2008 S e a s o n

The WHAT? Sftbll club managed to clinch their first summer title in five seasons; they actually tied with the Axel’s Auto club for first place, but won the head-to-head matchups. The WHAT? club were led by infielders Nate Alden, Marcus Sims and outfielders Nestor Toro, Rick Garza and Jon Van Dyke, as well as a young ball player named Ralph Lozano who would outlast everyone on that team and became a fan favorite over his years in Lake County.

The 2008 season started with a few games to spare, and it was never really in doubt – even when it was announced that third basemen Ross Jensen is leaving organization. Then an agreement was accepted to pull out of the both the Tuesday and Thursday night leagues to play in the Monday night league only.

A year that, for many WHAT? Softball fans, established that this team was cursed, and may never win a playoffs Series. The WHAT? Club was in the midst of an eight-year playoff drought when they entered the 2008 All-City tournament playoffs in Waukegan.

Summer League Roster

Pitchers	Catchers	Infielders	Outfielders	Utility Players
Dennis Wuorenma	Jeff Stein	James Huitt	Andrew Stein	Dylan Florio
Mark Leginski	Jerry Vasquez	Marcus Sims	Carlos Carrillo	R.J. Lauraitis
	Jon Schumacher	Nate Alden	Jon Van Dyke	Ryan George
		Phil Sims	Kevin Simmons	Juan Santana
		Ralph Lozano	Nestor Toro	Will Vandergrift
		Saul Molina	Rick Garza

Their usual playoff performance consists of win one, lost one, win then lost and done! - Game one in the summer playoffs, was an emotional victory for both fans and players, the culmination of a tumultuous playoffs. Marcus Sims hit a two-run homer in the bottom of sixth inning and Nate Alden hit a game winning two-run double in the seven inning to overcome a five-run deficit to beat Service Master squad in game one. Carrying on the tradition that started years ago, and now moving on to current times and is now becoming an annual occurrence in Waukegan playoffs, it was the opposing team that got to celebrate at thy end. Losing after four games and falling short of the semi-finals.

Summer League Stats

#	Poss	TEAM		Gm	PA	AB	Runs	OB	Hits	O.B.P	1H	2H	3H	4H	S.L.G	X.B.	RBIs	KO	BB	A.V.G	O.P.S	RE	RFC	SF	DP	R / G	OB / G	H / G	BI / G
8	2B	ALDEN	Nate	18	71	66	36	46	39	.648	19	10	5	5	1.121	20	32	1	5	.591	1.769	2	5	0	0	2.0	2.6	2.2	1.8
9	RC	CARRILLO	Carlos	18	66	61	17	41	34	.621	30	4	0	0	.623	4	16	1	5	.557	1.244	2	5	0	0	0.9	2.3	1.9	0.9
0	UP	HUITT	James	24	88	79	25	51	40	.580	32	8	0	0	.608	8	27	2	9	.506	1.187	2	4	0	0	1.0	2.1	1.7	1.1
09	1B	LOZANO	Ralph	15	56	50	27	35	26	.625	15	5	1	5	.960	11	32	0	6	.520	1.585	3	2	0	0	1.8	2.3	1.7	2.1
25	UP	SCHUMACHER	Jonathan	22	75	65	18	32	20	.427	16	4	0	0	.369	4	19	0	10	.308	.796	2	5	0	0	0.8	1.5	0.9	0.9
17	SS	SIMS	Marcus	16	59	55	28	35	26	.593	12	10	1	3	.855	14	28	3	4	.473	1.448	5	0	0	0	1.8	2.2	1.6	1.8
21	LC	TORO	Nestor	22	86	78	41	54	41	.628	33	8	0	0	.628	8	16	0	8	.526	1.256	5	5	0	0	1.9	2.5	1.9	0.7
27	LF	VAN DYKE	Jon	20	86	76	43	56	45	.651	34	6	4	1	.816	11	28	1	10	.592	1.467	1	5	0	0	2.2	2.8	2.3	1.4
29	C	VASQUEZ	Jerry	10	33	27	15	21	14	.636	14	0	0	0	.519	0	8	4	6	.519	1.155	1	2	0	0	1.5	2.1	1.4	0.8
3	P	WUORENNA	Dennis	20	62	54	17	30	21	.484	17	4	0	0	.463	4	13	0	8	.389	.947	1	1	0	0	0.9	1.5	1.1	0.7
37	UP	FLORIO	Carson	4	12	12	7	7	7	.583	5	1	1	0	.833	2	2	1	0	.583	1.417	0	2	0	0	1.8	1.8	1.8	0.5
7	3B	FLORIO	Dylan	6	21	21	6	10	10	.476	7	1	2	0	.714	3	7	1	0	.476	1.190	0	1	0	0	1.0	1.7	1.7	1.2
23	OF	GARZA	Rick	8	32	29	16	23	20	.719	11	8	1	0	1.034	9	21	0	3	.690	1.753	0	0	0	0	2.0	2.9	2.5	2.6
3	OF	GREY	Josh	2	7	7	3	3	3	.429	2	1	0	0	.571	1	1	0	0	.429	1.000	0	1	0	0	1.5	1.5	1.5	0.5
2	OF	LAURAITIS	R.J.	4	15	14	4	6	5	.400	2	2	1	0	.643	3	4	2	1	.357	1.043	0	1	0	0	1.0	1.5	1.3	1.0
34	1B	MOLINA	Saul	4	12	12	8	9	9	.750	7	2	0	0	.917	2	10	0	0	0.750	1.667	0	1	0	0	2.0	2.3	2.3	2.5
0	2B	O'BRIAN	Matt	4	16	16	12	13	9	.813	8	1	0	0	.625	1	5	0	0	.563	1.438	4	2	0	0	3.0	3.3	2.3	1.3
19	SS	SIMS	Phil	6	23	19	16	20	16	.870	6	2	4	4	2.000	10	19	0	4	.842	2.870	0	0	0	0	2.7	3.3	2.7	3.2
10	OF	SIMMONS	Kevin	3	11	10	4	8	6	.727	6	0	0	0	.600	0	1	0	1	.600	1.327	1	0	0	0	1.3	2.7	2.0	0.3
14	OF	STEIN	Andrew	6	20	13	8	12	5	.600	5	0	0	0	.385	0	4	1	7	.385	.985	0	0	0	0	1.3	2.0	0.8	0.7
12	C	STEIN	Jeff	3	11	9	7	9	7	.818	5	2	0	0	1.000	2	3	0	2	.778	1.818	0	1	0	0	2.3	3.0	2.3	1.0
1	C	TOMLANOVICH	John	2	6	5	2	5	2	.833	2	0	0	0	.400	0	1	0	1	.400	1.233	2	1	0	0	1.0	2.5	1.0	0.5

