Jones takes pitching crown

Despite throwing the second most number of innings in the second most number of games, Jonathan Jones of the Northen Yankees posted the lowest earned run average of all pitchers in the Saipan Major League.

The Yankees hurler was a major reason why the pinstripers took the pennant, as the lefty threw in 35 innings over the course of nine games allowing just tow earned runs off of 19 hits to finish the regular season with a scary 0.51 ERA.

Yankees manager Tino Camacho learned his lesson during last year’s playoffs against the Miller Lite Brewers as Jones proved himself to be more than just a trusty reliever in the championship. Though he lacked run support, Jones was a force to be reckoned with atop the mound, and his off-season conditioning gave him the endurance to go the distance.

Unfortunately for the Yankees, Jones is unavailable for the series as he left Saipan for greener pastures. Jones was a perfect 3-0 in his outings at Francisco M. Palacios Baseball Field and fanned 45 batters to take third in the strikeout race, and while Brewers Hurler Frank Hocog can’t boast the same K-rate, he can be proud of his miniscule 1.50 Era—good enough for second in the league.

Hocog allowed just three earned runs through 18 innings that spanned six games for the Brew crew to finish 2-1. He barley edged out former king of zing Roy “the Rocket” Celis with a 1.59 in third.

After defecting to the Ford Rangers, Celis was on a mission to prove that he could play on any team, and his six runs against in 34 innings sealed the deal. The Rocket was the final member of the sub-two club, as fourth place Ray Dela Cruz and Kaleb Dulei missed the mark by 0.10 points. Dela Cruz dealt 30 innings of baseball for the Kings and allowed seven runs while Dulei did the same in six for the Masters with 36 strikeouts.

Chris Nelson left the news desk to report to the mound for the Rangers and took the sixth lowest average with a solid 2.14. With a record of 1-1, Nelson kept his team in every game by allowing five runs off of 21 hits in 21 innings to edge seventh place finisher Mike Taitano’s 2.18. Taitano also finished among the league leaders with 26 strikeouts.

The Kings curve-baller went 33 innings from the hill through four games surrendering 29 hits, but Taitano received plenty of run support to finish the season 3-0.

Chris Camacho had a similar experience for the Yankees by closing the season 3-1 with an ERA of 2.25—tied with Brewers Byron Kaipat for eighth.

The Brew crew also possessed the most durable arm in the league as Jonathan Camacho led all pitchers with 69 innings through 12 games and a 2.60 ERA. The tireless Camacho finished with a record of 6-1 and also took the “K” crown with an unparalleled 64 strikeouts. His closest competitor was Toyota Tacoma hurler McGregory Camacho (47).