky Wright; Gray – Jack Kelly. Mercenaries: Green – Jim Foelker, Anthony Galindo, and Ray Pilgrim; Gray – David Brown and Don Solberg. Umpires: home – Jeff Stone; bases – Dave Berra and Scott Wright. Perfect at the plate: Green – Anthony Galindo (3 for 3 with two doubles), Mike Garrison (3 for 3), Ray Pilgrim (3 for 3 with a double), and Chunky Wright (2 for 2 with a walk – Ohtani Award).
Weather update:Â 64 degrees, which is what it felt like; humidity 28%; wind from the North at 4 MPH; sunny and New England-y.
This time it was the visiting team that won every inning and coasted to a pretty easy victory. Green led pillar to post, scorong five times in the top of the first on seven singles, the last two with two out by mercenaries Anthony Galindo and Ray Pilgrim, driving in the fourth and fifth runs, and then Chunky Wright held Gray scoreless in the bottom half, leaving Tommy Gillis and Adam Reddell stranded after they’d singled.
Green scored a single run in the top of the second: Steve Browne singled with two out and scored from first on Mike Garrison’s single to left-center. Chunky Wright kept his shutout going through the home half, working around Morgan Witthoft’s one-out single.
Green extended its lead to 9-0 in the top of the third, scoring three times after two were out. Chunky Wright drew a one-out walk and scored from first on Anthony Galindo’s line double down the left-field line. Ray Pilgrim lined a single, also to left field, driving in Anthony. Ray’s pinch-runner then scored from first on a line double to left-center by Jim Foelker.
Gray finally got on the board with a run on three singles in the bottom of the third, Johnny Lee driving in the run with a line-drive hit to left field.
Green kept pounding away in the top of the fourth, scoring five runs on six hits, four players completing perfect days at the plate: Mike Garrison knocked his third single to start the rally; Chunky Wright singled to drive in Mike with the first run; Anthony Galindo hit his second double, his third hit, a line drive to the fence in left-center, to drive in two; and Ray Pilgrim’s liner to center gapped the outfielders and drove in Anthony with the fifth run – I credit Ray with a double on the hit, his third of the game.
Gray showed some sign of life in the home half, its first four hitters reaching on three singles and a walk drawn by Dave Jaffe, Jack Kelly’s pinch-runner scoring on David Brown’s hit. Don Solberg, batting right-handed, lined out to shortstop Mike Garrison. Morgan Witthoft tagged up and scored on Paul Rubin’s fly to Anthony Galindo in left field. Tommy Gillis also flied to Anthony, ending the inning.
With Green up by 11, the teams flip-flopped for the buffet. Adam Reddell led off with a drive to right-center, but was robbed of a hit by Donnie Janac, who got a good jump moving to his right to run the ball down, best defensive play of the game. Johnny Lee singled. Chunky Wright got Hal Darman to hit a two-strike foul for the second out. Jack Kelly drew a walk to extend the inning, but the game ended with Morgan Witthoft popping out to second baseman Doc Hobar.
Final score:Â Green 14, Gray 3
After the game, Chunky Wright, looking ripped, received his second Ohtani Award of the season.
1:00 p.m.: Orange (11-2) at Purple (6-7):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Orange 5 3 2 1 1 6 18 Purple 3 2 1 3 0 2 11 Pitchers: Orange – Ray Pilgrim (innings 1-4) and Terry Thompson (innings 5 and buffet); Purple – Spike Davidson. Mercenaries: Orange – Donnie Janac, Johnny Lee, Adam Reddell, Jack Spellman, and Jeff Stone; Purple – Tommy Gillis and Scott Wright. Umpires: home – Jack Kelly; bases – Hal Darman. Perfect at the plate: Purple – Tim Coles (4 for 4) and Tommy Gillis (3 for 3). Home run: Jack Spellman (inside the park) (4).
Dave Berra’s weather update:Â 67 degrees, felt like that; 25% humidity; wind from the Northwest at 5 MPH; sunny and perfect.
Blue shutting out Orange 21-0 a week ago seems like a fever dream now. Orange went back to being Orange today, winning each of the first three innings to establish a solid lead, then running up the score in the buffet until the flip-flop was called, for a decisive victory that formally clinched them first place for Session Four. They jumped to a quick lead with five runs in the top of the first, on Peter Atkins’s lead-off double and five consecutive one-out singles, the fifth run scoring on a 6-4 force-out, Adam Reddell easily beating the relay as the fifth run scored.
Purple got three back in the home half as its first four batters hit safely, Matt Levitt’s opening double followed by three singles, Matt and Raul Deleon scoring. The third run came across on a 6-4-3 double play, David Brown to Adam Reddell to Johnny Lee.
