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Northwoods Green Bay Rockers

2013 Bullfrogs: A Season in Review

August 12, 2013 - Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Green Bay Rockers News Release


After battling through injuries and a high turnover ratio throughout the entire 2013 season, the Bullfrogs posted a record of 28-42, the worst in the team's seven year history.

But what's in a number?

It is easy to look at a team's record on the surface, and shake your head or shrug your shoulders if it is not up to traditional standards.

However, this year's Green Bay Bullfrogs team, while statistically the most disappointing group in the seven-year history of the team, was something different.

This year's team was a group of individuals, amateur athletes, that did was the Northwoods League is designed to do to players: they each constantly improved throughout the course of the season.

Despite finishing with a disappointing 28-42 record, there were several highlights. There was a four-win stretch at the beginning of the season. There were dramatic victories, like the July 28 victory over Willmar. There were record-breaking performances from multiple players.

And perhaps most importantly, each player improved throughout the season, which was something rookie Field Manager Karl Johnston stressed from the moment he took the job.

"By and large, guys have gotten better," Johnston said. "They are leaving here, going back to their schools, as better baseball players because of the way we set things up and the way we worked."

Johnston admits that, in terms of its record, the team did not achieve up to results that could be misconstrued as successful, but he said believes that the team as a whole and the young players individually achieved what he wanted them to achieve.

"Guys have improved from the day the got here to the day they left... They have gotten better in some way," Johnston added. "That's why I'm here. That's why (pitching coach) Cory (Burleson) is here. That's what we got in this for. To improve players."

"(Wins) mean something. They certainly do," Johnston added. "Simply because you're playing a sport. You're playing to win. But in the end, the main goal was to get better every day."

Some of the drastic improvements in individual numbers for players are truly staggering.

Jimmy Coady: A .160 batting average and .224 on base percentage in June. In July: .258 AVG and .432 OBP, including team bests in walks (19) and stolen bases (11).

Bryant Burleson's August numbers: A .459 batting average, two home runs and 12 RBI. On his way to breaking two major Bullfrog single season records with a fierce final month, Burleson raised his season average from .245 on July 26 to .289 at the season's finish.

Jack Parenty's finish to the season was the most under-the-radar, but perhaps the most impressive. Parenty, who was a Freshman All-American at Stony Brook, raised his season average from .197 on July 18 to .272 at the end of the season, a mere span of 19 games. He hit .413 in that span, totaling seven multi-hit games.

In the process of improving, the Bullfrogs rewrote the record books this season, as well. Tripp Martin blasted 11 home runs, surpassing Scott Schebler's mark of 10 set in 2010. Burleson piled it on, driving in 50 runs to oust Schebler from the record books once more. With nine home runs, Burleson flirted with that record, as well.

Burleson's fine season would not have been possible without consistency. Throughout the course of the season, he also broke the Bullfrogs single season record for games played, appearing in 66 games, 65 of which were starts.

After playing in for the Bullfrogs in 2012, pitcher Ben Graff broke some Bullfrog career pitching records, as well. However, these aren't necessarily the categories that Graff would like his name next to.

He set career Bullfrog records for hits allowed (128) and runs allowed (71). While these are clearly negative pitching stats, Graff's longevity is more at fault than anything else. He is second in Bullfrog history in innings pitched, with 114 total in his two year career.

Despite the negative records, Graff did improve vastly from the summer of 2012 to the summer of 2013. After walking 27 batters last season, Graff walked only five this year, which was by far the best among pitchers who threw more then 50 innings.

Graff hasn't made much of the records, and said that he is confident that he has improved, not only this summer, but over the past calendar year as a whole.

"Summer ball is about getting better," Graff said, "and there were different things that I needed to work on this season. Coming off of a year at (San Francisco) where I pitched a little bit more, I was looking to fine tune things a bit more and hopefully it translates into school ball."

Johnston said that the late-season record breaking spree was yet another sign of players improving individually from the time they arrived in Green Bay to the time they left.

"Personal achievements and records are very important," Johnston said. "They're a testament to what (players have) done throughout the entire course of the season, again, working hard day in and day out to improve."

The record breaking performances certainly highlight the 2013 season. While there may not have been a postseason appearance to hang a hat on or an overall record to write home about, but the injury-ridden 2013 Bullfrogs team was full of individual players who worked hard to improve on a daily basis.

"You want to win. The goal is to win," Johnston concluded. "But at the same time, it's somewhat peripheral. As a summer league, you want to develop players, and there's no doubt in my mind that, despite our record, we have done that this summer."

All quotes were taken from interviews on the Bullfrogs Radio Pregame Show, heard on 107.1 WOCO FM-Oconto and www.greenbaybullfrogs.com.



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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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