		STARTERS		24	682	611	267	401	306	.588	222	59	11	14	.702	84	219	12	71	.501	1.290	24	34	0	0	11.1	16.7	12.8	9.1

		T O T A L S		24	892	799	373	544	420	.610	297	82	21	20	.756	123	318	17	93	.526	1.366	31	44	0	0	15.5	22.7	17.5	13.3

Most Valuable Player

2008 stats: .591 / .648 / 1.221, 20 XB, 32 RBI, 1.769 OPS, 4.9 WAR

Nate Alden led his squad in a host of offensive categories. By finishing atop the three traditional ones— slugging percentage, home runs and runs batted in—he was 2 points from winning Triple Crown. In an act of selflessness, he moved across the infield to second base to accommodate Marcus Sims. Though defense was his forte, Alden slimmed down and didn’t make as many mistakes as expected. Nate Alden showed consistency and durability. He drove in at least 10 runs each month and started 18 games. The All-Star Gold Glover was a Silver Slugger Award winner and Player of the Month Award for July and August.

Rookie of the Year

Marcus Sims, who debuted on September 11 2007 against Booners club, hit .473 with 10 doubles, 3 home runs, 28 RBI and a 1.448 OPS in his 16 games in 2008. Among Lake County rookies, Sims ranked first in on-base percentage (.593), slugging percentage (.855) and OPS, while ranking second in home runs, batting average, RBI, walks, and fourth in runs scored.

A Gold Glover, shortstop Marcus Sims collected his first triple on Thursday August 7th, 2008 vs. Landscapers Softball Club, Gm. 3 at Belvidere South. Collected his first home run on Tuesday October 9th, 2007 vs. Pavillen of Wkgn, Gm.1 at Belvedere South. He gunned down better than 86 percent of would-be base-runners and showed versatility in working the infield.

