Boston Mariners

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Boston Mariners

League

Boston Men's Baseball League (Atlantic)

Location

Boston, Massachusetts

Ballpark

Unknown ballpark

Year Founded

2002

League championships

None

MABL championships

None

Colors

Navy and Teal

2006

13-11

Manager

Matt Englander

Uniforms






Home






Away

The Boston Mariners are a member of the Atlantic division in the Boston Men's Baseball League, the largest amateur baseball league in New England. The team, which plays at ballfields in and around the Boston-area, entered the league in 2002. In 2006, the Mariners reached the Atlantic Division Finals after failing to finish a season with a record above .500 in previous years. The Mariners are managed by Matt Englander, who has served in that capacity since 2005.

1 History
2 See Also
3 External Links

[edit] History

[edit] Saturday League Phillies

In 2001, in response to a larger than expected showing at the league's April tryout, a Saturday League was created comprised of 4 franchises: the Marlins, Orioles, Brewers, and Phillies. The 4-team league served as the minor league to the MABL's major league. While teams played 9 innings compared to the MABL's 7 innings, the season was shorter and games were once a week on Saturdays. The Saturday team rosters were created randomly from players who were not selected at the draft, with each team ensured of having a player for each position in the field. The Phillies won the 2001 Saturday League Championship, and would form the core of the Mariners team that was promoted to the MABL in 2002.

The league appointed Paul Cassidy and Brendan Power as managers of the Phillies. From there, the roster was randomly filled with such players as Brian Wildeman, Tom DeVeau, Matt Englander, Darren Martineau, Mark Balfe, and Bill Frabrizio. EJ Freni and Scott Miller joined the squad on referrals from Martineau and Englander respectively. This rag-tag Phillie bunch, which also featured characters such as Jamie Heos, Peter Griffith, Hugh Quinn, and Jeff Graham, defeated the Marlins in the semi-finals of the Saturday Playoffs and swept the Orioles in the final round. Power took home season MVP honors, while Matt Englander won the Cy Young award as the Saturday League's top pitcher.

Top Hitter: Brendan Power (.442 avg, .508 obp, 1.220 ops)
Image:Englander.jpgTop Pitcher: Matt Englander (5-3, 4.06 era, 30 k's)

[edit] Boston Mariners: Season 1

Additions: Corey Aldoupolis, Andrew Cournoyer, Justin Wetherby, Kevin Gallagher, Jeff Rausch, Steve Gray, Jon Freni, Mike Freni, Dave Salafia, Josh Plosker.

Losses: Paul Cassidy, Jeff Graham, Matt Englander, Jamie Heos, Scott Miller, Peter Griffith, John Verdeaux, Paul Bracco, Pat Ellard, Dominic Moruzzi, Hugh Quinn, Doug Burke.

With memories of the Saturday League championship still in their minds, the Phillies were invited to join the Boston 18+ MABL for the 2002 season. Switching from the Saturday League, considered the minors, to the MABL represented a signficant advancement skill-wise. As such, the Phillies needed to add additional talent to be competitive with other MABL squads. The first step was a new look. Manager Brendan Power, having taken over for Paul Cassidy, chose to become the Boston Mariners. Players would wear the Seattle Mariners' navy batting practice jerseys with grey pants and the all-navy Seattle cap. The next step would be to find the right players to wear the Mariner blue.

With Brendan Power, Brian Wildeman, Tom DeVeau, Darren Martineau, Mark Balfe, and Bill Frabrizio carried over from the Phillies team, a number of new and veteran players were added to the squad. Corey Aldoupolis (Red Sox), Andrew Cournoyer (Saturday Brewers), Justin Wetherby (Mets), and Steve Gray (Saturday Orioles) brought prior MABL experience to the Mariners. Power used the draft to pickup Jeff Rausch (#7 overall pick) and Kevin Gallagher. EJ Freni brought his brothers Jon and Mike on board. And finally, free-agent pickups Dave Salafia and Josh Plosker rounded out the squad.

The 2002 season started on April 27 with a 5-4 loss to the Red Sox. It wasn't until June 3, or 6 games later, that the M's notched their first franchise win against the Reds (comprised primarily of former Saturday League players). The team ended the season with an 8-17-1 record, missing the playoffs by several games.

Top Hitter: Jon Freni (.412 avg, .459 obp, 1.107 ops)
Top Pitcher: Kevin Gallagher (3-6, 3.12 era, 52 k's)

[edit] Boston Mariners: Season 2

Additions: Alan Donaruma, Dave Woods, Aaron Hutchins, Jon Mead, Jamie Aldoupolis, Sam Voolich, Josh Gordon, Scott Baker, Robert Tasker.