Orange then won the second inning, with three runs scoring as five of the first six batters hit safely, Jeff Stone starting the rally with a lead-off double. Purple got two runs back with five consecutive hits in the bottom of the frame after Fritz Hensel grounded out to start it, David Brown making a good play to his backhand and a strong throw. David also accounted for the second out, relaying a throw home on Matt Levitt’s single to left field, Tommy Gillis out 7-6-2 (Jack Spellman to David to Marvin Krabbenhoft) trying to score from second. (To his point David had a hand in all five outs Orange had recorded.) The inning ended with Spike Davidson grounding out to pitcher Ray Pilgrim.
Orange won the third inning, too, again by just a run. They scored twice in the top half, Adam Reddell’s triple driving in Johnny Lee’s pinch-runner, Adam then scoring on Donnie Janac’s sacrifice fly to right-center fielder Matt Levitt. Purple got a single run in the bottom of the inning: singles by Tim Coles and Mark Hernandez put runners on the corners; Tim scored on Rick Jensen’s grounder up the middle, which David Brown converted into a 6u., 6-3 double play. (That’s seven of eight outs that David had a hand in, if you’re counting.)
Purple won the fourth inning. Spike Davidson held Orange to a single run in the top half: David Brown and Ray Pilgrim singled to open the inning, and Terry Thompson’s sacrifice fly to left fielder Tommy Gillis scored David. Singles by Marvin Krabbenhoft and Jack Spellman loaded the bases, but Tim Coles started an elegant 6-5-2 double play on Johnny Lee’s grounder to Tim’s right, Rick Jensen (who’d just switched positions with Tim) making the pivot at third base. Purple then scored three runs on two walks, two singles, and Raul Deleon’s two-run double, Raul scoring the third run on Tim Coles’s hit.
That cut Orange’s lead to 11-9, and when Orange scored just a single run in the top of the fifth – Adam Reddell drew a lead-off walk and scored from first on Jeff Stone’s second double of the game – Purple had a chance to grab the lead. But Terry Thompson took over on the mound for Orange and slammed the door shut, with help from David Brown. Fritz Hensel led off the home half with a single, but David turned another 6u., 6-3 double play, this one on Henry Flores’s grounder to David’s left. Singles by Scott Wright and Tommy Gillis put the potential tying runs aboard, but Terry got Matt Levitt to hit a two-strike foul to end the threat.
Orange then iced the game with a six-run outburst in the top of the buffet. Ray Pilgrim walked and Terry Thompson singled to start the inning. Marvin Krabbenhoft popped out. Jack Spellman followed with a drive to right field, directly at and over Henry Flores, for a three-run inside-the-park home run, as more or (mostly) less seen here:
Lots of clues to this being an AI-generated image, but I’ll just mention that never in my life have I had a beard as dark and luxurious as this. It did prompt the Quote of the Day, from Mrs. Keggy: “Who is that guy? I want his number.” (She and Philadelphia Karen, am I right?)
Spike Davidson retired Johnny Lee on a grounder to second baseman Raul Deleon for the second out, but the next five Orange batters singled, three more runs scoring. With the score 18-9 and the heart of the Orange order due up, the teams flip-flopped.
Purple got two more runs across, on four singles, before running out of outs. David Brown, of course, made the last two, throwing out Mark Hernandez on a grounder to shortstop for the second out and gathering in Henry Flores’s humpback liner for the third.
Final score:Â Orange 18, Purple 11
Session 4 standings:
| Session 4 | Â | Â | Â | Games | Runs | Runs | Runs dif- | W/L |
| Â | Wins | Losses | Win %: | behind: | for: | allowed: | ferential: | streak: |
| Orange | 12 | 2 | .857 | 0 | 187 | 144 | 43 | W1 |
| Maroon | 8 | 6 | .571 | 4 | 156 | 144 | 12 | W1 |
| Red | 6 | 7 | .462 | 5 | 147 | 156 | -9 | L1 |
| Green | 6.5 | 7.5 | .464 | 5.5 | 166 | 156 | 10 | W2 |
| Purple | 6 | 8 | .429 | 6 | 151 | 170 | -19 | L1 |
| Blue | 5.5 | 8.5 | .393 | 6.5 | 151 | 161 | -10 | L1 |
| Gray | 4 | 9 | .308 | 7.5 | 126 | 153 | -27 | L3 |
| Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
| Â | Home | Visitor | Walk-off | Extra-inning | Flip-flop | 1-run games | Â | Â |
| Â | W-L: | W-L: | wins | W-L: | W-L: | W-L: | Â | Â |
| Orange | 6-0 | 6-2 | 2 | 0-0 | 5-1 | 2-1 | Â | Â |
| Maroon | 5-3 | 3-3 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 1-1 | Â | Â |
| Red | 4-2 | 2-5 | 1 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 2-0 | Â | Â |
| Green | 3-3 | 3.5-4.5 | 1 | 0.5-0.5 | 1-1 | 2-3 | Â | Â |
| Purple | 4-4 | 2-5 | 2 | 0-0 | 3-3 | 2-2 | Â | Â |
| Blue | 3.5-3.5 | 1-5 | 0 | 0.5-0.5 | 3-2 | 0-0 | Â | Â |
| Gray | 2-5 | 2-4 | 0 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 0-2 | Â | Â |
2025 total victories (read across) and losses (read down):
| Â | Blue | Gray | Green | Maroon | Orange | Purple | Red | TOTAL |
| Blue | X | 2 | 6.5 | 3 | 4.5 | 5 | 5 | 26 |
| Gray | 6 | X | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 22 |
| Green | 3.5 | 7 | X | 4.5 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 25 |
| Maroon | 5 | 6 | 6.5 | X | 4 | 6 | 3 | 30.5 |
| Orange | 5.5 | 7 | 5 | 4 | X | 6 | 5 | 32.5 |
| Purple | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | X | 8 | 26 |
| Red | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 2 | X | 21 |
| TOTAL: | 27 | 29 | 27 | 22.5 | 19.5 | 26 | 32 | 183 |
| Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
Green and Maroon tied their game of August 7; Orange and Blue tied their game of August 28; Green and Blue tied their game of October 2; these are counted as half a win and half a loss for each team.