Fall League Stats

#	Poss	TEAM		Gm	PA	AB	Runs	OB	Hits	O.B.P	1H	2H	3H	4H	S.L.G	X.B.	RBIs	KO	BB	A.V.G	O.P.S	RE	RFC	SF	DP	R / G	OB / G	H / G	BI / G
9	OF	CARRILLO	Carlos	16	55	54	15	29	25	.527	19	2	3	1	.667	6	6	0	1	.463	1.194	3	2	0	0	0.9	1.8	1.6	0.4
21	LC	TORO	Nestor	22	89	81	48	52	42	.584	26	7	5	4	.877	16	24	0	8	.519	1.461	2	7	0	0	2.2	2.4	1.9	1.1
17	SS	SIMS	Marcus	22	82	79	35	53	47	.646	26	14	0	7	1.038	21	27	5	3	.595	1.684	3	6	0	0	1.6	2.4	2.1	1.2
09	1B	LOZANO	Ralph	20	78	73	31	54	47	.692	30	6	0	11	1.178	17	40	1	5	.644	1.870	2	2	0	0	1.6	2.7	2.4	2.0
34	OF	MOLINA	Saul	10	36	35	10	18	15	.500	13	1	1	0	.514	2	11	0	1	.429	1.014	2	3	0	0	1.0	1.8	1.5	1.1
23	RC	GARZA	Rick	13	47	44	16	27	21	.574	16	3	1	1	.659	5	10	0	3	.477	1.234	3	3	0	0	1.2	2.1	1.6	0.8
56	IF	VANDERGRIFT	Will	20	75	69	14	36	30	.480	24	5	1	0	.536	6	15	0	6	.435	1.016	0	2	0	0	0.7	1.8	1.5	0.8
29	C	VASQUEZ	Jerry	13	42	39	12	19	16	.452	14	2	0	0	.462	2	9	2	3	.410	.914	0	0	0	0	0.9	1.5	1.2	0.7
25	UP	SCHUMACHER	Jon	17	55	48	12	33	23	.600	18	4	1	0	.604	5	7	2	7	.479	1.204	3	1	0	0	0.7	1.9	1.4	0.4
0	UP	GEORGE	Ryan	18	63	60	13	24	21	.381	18	2	1	0	.417	3	3	5	3	.350	.798	0	1	0	0	0.7	1.3	1.2	0.2
8	2B	ALDEN	Nate	7	29	29	17	21	20	.724	15	1	1	3	1.103	5	14	0	0	.690	1.828	1	0	0	0	2.4	3.0	2.9	2.0
30	IF	SOLIS	Izzy	2	7	7	1	3	3	.429	2	1	0	0	.571	1	1	0	0	.429	1.000	0	0	0	0	0.5	1.5	1.5	0.5
18	3B	SIMMONS	Kevin	11	42	39	10	18	14	.429	8	4	0	2	.615	6	13	1	3	.359	1.044	1	2	0	0	0.9	1.6	1.3	1.2
12	C	STEIN	Jeff	9	29	27	6	13	10	.448	10	0	0	0	.370	0	2	4	2	.370	.819	1	4	0	0	0.7	1.4	1.1	0.2
27	LF	VAN DYKE	Jon	11	42	36	7	16	9	.381	8	1	0	0	.278	1	5	0	6	.250	.659	1	3	0	0	0.6	1.5	0.8	0.5
0	UP	SANTANA	Juan	9	26	26	3	7	6	.269	5	1	0	0	.269	1	1	0	0	.231	.538	1	1	0	0	0.3	0.8	0.7	0.1
0	P	LEGINSKI	Mark	8	27	26	9	12	11	.444	8	3	0	0	.538	3	8	0	1	.423	.983	0	3	0	0	1.1	1.5	1.4	1.0

		STARTERS		24	682	611	267	401	306	.588	222	59	11	14	.702	84	219	12	71	.501	1.290	24	34	0	0	11.1	16.7	12.8	9.1

		T O T A L S		24	892	799	373	544	420	.610	297	82	21	20	.756	123	318	17	93	.526	1.366	31	44	0	0	15.5	22.7	17.5	13.3

This is a 2008 authentic softball trading card of the Rebels' Second Basemen Nate Alden and Right Fielder Kevin Simmons. Nate Alden 2008 SP Chirography Card represents his "Most Valuable Player” season along with Kevin Simmons Gold Glove Award winner. There is a certificate of authenticity from the CEO of Softball Trading Cards on the back of the card.

WHAT?

2008 S e a s o n

A year that, for many WHAT? Softball fans, established that this team was cursed, and may never win a playoffs Series. The WHAT? Club was in the midst of an eight-year playoff drought when they entered the 2008 All-City tournament playoffs in Waukegan.

Summer League Roster

Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Utility Players

Summer League Stats

Most Valuable Player

Rookie of the Year

Fall League Stats