Year of Jonkman
Sure we all don't want an article like this to go to his head, but there is no denying that Caleb Jonkman had one of the best years of anyone in the wiffle world in 2017.
Here is a look back at all of his accomplishments this past year:
-Became Vice Commissioner of LWA
-Managed a team that went 19-2.
-2017 All Star
-2017 LWA MVP
-2017 Batter of Year
-2017 Pitcher of Year
-Faced the most hitters and threw the most pitches.
-Led the league in HR, RBI, Runs Scored, and Hits.
-Led the league in Wins, Saves, K's.
-Broke the LWA single season HR, RBi, Runs Scored, and Hits record.
His stat line will never be matched again.
Batting - 0.622 Average, 1.567 Slugging, 59 Homers, 106 RBI's, 95 Runs, 25 striketouts, 201 at bats.
League Average - 0.394 Average, 0.816 Slugging, 11 Homers, 22 RBI's, 22 Runs, 27 striketouts, 90 at bats.
Pitching - 0.63 ERA, 0.095 Opponents Average, 48 Innings Pitched, 126 k's.
League Average - 7.46 ERA, 0.394 Opponents Average, 26 2/3 Innings Pitched, 27 K's.
And that was just during the LWA Season...
In the NWLA Tournament he pitched 13 Innings giving up just 2 runs, excluding the 10th inning he pitched against Hess Field. He had a 1.7 k/bb ratio and gave up just 5 hits to 62 batters faced. He was on the field for every inning as either a pitcher or fielder making a one handed catch over the wall in the game against Ridley Park that kept it 1-0 late in the game. He bated 0.292, but his on base percentage was 0.528 including a heads up late game base running master piece to score the winning run against AWAA.
Now let's move to Griffleball, a league that has been to every tournament, uses a different ball, and big bats. Although he only played a few games, he pitched a no hitter in his second start of the season. He finished with a 0.364 average with 2 homers and 6 rbi's in just 22 at bats.
From there we move to ORWBL, another completely different style of play. He won Rookie of the year hitting 0.609 with 39 Homers, 59 RBI's, and 58 runs in just 133 at bats, all team highs. The team being Maple City Magic. He helped them win their first title in ORWBL History. A grueling 30 Game season that included 11 playoffs games to win the championship.
Next we move into tournaments. Took home the money in a $100 buy in Friedman & Associates Cup, came out on top of the Peacefest Classic, and finishing 2nd in the 80 team Hometown Cup. A tournament that has people from all over the country come to play in. The Maple City Magic won the Grand Slam with Caleb's motto of trusting the game, each other, and hard work.
He finished the year with a 87-20 record. 26-6 in Leroy, 31-10 in ORWBL, 4-0 in GBL, 4-3 in NWLA, and 22-7 in tournaments amassing over 100 Homers and 75 Innings Pitched from the mound, not counting the countless Home Run Robs and double plays made in the field. He is a top 5 Triple Threat player in the nation and playing over 100 games, winning 85+ is PLAYER OF THE YEAR worthy.
He appeared on Two Wiffle Dudes with Trent Steffes, is the face of the Partnership of GBL, LWA, and ORWBL moving forward into 2018, he is co-host to Leroy's Going Corn podcast, and ran a 14 Team Wiffle Ball intramurals at his college in the early part of 2017 . He gave his year to Wiffle this year and the results show, this is the Year of Jonkman.