Full-season standings:
| Wins | Losses | Win % | GB | |
| Orange | 32.5 | 19.5 | .625 | 0.0 |
| Maroon | 30.5 | 22.5 | .575 | 2.5 |
| Purple | 26 | 26 | .500 | 5.5 |
| Blue | 26 | 27 | .491 | 6.0 |
| Green | 25 | 27 | .481 | 7.5 |
| Gray | 22 | 29 | .431 | 9.0 |
| Red | 21 | 32 | .396 | 11.5 |
2025 season home run leaders:
David Brown – 7
Mike Garrison – 7
Bobby Miller – 6
Ralph Villela – 6
George Brindley – 5
Tim Coles – 5
Anthony Galindo – 4
Tommy Gillis – 4
Jack Spellman – 4
Larry Fiorentino – 3
Doc Hobar – 3
Mike Malay – 3
Paul Rubin – 3
Jimmy Sneed – 3
Tim Bruton – 2
Tony Garcia – 2
Rex Horvath – 2
Matt Levitt – 2
Jack McDermott – 2
Terry O’Brien – 2
George Romo – 2
Pat Scott – 2
Scott Wright – 2
Jim Aaron – 1
Peter Atkins – 1
Tom Bellavia – 1
Ken Brown – 1
Gary Coyle – 1
Donald Drummer – 1
Buddy Gaswint – 1
Ken Mockler – 1
Ray Pilgrim – 1
Jeff Stone – 1
Mike Velaney – 1
Chris Waddell – 1
Chunky Wright – 1
Hit for the cycle:
Scott Wright – June 5
Walk-off grand slam:
David Brown (inside the park) – August 4
Ohtanis (winning pitcher + perfect at the plate):
Jeff Stone – 9 (March 20, April 17, July 17, July 21, July 28, September 11, September 15 (2), September 29)
Spike Davidson – 8 (June 19, June 30, August 4, August 7, August 14 (2), September 8, October 9)
Tommy Deleon – 6 (March 3, March 13, April 14, April 28, May 12, September 8)
Joe Bernal – 4 (March 3, April 3, June 5, October 2)
Tom Kelm – 4 (March 3, March 13, May 1, June 16)
Ray Pilgrim – 4 (April 14, August 4, August 7, October 16)
Terry Thompson – 3 (July 31, September 15, September 29)
Donald Drummer – 2 (May 1, August 11)
Jack Kelly – 2 (March 10, May 12)
David Pittard – 2 (June 2, October 13)
Chunky Wright – 2 (June 9, October 30)
Greg Lloyd – 1 (June 26)
Schedule for Monday November 3:
10:00 a.m.: Gray (4-9) at Red (6-7), Maroon umpiring
10:45 a.m.: Maroon (8-6) at Orange (12-2), Red umpiring
11:30 p.m.: Purple (6-8) at Green (6.5 – 7.5), Orange umpiring
Blue has the bye, with priority for its players out of the bucket.
Preview: Monday’s games will start at 10:00 and be played under one-pitch rules with a 40-minute clock so we can get to the end-of-season luncheon and festivities all the quicker. (Pausing a moment to deal with a sense of deja vu.) Good gravy, only four dates left in the regular season! The Maroon-Orange game at 10:45 would have had some import, but Orange clinched the Session Four title today (Maroon is four games back, but has only three games left to play), so at this point we’re playing for tourney seeding – four teams are separated by three and a half games for the third-through-sixth seeds – and personal glory. Will Jeff Stone be able to cling to his slim lead over Spike Davidson in the Ohtani Award race? Will there be a four-way tie for the home run championship? One thing is certain: Only time will tell.
Keggy’s Korner:
Look for B Leaguers Ghostly Tom Kelm, Lycanthropic Donnie Janac, Zombie Dave Jaffe, and Calaca Daniel Baladez trick-or-treating in your neighborhood tomorrow night.