Losses: Andrew Cournoyer, Bill Frabrizio, Dave Salafia.

The Mariners headed into 2003 with renewed hope for their sophomore season. The pitching staff was largely the same with DeVeau, Gallagher, Corey Aldoupolis, and Wetherby joined by newcomer Alan Donaruma. The hitters, too, were roughly the same as those trotted out on opening day in 2002. Manager Brendan Power drafted only Scott Baker, an outfielder and part-time pitcher. He landed Donaruma and Woods through free-agency. Voolich, Gordon, Hutchins, and Mead left the White Sox for the M's. And finally, Corey Aldoupolis brought his brother Jamie aboard.

With many of the same players in uniform from 2002, the 2003 version finished the season with virtually the same record as the prior year: 8-17. The M's picked up their first win of the season on May 17 against the Mets, 6-3. In that game, Justin Wetherby, formerly a Met, shut down his old team and received offensive support from Corey Aldoupolis, Steve Gray, Jeff Rausch, and Mark Balfe. The Mariners notched 4 wins by the season's midway point, and were able to win as many games in the second half. The Mariners would again miss the playoffs.

Top Hitter: Alan Donaruma (.368 avg, .463 obp, .889 ops)
Top Pitcher: Justin Wetherby (4-5, 4.09 era, 39 k's)

[edit] Boston Mariners: Season 3

Additions: Matt Englander, Mike Lopez, Ivan Clemente, Miles Shuman, Dave Salafia, Ned Cameron, Jeff Sheroff, Ed Bourget.

Losses: Sam Voolich, Jon Mead, Aaron Hutchins, Josh Gordon, Mike Freni, Dave Woods, Scott Baker, Robert Tasker, Mark Balfe, Kevin Gallagher, Justin Wetherby, Steve Gray.

The 2004 Mariners looked substantially different from the prior year model. For one, virtually all of the players added in 2003 departed the team in the offseason. That included the defecting White Sox players Voolich, Gordon, Mead, and Hutchins. Other significant losses included star pitchers Kevin Gallagher and Justin Wetherby. Mark Balfe, an original member of the franchise, also chose to hang up his spikes prior to the 2004 season. To make up for the losses, the M's added Ivan Clemente (#2 overall) and Ned Cameron through the draft. Mike Lopez, a lefty pitcher, was added on a referral by Cameron. Matt Englander and Dave Salafia returned to the team after having taken some time off. Finally, Miles Shuman, Ed Bourget (a former high school teammate of Matt Englander), and Jeff Sheroff joined the team as free-agents.

As was expected with the significant player turnover, the Mariners record suffered in 2004. After two sub-par 8-win seasons, the M's dipped to a new low with a 6-20 record. The season featured a winless month of June (0-7), though the team rebounded with a 3-1 record in July. While the M's had developed a solid veteran core, the team lagged well behind the traditional division-leading franchises. The Mariners needed to close that gap or risk future seasons with losing records.

Top Hitter: Jeff Rausch (.377 avg, .468 obp, .921 ops)
Top Pitcher: Alan Donaruma (4-2, 3.78 era, 38 k's)

[edit] Boston Mariners: Season 4

Additions: Justin Brinkmeyer, Rocco Rauseo, Rob Picariello, Sean McLaughlin, Jay LaPointe, Tony Consiglio, Chris Corde, Matt Dumont, Ross Shepard, Kevin Ludwig, Scott Miller, Nick Reich, Dave Woods.

Losses: Brendan Power, Ned Cameron, Ivan Clemente, Jeff Sheroff, Ed Bourget, Tom DeVeau, Brian Wildeman, Mike Lopez.

The biggest news to start the 2005 season was the announcement that manager Brendan Power would not be returning in that capacity. Matt Englander, a veteran from the Phillies days, would lead the franchise for the forseeable future. The team also lost original franchise veterans Brian Wildeman and Tom DeVeau, as well as top draft pick Ivan Clemente (White Sox). Englander was faced with the task of improving upon a 6-20 season, re-stocking the roster with players who could help lead the team to the franchise's first winning season. That process started with the draft. The M's selected Matt Dumont with the second overall pick, and also picked up Sean McLaughlin, Rob Picariello, and Justin Brinkmeyer in subsequent rounds. Rocco Rauseo, Ross Shepard, and Kevin Ludwig came aboard as referrals from Picariello, Dumont, and Alan Donaruma respectively. Englander found Jay LaPointe, a coach and former player at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, when he called WPI looking for players. Scott Miller and Dave Woods, veterans from prior seasons, returned to the squad. Finally, Chris Corde, Tony Consiglio, and Nick Reich signed on as free-agents.

