2002 League Results

The 2002 Shoeless Joe League Season

October 9: The Moline Greens Capture 4th Shoeless Joe Title

The Moline Greens, fresh off three consecutive Shoeless Joe championships in 1999 and 2000 (when the league played two seasons), reclaimed their title against the the Savannah Carpetbaggers. The Greens now claim 6 World Series appearances in the 12 seasons of the SJL, second only to Kansas City, which has been to the Series 7 times. Savannah was back in the Series for the first time since the glory days of the franchise, the early-to-mid 1990s, when the club first known as the Wisconsin Cheesehead captured two World Series in four consecutive championship appearances.

Moline took care of its first-round opponent, the Florida Panthers, by a 4-0 series sweep, although the series was tighter than that. Pitching duels characterized the matchup. The Greens' Pedro Martinez locked up with the Panthers' Roy Oswalt in the opener, captured by Moline 4-2 on consecutive run-scoring doubles by Pat Burrell and Todd Walker in the 6th inning, followed by a run-scoring double by Vladimir Guerrero in the 7th against Panther reliever Ramiro Mendoza. Game 2 was a ten-inning affair, won by Moline 5-4 against Esteban Loaiza, whose exclusion from the starting rotation was not enough to prevent him from doing damage to his own team, courtesy of a game-winning single delivered off the bat of Scott Rolen. In another 10-inning contest in game 3, Rolen smacked a 3-run homer and Andruw Jones and Todd Walker contributed RBI singles in the 10th against Alan Embree to give Moline its third consecutive win, 5-3. The Greens dominated the finale by scoring early and often against Hideo Nomo, who allowed homers to Guerrero, Burrell, Walker, Rolen and Mark Sweeney (a playoff record 5 homers given up by a single SJL hurler).

In a battle of brotherly significance, the Carpetbaggers defeated the Harrisburg Heroes 4 games to 1. Game 1 was a classic of playoff proportions, with Randy Johnson outdueling Kerry Wood in a 3-2 Savannah victory, decided by an 8th inning solo homer off the bat of Robin Ventura. Andy Pettitte evened the series for the Heroes with a 3-run, 7-inning performance in game 2, won by Harrisburg 4-3 on a 9th inning solo homer from Alfonso Soriano. It took a quartet of hurlers to beat Harrisburg in game 3, as Miguel Batista faltered after 3 and two-thirds, and had to be relieved by Y. Perez, Scott Williamson, and J.C. Romero, who collectively allowed just one run in 5+ innings for a 6-4 Carpetbagger win. The Carpetbaggers won game 5 by a 5-4 margin, using 5 pitchers this time after starter Mark Redman got knocked out of the game in the 1st inning. A crucial error by Troy Glaus resulted in 3 unearned runs to spoil C.C. Sabathia's start. In the finale, Randy Johnson outdueled Kerry Wood once again, this time by a decisive 7-2 margin, capped by a 3-run ninth inning homer from Carlos Delgado. Barry Bonds was 6-15 with 9 walks in the series, including a homer in game 2.

The Moline-Savannah World Series was full of drama, with Moline taking the first three games by 1-run margins, losing the next two 3-4 and 3-6, and capturing the series finale by a narrow 4-2 score. In the series, Savannah actually outscored the champs by a 25 to 24 pace. The Greens' Pedro Martinez had to be removed after 4 innings of 1 run ball in the opener, only to be relieved by a quartet of Moline's finest bullpen performers (Cruz, Moss, Hermanson and Kim), who collectively shut out the Carpetbaggers over 5 innings of work. This allowed Vladimir Guerrero's RBI double in the 8th to stand as the margin of victory. In game two, Scott Rolen won the contest with a sac fly in the bottom of the 8th, after Mark Buehrle and Byung-Hyun Kim pitched 8 innings and allowed 5 runs. This was one shy of the amount given up collectively by Eric Milton, Masato Yoshii and Dave Weathers, who lost the game in the bottom of the 8th. The slugfest continued in game 3, with Scott Rolen homering and doubling to drive in 3 runs for the Greens, as they chased Miguel Batista and scored 4 runs off J.C. Romero and Scott Williamson in the final two frames. Savannah's two victories came in games 4 and 5, with 6 Carpetbag pitchers holding the Greens to 3 runs in the 4th contest and Randy Johnson winning his third playoff start by defeating an ailing Pedro Martinez in game 5. In the finale, though, Mark Buehrle set the pace with an excellent outing (7 IP, 2 ER), backed by a homer from Andruw Jones to lead the Moline Greens to another championship shoe! CONGRATS, MOLINE! IT IS WELL DESERVED.

