The Albany Business Review is a weekly online column by an experienced business owner, business coach, and the owner of a successful small business. The column is written by Business Coach & Owner, David L. Anderson who is also a former New York State Assemblyman.
Anderson writes a business column every Thursday that gives a little insight into the city of Albany or the state of New York, and I believe he’s got a pretty good idea of what’s going on in the community. This week’s column is about the local high school baseball team, the Albany Junior Mariners. I’ve always been a fan of Albany Junior Mariners, because they have a great team, and we can’t get enough of their great baseball.
One of the many things I love about the Albany Junior Mariners is that they are a great organization made up of a lot of highly talented, well-meaning people who care about the community they live in. They don’t just play one game, they play eight, so they are putting in work that is making the area a better place. They have a very strong tradition of supporting local teams, and it shows in their season-opening game against local rival Albany High.
The question is, can the Mariners keep up this effort and continue to win? The answer is a resounding “yes.” The Mariners have been one of the best clubs in the county since its inception, and they continue to be the team to beat this season. The team is led by a new pitching staff, led by two of the best pitchers in the state in Noah D. Bynum and Tim McCarver.
Speaking of pitching, it’s safe to say that this is the best team in the state. They’ve won the regionals and a Super regional with the pitching of their young ace pitcher. The team is led by two of the best pitchers in the state, and the bullpen has two of the best lefties in the state.
The team is led by Noah Bynum, who’s 18th ranked in the state in strikeouts. He’s also third in wins, with 29. He just turned 21, and we’re all extremely excited that he’s going to be a pitcher for us for many years to come.
You can also expect to see him go from an average pitcher to a great one in a very short time. He has a 1.98 ERA this year, but hes hitting.303 with a career-high six home runs and 18 RBIs. And he threw 5.3 innings last night, giving up just two hits and two bases on balls. Thats just a really, really good pitcher who is also a great teammate.
Hes the best in baseball and hes a great ballplayer, but his career numbers are what really matter in the AL. He has been amazing this year, but hes not great on that scale. He has averaged 3.6 innings per start and has allowed 5.2 hits per start.
In the last two seasons, AL pitchers have averaged 5.5 innings per start and allowed 1.8 hits per start. When you look at the rest of the league, they average 3.3 innings per start and allow 2.3 hits per start. The only pitcher to average more innings (and fewer hits) in that same span was the Mets’ David Wright.
This is the second year of a four game series between the AL Central and the AL West. Its winner will play against the Angels in Oakland while the loser faces the Dodgers. The first AL Central vs. AL West series took place in 2015 when Texas (8-9) went up against the Oakland A’s (9-9) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (10-8). The series returned to AL Central in 2016 and the Dodgers defeated the A’s, 9-8.