Westchester Rockland Wood Bat League

After a promising 2021 campaign, the New York City Thunderdogs experienced an up and down season last year that saw their playoff hopes vanish in the quarterfinals. Manager Dave Lopez preached “consistency” as the number one factor he believes can get his team back to its winning ways. In what was a busy offseason for the T-Dogs, Lopez made it known that the Dogs are hungry to come back strong.

The Dogs lost a few key pieces from their lineup last year, as Pat Farina, Daniel O’Byrne, and Danny Melillo all departed in the offseason. Despite these losses, the Dogs retained one of the league’s best hitters in Chris Daniels. Daniels is the lone All-Star returning this year, and his production at the plate will most definitely be needed. The slugging outfielder hit a whopping .410, collecting 25 hits and 15 RBI’s, while only striking out 5 times in 61 plate appearances. Outside of Daniels, the rest of the lineup is mainly brand new. Notable veterans hitters, Andrew Leray and Dave Lopez, return to provide their leadership and experience. With a large group of collegiate talents set to take on starting roles, Manager Lopez will have a lot of options to choose from. Connor Sullivan, J.A. Spanoudakis, John Nisco, Brandon McCrosson, Jory Lee, Dom Caminitti, and Jordan Peryksz will all be looked upon to gel quickly with the rest of the team and consistently produce.

Defensively, the T-Dogs were the worst fielding team in the league last season as they led the league in errors committed. They do however return 2021 GG winner, Ranssel Pinedo, who will look to lock down the hot corner once again for the Dogs. Lopez will be looking for improved consistency and execution in the field this season.

On the mound, the T-Dogs have many issues to address. Last year’s Cy Young winner, Marc DeNunzio, departs from the WRWBL, leaving this T-Dogs rotation with the hefty burden of finding another guy to step up in his absence. While J.T. Glasgow, Frank Delgado, and Justin Dutzer all showed glimpses of their talent, their lack of consistency showed as the Dogs surrendered the most runs in the league. Bringing down the walks is something that Manager Lopez hopes to address this season with his staff. Former WRWBL standout Ken Frawley, a heart transplant survivor, makes his return to the league for the first time since 2018. His veteran presence should provide the Dogs with much needed pitching support.