In all, 13 new faces suited up for the Mariners in 2005. In spite of the new additions, the team ended the season at the same spot as in the prior year: 6-20. The 2005 season was as exciting as it was tumultous with all the player turnover. While the record did not reflect it, the M's were in stage 1 of an team building process, constructing a squad around the veterans who had largely been there since the beginning. While there was significant optimism heading into 2006, virtually everyone was longing for a winning season. For the veterans who had been there since the franchise inception, it had been since the Phillies days that the team enjoyed a winning season.

Top Hitter: Dave Woods (.361 avg, .489 obp, .878 ops)
Top Pitcher: EJ Freni (2-5, 3.80 era, 30 k's)

[edit] Boston Mariners: Season 5

Additions: Steve Limoges, Ryan Dearborn, Josh Abreu, Jarlin Gomez, Scott Akalis, Ed Bourget, Shawn Iannucci, Mark Iannucci, Rob Johnson, Frank Rich, Zakary Starr, Henri Valois, Evan Taylor, Brian Thorndike.

Losses: Jon Freni, Rob Picariello, Jamie Aldoupolis, Corey Aldoupolis, Alan Donaruma, Kevin Ludwig, Tony Consiglio, Nick Reich.

The Mariners began the 2006 season in much the same way as in 2005, adding 14 new faces to the team to make up for significant player losses. Brian Thorndike (selected #2 overall) and Steve Limoges were added via the draft. Josh Abreu (Reds), Ed Bourget (Red Sox), Rob Johnson (Red Sox), and Shawn Iannucci (Red Sox) came over from other MABL teams. Henri Valois & Evan Taylor, Frank Rich, Scott Akalis, and Jarlin Gomez were referred by Matt Dumont, Matt Englander, Miles Shuman, and Josh Abreu respectively. Ryan Dearborn and Zakary Starr were added via free-agency. The M's lost significant talent when Alan Donaruma, Corey Aldoupolis, Jamie Aldoupolis, and Kevin Ludwig left the team to start the Boston Hurricanes. Jon Freni, brother of EJ Freni and a leader in many Mariner offensive categories, chose to hang up his spikes at the end of the 2005 season.

Something was different about this team. The new players added in 2005 entered their second season with the team. Many of the new players in 2006 had prior MABL and/or collegiate experience. More than anything else, for the first time in recent memory the Mariners looked like a baseball team. The M's finished 6-6 through the first half of the season, which included an unprecedented 3-game winning streak. The team finished the season at the same pace, with a record in games played of 11-11. The Mariners were awarded two additional wins by way of forfeit to finish 13-11, good enough for 4th place in the Atlantic Division. It meant that the M's would be going to the playoffs for the first time since the Phillies days.

As the 4th place team, the Mariners played the 5th place Rangers in a 1 game wild card round. The M's prevailed 9-5 in a game that took 2 days to complete due to rain. The M's won the right to play the Atlantic Division leading Cutters, owners of the best record in the league (20-6), in a best 2-out-of-3 series in the conference semi-finals. The Cutters, stocked with many of the league's top players, presented a virtually insurmountable challenge to the Mariners. In the first game, the Cutters flexed their muscles and pounded the M's 11-4. With their backs against the wall, the Mariners were able to eek out a 1-0 victory behind Josh Abreu, the unlikeliest of pitchers. The win setup a final game to determine who would move on to the final round. With the Cutters up 6-1 with 2 outs in the top of the 7th, the Mariners staged a comeback of epic proportions. The M's pushed across 6 runs on 7 straight hits to go ahead 7-6, eventually picking up the win in dramatic fashion to move to the conference semi-finals against the defending champion White Sox.

The storybook season came to and end with the Mariners losing 2 games to 0 to the White Sox, who would eventually lose to the Reds in the championship round. It had been a magical ride for a team that endured many losing seasons. The team gelled seemingly overnight, moving from a 6-20 record in 2005 to the conference finals in 2006. It was a season that the M's players will not soon forget.

Top Hitter: Steve Limoges (.333 avg, .361 obp, .997 ops)
Top Pitcher: Jarlin Gomez (2-2, 2.80 era, 47 k's)

[edit] Boston Mariners: Season 6

Additions: Josh Lucier, Corey Aldoupolis.

Losses: Henri Valois, Scott Akalis, Shawn Iannucci, Mark Iannucci, Miles Shuman, Sean McLaughlin, Zakary Starr, Brian Thorndike.