American League First Half Recap

South Bend Truffle Butter (14-1) As we hit the half way point in the season, the South Bend Truffle Butter hold the top record in ORWBL at 14-1. South Bend made the most noise of any team over the offseason as they signed Walter Griffin III, Brandon Terry, and Josh Trim which signaled to the entire league that this team was going all in to win now.

All three offseason acquisitions have already cemented themselves as core members of the Truffle Butter as all three players have played in all 15 games so far. The trio has combined for 65 Home Runs as they have helped turn South Bound into one of the favorites to win the World Series. On top of their new acquisitions all playing extremely well, they’ve also got their Manager Ryan Galiher playing at an MVP level. Galiher leads ORWBL in HR (35), RBI, (49), and Runs (46) while boasting a .618 AVG which ranks 3rd among qualified players. Another reason for South Bend’s great start is their ability to change things up with Ryan Galiher and Walter Griffin III on the mound.

South Bend picked up a statement series win over the Maple City Magic in Week 3, giving them the tiebreaker in case of a tie at the end of the season. With South Bend having already showed that they can take down Maple City, this team has their eyes set on winning a World Series title in 2022. They will open up the 2nd half of the season with the (10-5) Mishawaka Meatspins in what should be a highly entertaining series. This team has yet to play Warren and Crown Point, so if they are able to have their way with Mishawaka, this team could potentially run the table all the way up until the postseason begins.

Maple City Magic (13-2) After getting swept in the 2021 World Series by the Granger Panthers, Maple City’s run of 4 consecutive ORWBL titles came to a close. With that said, Maple City has been able to play more relaxed and it has showed through their first 15 games. As a team, they are hitting .545 through the first 15 games while also leading the league with 154 Home Runs. They have three legitimate MVP candidates in Caleb Jonkman, Jared Jonkman, and Wes Ellis as all three have put up elite numbers early on.

Caleb Jonkman has the top batting average in the league at .697 while also ranking in the top 5 of other categories. Jared Jonkman also ranks in the top 4 in all hitting categories as he has taken his game to the next level this season. Jared Jonkman has also been a force on the mound as he has handled the bulk of the Magic pitching duties, leading all of ORWBL with 12 wins. Wes Ellis was a man on a mission at the Cam Snead Tournament as he helped lead Maple City to an impressive title in the first tournament of the year. The Magic have also received loads of production from their role players this season.

Offseason acquisition Jeremy Ross has contributed 16 HR to go along with a .569 AVG which ranks 5th in the league. Ross has added a versatile weapon who brings elite level defense to the table as that was on full display at the Cam Snead Tournament where he held down Left Field. Their skipper Alex Friedman has also played well early on as he has hit 14 HR to go along with a .591 AVG. Drew Luther has also added 14 HR while hitting at a .500 clip. The red hammer has also assumed Maple City’s closer role as he has closed out a league leading 11 games so far this season. Their other offsea