HISTORY 2023
Lesson learned: WHAT? Sftbll needs more urgency, less panic — and production from Big Four in 2023
The most anticipated season in the WHAT? Sftbll club’ 23 years of being was going to end in either fulfillment or another “f” word.
Failure.
And, well, there was no parade. Not even close.
So the WHAT? Sftbll club’ big spend was a big flop.
“I think everybody has their own kind of fluky stat or unlucky story from this year,” WHAT? Sftbll Player Development and Softball Operations Steve Sharts said this past week. “But I’m a subscriber to the belief that you are what your record says you are, and ultimately we’re not playing softball right now in August.”
In a season marked by unmet expectations, the WHAT? Sftbll club (13-7) concluded their 2023 campaign with an average
record, leaving fans and the organization alike yearning for a return to prominence. The underwhelming performance prompted introspection, as the team faced challenges across the roster and failed in the postseason after losing both games in the opening round.
To Steve Sharts contention regarding luck, there was plenty to consider. It would be tempting, even, to ascribe any number of the losses that made up the team’s County-worst 2-8 record in one-run games or what ended up being Lake County second-worst record (4-10) against ball clubs with a .500 winning percentage to mostly misfortune.
Perhaps. But there was more to it.
It just can’t be easily dismissed that the WHAT? Sftbll had a plus-104 run differential, the highest ever in a 20-game season by a team with fewer than 16 wins. That is some monumental underachievement that has to be worn by all involved and will require quite a few mirrors for reflection.
While everyone is worn out by the constant parsing of a season that Coach Vasquez aptly surmised near the end “feels like it’s been two seasons,” there are important lessons to be learned that can help shape the future and turn what was a failure into a building block.
“Obviously, it was a letdown for sure,” third baseman Ryan Siembal said. “I’m not gonna hide that. But we believe in the guys that we have here. So we’re just gonna grow from this. It is a learning experience for all of us and take it in — take the good, the bad and move forward.”
It is time to look forward while leaning on some lessons from 2023 and addressing what could change, almost certainly has to change and what may stay the same.
Notably, the WHAT? Club made a strategic move by signing free agent utility player Ito Rivera from their arch-rival Jay’s softball club, signaling a commitment to reshaping the team’s dynamics. As the off-season unfolds, WHAT? Club finds itself at a crossroads, with a keen focus on rebuilding and fortifying their roster for the 2023 season.
The upcoming year holds the promise of renewal, as the WHAT? Club embark on a quest for redemption and aim to recapture the winning tradition that defines this storied franchise in the competitive landscape of Lake County Softball.
The good:
The bats. The WHAT? Club had a potent offense in 2023, led by Drake Larriuz and Jake Munson. Larriuz slashed .699/.699/1.071 while leading the team in games played with 28. He hit 5 homers and drove in 48 runs, and led the team in extra base hits with 27. Munson—2022 Rookie of the Year— hit .621/.650/1.084, leading the team in HRs and RBIs. In his first 54 games of Lake County Softball action, an admirable number for a rookie, no matter his age. A seismic late-season dropoff brought Brad Callahan average below the .600 clip it had sat at for most of the year. Another big theme for the WHAT? Club this year was sophomore breakouts following forgettable rookie seasons. Veteran right fielder Kyle Risinger broke out in July, hitting .789 with three home runs in the month. Risinger finished with 11 extra base hits in 26 games, with a 23 RBIs and 32-runs scored surely on his horizon.
Shortstop Aaron Archibald hit .577 in about 28 games, cementing himself at the leadoff spot in the WHAT? Club order. Kyle Risinger hit just .554 in big-league action in 2023, while Brad Callahan hit about .600 in fragments of 2022 and 2023. Veteran free agent signee Ito Rivera connected on 5 home runs in just 26 games and batted .578/.611/.867, an under-the-radar move that paid off for WHAT? Sftbll.
The bad:
Despite their second-place league night finish, I actually struggled to find an outlying weakness for WHAT? Sftbll, but if I had to pick one, I’d have to go with the guys who played the corner infield positions. Third Basemen Ryan Siembal produce a
.506/.594/.807.. First Basemen Connor Fitzgerald produces a .357/.430/.443.. Catcher Junior Creekmore hit just .500/.564/.750.. And Outfielder Jason Sanchez batted .403, a below average in big-league County action in 2023. The combined four, or as in almost half of the batting order averaged about a 6.4 base hits a game, slightly worse than the average mark around the County. Although the expected team batting average is .545, the WHAT? Sftbll batting order had a combined 19.2 base hits per game, another thing that makes them slightly below average.
When a team wins the All-City Tournament Championship in a certain year, the story is always told of how that championship roster was built. The preceding seasons, be they playoff campaigns or not, are part of the building blocks toward the trophy.
The WHAT? Sftbll Club hopes to look back at this season and talk about how much they learned that led to better times — to coexist, to motivate, to be ready but not anxious.
“All the expectations and knowing the group that we were, all the good players and all the hype,” Coach said. “... I feel like we put a little bit of pressure on ourselves. Too much. Not trying to perform, but trying to make it happen. ... This is the hardest game in the world. Adding that pressure is just overwhelming.”
General Manager Rusty Shackleford concurred. Other players disagreed to varying extents. But it certainly did seem at some point the season got away from the WHAT? Sftbll, and they did not know how to get it back in their grasp.
Some of that was identified by those on the inside as a lack of cohesion and certain kind of leadership.
The WHAT? Sftbll Club spoke throughout the season of how to overcome that inability to coalesce, which many said could have been the difference in a season where they were in many ways so close to being a playoff team.
“You come in and there’s a lot of things that come with being in a new clubhouse or taking on new players,” Right Fielder Kyle Risinger said. “We should have been able to overcome some of those issues and kind of push through it and still see ourselves to the postseason.”
In the season’s final weeks, meetings looked forward and back and included multiple addresses by the Coach regarding how things could be done better by him and others.
“We know that we’re better than this,” he said late in the season. “And we’re gonna come back next year and we’re gonna be a lot better.”
The upcoming Months present a pivotal period for the front office head GM - Rusty Shackleford, requiring prudent decisions to address roster deficiencies and regain fan trust. The call for a renewed commitment to investing in top-tier talent resonates strongly, as WHAT? Sftbll Club seeks a comprehensive plan to navigate the delicate balance between financial considerations and on-field success, aiming to restore the franchise to its historical standing as a perennial contender.
This WHAT? Sftbll team lacks the big names, experience and consistency to go anywhere just yet. However, the WHAT? Sftbll Club always finds a way to figure things out just when you expect rock-bottom to hit.
- Tomorrow's another day. We've just got to turn the page. . .