For a full read of the playoff and championship scoresheets, go to: 2002 PLAYOFFS

For complete team and player stats, go to:

2002 TEAM STATS

For league leaders, go to:

2002 LEAGUE LEADERS

FINAL 2002 REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS

Northern Standings, Pitching   W   L   pct.  GB   ERA  CG ShO  RS  Sv   IP     R   ER   H   BA   BB   K  WP  9  Moline Greens             111  51  .685  -    3.14 13  17  5.6 60 1461.2  568 510 1261 .230 543 1235 49  7  Harrisburg Heroes         100  62  .617 11    3.35  9  16  5.0 54 1462.2  591 544 1274 .231 566 1343 55 11  PA Plutonium               88  74  .543 23    3.77  8  14  4.5 46 1467    673 614 1340 .240 632 1270 61  5  Chicago Cockroaches        86  76  .531 25    4.02  6  10  4.5 54 1447    701 646 1378 .247 555 1202 53  1  Baltimore Hons             84  78  .519 27    4.36  8   9  4.6 42 1469    764 711 1558 .271 597 1120 52  3  Bird-In-Hand Hexers        82  80  .506 29    4.40  7  13  4.9 44 1474.2  791 721 1520 .265 687 1148 62 15  London Rippers             74  88  .457 37    4.36  6  13  4.1 43 1433    768 695 1494 .264 613 1139 73 13  Hagerstown Hobgoblins      46 116  .284 65    5.01  8   9  3.2 22 1435.1  865 799 1589 .278 683 1015 52  Southern Standings, Pitching   W   L   pct.  GB   ERA  CG ShO  RS  Sv   IP     R   ER   H   BA   BB   K  WP 10  Savannah Carpetbaggers    110  52  .679  -    3.31 14  14  5.6 41 1465.2  595 539 1282 .232 557 1255 60  4  Florida Panthers           92  70  .568 18    3.63  4  15  5.1 39 1479.1  667 597 1436 .251 544 1207 36  6  Kansas City Whirlwind      86  76  .531 24    4.36  9  11  5.0 31 1450.1  758 703 1526 .268 591 1135 52  8  Leones de Miami            85  77  .525 25    4.21  6   7  4.7 36 1447.2  733 677 1522 .270 613 1048 38 12  St. Louis Sprockets        74  88  .457 36    3.81 13  10  3.8 46 1463.2  686 619 1450 .256 565 1050 49  2  CARACAS POLAR BEARS        69  93  .426 41    4.21  8  18  3.9 36 1434.1  737 671 1366 .249 714 1263 76 14  Ft.Lauderdale Clementes    60 102  .370 50    5.05  4   3  3.9 42 1433.1  857 805 1532 .271 686 1137 76 16  New Orleans Hurlers        49 113  .302 61    5.51  7   5  3.8 27 1423.2  940 872 1579 .280 758 1002 71      AB    R    H   D   T  HR  RBI  BA  SlgA  OBA  BB   K   SH  F SF GDP  SB  CS  LOB  OP  DP  E  OSB OCS PB  9 5705  903 1580 308 22 236  888 .277 .463 .358 744 1111  60 24 49 139  51   7 1363 165 118 111  43  24 12  7 5605  804 1465 296 14 234  787 .261 .444 .336 650 1290  89 31 49 113 114  32 1250 162 104 111  58  15 13 11 5617  733 1416 306 41 166  720 .252 .410 .322 604 1167  86 32 55  96 126  36 1243 169  97 113  48  16  6  5 5601  736 1436 302 26 166  728 .256 .408 .322 560 1215 111 39 41  99  44  18 1239 161 102 130  51  24 15  1 5732  751 1502 286 20 196  742 .262 .421 .339 692 1141  67 24 46 136   0   1 1384 129 129 101  74  19  8  3 5752  791 1544 295 28 185  778 .268 .426 .336 610 1199  68 27 52 105 101  63 1274 168 124 107  80  19 10 15 5591  661 1441 275 44 136  646 .258 .396 .318 515 1093  75 23 45 113  70  22 1246 134 121 125  44  24 22 13 5544  512 1284 258 22  99  496 .232 .340 .288 450 1270  73 28 35  96  38  20 1182  74 121 131  69  27  7   10 5629  904 1499 288 33 194  890 .266 .433 .361 870 1135  81 33 57 126  71  18 1422 165 103 101  40  20 12  4 5769  828 1539 305 25 215  815 .267 .440 .344 705  990  81 32 53 120  44  11 1382 166  96  98  37  10  6  6 5622  816 1492 271 25 209  799 .265 .434 .347 729 1173  92 28 55 121  16  11 1345 152 120  99  57  17 10  8 5697  763 1524 269 23 209  751 .268 .433 .334 592 1131  47 18 42 124  71  20 1278 149 128 106  73  21 13 12 5569  612 1352 281 25 131  607 .243 .373 .310 568 1032  80 35 48 131   0   1 1248 121 112 118  66  39 18  2 5501  636 1358 267 29 165  628 .247 .396 .311 536 1166  92 31 47  97  59  31 1201 136 117 114  51  16 10 14 5525  624 1332 276 45 119  609 .241 .372 .309 567 1131  87 26 44 103  49  26 1236 139 112 106  64  15 17 16 5561  620 1343 282 21 121  603 .242 .365 .304 512 1325  71 26 31 101  54  27 1201  92 116 118  53  38 26                      After 7 - Ahead  Tied Behind  1-Run Ex.In.  v.RHP v.LHP  9  Moline Greens             95- 6 13- 4  3-41   19-24  7- 3   95-39 16-12  7  Harrisburg Heroes         75- 1 17-11  8-50   29-23  9- 8   84-42 16-20 11  PA Plutonium              64- 6 16-10  8-58   28-22 11- 9   64-57 24-17  5  Chicago Cockroaches       69- 5 13- 7  4-64   32-20  8- 4   68-56 18-20  1  Baltimore Hons            64- 3 11- 9  9-66   28-23  9- 7   68-57 16-21  3  Bird-In-Hand Hexers       69- 9  8-10  5-61   21-27  8-13   66-63 16-17 15  London Rippers            62- 7  6- 9  6-72   24-22  5- 3   55-71 19-17 13  Hagerstown Hobgoblins     36- 7  7-11  3-98   19-22  6- 9   39-95  7-21   10  Savannah Carpetbaggers    94- 6  6- 7 10-39   28-23  7- 7   93-41 17-11  4  Florida Panthers          74- 6 12-12  6-52   29-31 10-10   77-54 15-16  6  Kansas City Whirlwind     65- 9  9- 8 12-59   27-25  8- 9   63-59 23-17  8  Leones de Miami           67- 9  9- 5  9-63   28-24  7- 7   64-63 21-14 12  St. Louis Sprockets       57- 6  8-14  9-68   32-32 11- 7   58-70 16-18  2  CARACAS POLAR BEARS       56- 5  8-10  5-78   18-31  6- 7   57-68 12-25 14  Ft.Lauderdale Clementes   41-12 11-10  8-80   25-30  5- 8   48-79 12-23 16  New Orleans Hurlers       41-13  3-20  5-80   19-27  2- 8   43-84  6-29                                vs.9  vs.7  vs.11 vs.5  vs.1  vs.3  vs.15 vs.13   vs.10 vs.4  vs.6  vs.8  vs.12 vs.2  vs.14 vs.16  9  Moline Greens               -    8-4   7-5  10-2   9-3   8-4   8-4  11-1     4-5   4-6   6-4   5-4   8-2   8-2   8-2   7-3   7  Harrisburg Heroes          4-8    -   10-2   9-3   6-6   8-4   9-3  11-1     3-7   6-4   4-5   3-6   6-4   8-2   4-6   9-1  11  PA Plutonium               5-7   2-10   -    5-7   5-7   5-7   6-6  10-2     6-3   4-6   4-6   6-4   6-3   7-3   9-1   8-2   5  Chicago Cockroaches        2-10  3-9   7-5    -    6-6   9-3   5-7  11-1     3-7   5-4   6-3   4-6   6-4   7-3   5-5   7-3   1  Baltimore Hons             3-9   6-6   7-5   6-6    -    5-7   6-6   8-4     4-6   3-7   4-6   5-5   6-4   6-3   8-2   7-2   3  Bird-In-Hand Hexers        4-8   4-8   7-5   3-9   7-5    -    8-4   9-3     3-7   4-5   4-6   7-3   6-4   4-5   6-4   6-4  15  London Rippers             4-8   3-9   6-6   7-5   6-6   4-8    -   10-2     2-8   2-8   4-6   7-3   6-4   5-5   4-5   4-5  13  Hagerstown Hobgoblins      1-11  1-11  2-10  1-11  4-8   3-9   2-10   -      2-8   1-9   6-4   3-7   3-6   4-6   6-3   7-3    10  Savannah Carpetbaggers     5-4   7-3   3-6   7-3   6-4   7-3   8-2   8-2      -    8-4   7-5   9-3   8-4   8-4  10-2   9-3   4  Florida Panthers           6-4   4-6   6-4   4-5   7-3   5-4   8-2   9-1     4-8    -    6-6   3-9   7-5   7-5   8-4   8-4   6  Kansas City Whirlwind      4-6   5-4   6-4   3-6   6-4   6-4   6-4   4-6     5-7   6-6    -    8-4   4-8   8-4   7-5   8-4   8  Leones de Miami            4-5   6-3   4-6   6-4   5-5   3-7   3-7   7-3     3-9   9-3   4-8    -    7-5   5-7   8-4  11-1  12  St. Louis Sprockets        2-8   4-6   3-6   4-6   4-6   4-6   4-6   6-3     4-8   5-7   8-4   5-7    -    5-7   9-3   7-5   2  CARACAS POLAR BEARS        2-8   2-8   3-7   3-7   3-6   5-4   5-5   6-4     4-8   5-7   4-8   7-5   7-5    -    6-6   7-5  14  Ft.Lauderdale Clementes    2-8   6-4   1-9   5-5   2-8   4-6   5-4   3-6     2-10  4-8   5-7   4-8   3-9   6-6    -    8-4  16  New Orleans Hurlers        3-7   1-9   2-8   3-7   2-7   4-6   5-4   3-7     3-9   4-8   4-8   1-11  5-7   5-7   4-8    -