{"id":3160,"date":"2009-04-04T20:23:57","date_gmt":"2009-04-05T03:23:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/?p=3160"},"modified":"2009-04-04T22:57:44","modified_gmt":"2009-04-05T05:57:44","slug":"highest-batting-avergage-in-isc-world-tournament-2002-2008-travis-wilson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/?p=3160","title":{"rendered":"Highest Batting Avergage in ISC World Tournament – 2002-2008? Travis Wilson"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former Pro Baseballer Leads All ISC Hitters with .432 Batting Average (2002-2008)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
\n(Travis Wilson, in Jordan-esque shot, with Patsy’s at the 2008 ISC World Tournament, can do more than just flash the leather)<\/em><\/p>\n

The player with the highest batting average at the ISC World Tournament<\/strong><\/a> over the past seven years (2002-2008) ? Travis Wilson<\/strong>, with eye-popping .432 batting average, 35 hits in 81 at bats. (minimum 70 AB’s for consideration). Fifteen of those 35 hits came in his very first ISC World Tournament – amazing when you consider how long Jerry Hoffman of the Lancaster Chameleons held the former record for a double elimination tournament with 14 (set back in 1983). <\/p>\n

\"\"
\n(Reigning ISC World Tournament batting champion (.432), Travis Wilson, while playing pro baseball in the Atlanta Braves organization)<\/em><\/p>\n

Wilson’s biography is an interesting one, earning a gold medal while playing for the world Champion New Zealand Black Sox back in 1996, then catching the eye of a major league baseball scout for the Atlanta Braves<\/strong>, and playing professional baseball for seven years, mostly in AAA<\/a>, before returning to New Zealand — and men’s fastpitch in 2004. He rejoined the Black Sox the following year, in 2005 and will be with them in Saskatoon this summer, when they attempt to hold onto the gold in the ISF World Championships. (the 81 at bats shown in this batting average ranking are for only the last four years, as he did not play during the first four years covered in these stats). He was with Patsy’s of New York in last year’s tournament.<\/p>\n

The top four hitters are the lone members of the “.400 club”:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Travis Wilson, .432
\nJason Hill, .413
\nEvan Potskin, .402
\nChad Boom, .401<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A closer examination show that these four have almost identical numbers, Wilson rising above the other three by virtue of two more hits:<\/p>\n

\nTravis Wilson, 35-for-81
\nJason Hill, 33-for-80
\nEvan Potskin, 33-for-82
\nChad Boom, 33-for-82<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As for hitters near the head of the class who have made the most of their at bats, the list must includeyoung Jason Hill<\/strong> (2nd, at .413, 33-for-80), and Tex Lessard<\/strong> (.387, 29-for-75). One fan writes:<\/p>\n

[About Hill]:<\/p>\n

“He’s got a chance to become one of the absolute top guys. Very calm at the plate, able to adapt to different styles of pitching…has a ton of power. He’s going to be fun to watch.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[About Lessard]:<\/p>\n

“very underrated – good to see him get some recognition.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Another interesting name on the list is Frank DeGroat<\/strong>, who is sizzling along at a .387 clip (29-for-75) since coming over from modified. The .387 is remarkable, considering that DeGroat is a middle-of-the-lineup guy, counted on for his power, not a hitter in the mold of Ichiro. And he’s still hitting high average, along with the extra-base hits. <\/p>\n

In the voter’s prediction poll, Jody Eid<\/strong>t garnered the most votes, with 87, followed by Colin Abbott<\/strong> with 68, and Jarrad Martin<\/strong> with 58. (not surprising, as Martin and Eidt placed 1-2 in the earlier “most hits” poll. Colin Abbott actually ranked further down the actual list, tied for 19th with Kyle Beane<\/strong>, at .340, but 49 hits in 144 at bats, certainly no slouch. We are<\/em> talking about the top 20 highest batting averages in the world over the past seven years. Every player on the list owns a batting average higher than MLB’s top hitter of the modern era, Tony Gwynn (.338).<\/p>\n

Martin’s actual ranking among the world’s top hitters for average was 6th, with a .385 average (60-for-156), while Eidt was right behind him at 7th, with a .378 average (59-for-156), a single hits separating the two. <\/p>\n

Also not surprising is that the players at the top of the poll tended to have fewer at bats (between 70 and 100). Jeff Goolagong <\/strong>has the highest average for any player with over 100 at bats, .391, 43-for-110). <\/p>\n

Fewer at bats or not, Wilson’s numbers are astounding, and leave him 20 points ahead of his nearest rival, <\/p>\n

Actual Ranking<\/strong>
\n
\n1. Travis\tWilson<\/strong>, .432
\n2. Jason\t Hill, .413
\n3. Evan\tPotskin, .402
\n3. Chad\tBoom, .402
\n4. Jeff\tGoolagong, .391
\n5. Frank Degroat, .387
\n5. Tex\tLessard, .387
\n6. Jarrad Martin, .385
\n7. Jody\tEidt, .378
\n8. Keith\tMackintosh, .376
\n9. Donnie\tHale, .370
\n10. Ian\tFehrman, .366
\n11. Chris\tMiljavac, .358
\n12. Ted\tKosceisza, .357
\n13. Reno\tDambrosio, .355
\n14. Chris\tDelarwelle, .354
\n15. Don\tGarvey, .352
\n16. Todd Budke, .350
\n17. Jeff \tEllsworth, .346
\n18. Rob\tGray, .345
\n19. Kyle\tBeane, .340
\n19. Colin\tAbbott, .340<\/p>\n

For those who can’t resist breaking it down by country, here is that list:<\/p>\n

CANADA<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n2. Jason\t Hill, .413
\n3. Evan\tPotskin, .402
\n5. Tex\tLessard, .387
\n7. Jody\tEidt, .378
\n8. Keith\tMackintosh, .376
\n10. Ian\tFehrman, .366
\n12. Ted\tKosceisza, .357
\n13. Reno\tDambrosio, .355
\n17. Jeff Ellsworth, .346
\n18. Rob\tGray, .345
\n19. Colin\tAbbott, .340\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

USA<\/strong><\/p>\n

3. Chad\tBoom, .402
\n5. Frank Degroat, .387
\n11. Chris\tMiljavac, .358
\n14. Chris\tDelarwelle, .354
\n15. Don\tGarvey, .352
\n16. Todd Budke, .350
\n19. Kyle\tBeane, .340<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

New Zealand<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Travis\tWilson, .432
\n6. Jarrad Martin, .385
\n9. Donnie\tHale, .370<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Australia<\/strong><\/p>\n

4. Jeff\tGoolagong, .391<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For the first time in three “ISC Stat Trivia” polls, the readers missed the mark to some degree, pegging the actual batting champion, Travis Wilson at 7th, runner-up Jason Hill at 16th, and third place Evan Potskin and Chad Boom at 11th and 12th, respectively.
\n
\nWith 233 votes cast, here is how our reader’s predictions went:<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\n1. Jody Eidt\t 87 votes
\n2. Colin Abbott\t 68 votes
\n3. Jarrad Martin\t 58 votes
\n4. Jeff Goolagong\t 30 votes
\n5. Donnie Hale\t 29 votes
\n6. Todd Budke\t 26 votes
\n7. Travis Wilson\t 20 votes
\n8. Tex Lessard\t 17 votes
\n9. Chris Miljavic\t 16 votes
\n9. Frank DeGroat\t 16 votes
\n10. Keith Mackintosh\t 15 votes
\n11. Chris Delarwelle\t 13 votes
\n11. Chad Boom\t 13 votes
\n12. Evan Potskin\t 12 votes
\n12. Jeff Ellsworth\t 12 votes
\n13. Rob Gray\t 11 votes
\n14. Ian Fehrman\t 9 votes
\n15. Reno Dambrosio\t 8 votes
\n16. Jason Hill\t 7 votes
\n17. Ted Kosceisza\t 3 votes
\n18. Kyle Beane\t 1 vote
\n19. Don Garvey\t 1 vote\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A poll commenter who has played against these guys thought highly of Abbott (.340), Delarwelle (.354), and Lessard (.387), 5th, 14th and 19th, respectively:<\/p>\n

My top 3 would be Colin Abbott, Chris Delarwelle and Tex Lessard. Despite that bad wheel, Abbott still has the best hand-eye coordination among fastpitch hitters. Delarwelle tends to get pitched around a lot, though I’m sure his slugging percentage is high. I know Lessard has had some good World Tournaments in Ontario and Eau Claire.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Commenter “Scout” asked about the omission of Ryan Wolfe from the list, a question echoed by another commenter, and good question, considering Wolfe ranked third for most hits overall with 54. <\/p>\n

No Ryan Wolfe??<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The answer was that Wolfe is at .327, 54-for-165. Everyone that has been around for the final day of the WT knows that not only does Wolfe have a ton of hits, but often big ones, as was the case with his championship game home run in 2008, to help Kitchener capture the crown. But at some point, those at-bats pile up. Nonetheless, he remains near the top in many categories, and appears on the short list when they are asked to identify the top players in the game today.<\/p>\n

There were others with 40 or more hits down the list just a bit with lots of at bats that brought the average down, as it tends to do over time:<\/p>\n

Patrick Shannon, .338, 33-for-136
\nRyan Wolfe, .327, 54-for-165
\nPaul Rosebush, .317, 57-for-180 (that’s an average of 25 at bats every year for 7 years !)
\nDarren Box, .309, 45-for-152
\nBill Simmons, .299, 41-for-137
\nThomas Makea, .296, 45-for-152
\nRhys Casley, .292, 42-for-144<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Mike Encinas<\/strong> of Southern California garnered “Nostradamus” honors, with this top 3 picks:<\/p>\n

\n1. Jody Eidt
\n2. Jarred Martin
\n3. Donnie Hale<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Eidt, Martin and Hale were all in the top 10 – 7th, 6th and 9th respectively.<\/p>\n

Watch the Morning Brief for our next ISC Stat Trivia Polls coming up soon ! <\/strong> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former Pro Baseballer Leads All ISC Hitters with .432 Batting Average (2002-2008) (Travis Wilson, in Jordan-esque shot, with Patsy’s at the 2008 ISC World Tournament, can do more than just flash the leather) The player with the highest batting average at the ISC World Tournament over the past seven years (2002-2008) ? Travis Wilson, with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,15],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3160"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3160"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3160\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}