Now that MVP has secured yet another top seed, courtesy of Kyle Baylous’ “take no prisoners” tenacity as interim GM, Brew Crew fans will be box-score watching as the next 2 games are meaningless regarding MVP’s playoff standing. The 2022 season has provided fans with theatrics both on and off the field, a new clubhouse energy, and the most anticipated batting title race in franchise history.
With things as they currently stand, an MVP player not named Bettenhauser will claim the title. This would be the first time since 2017 when John “Automatic Hit” Cirincione would secure his second batting title, besting Tom Loesch in both hitting and retirement planning that season. Following 2017, the young and imperious Bettenhauser would take the lineup by storm winning the title in both his rookie and sophomore campaigns before taking the entire organization under his control in his fourth season.
The GM appears to be more distracted than usual this season with a newfound responsibility to babysit upwards of 20 adult men on Sunday mornings and rumors surrounding his recent visits to the UK in March and July have some, (like our rookie blogger James), speculating Bettenhauser has his eyes set on a more prominent position of power. Keeping that in mind, it would be senseless to sleep on the 2-time champ despite his hitting a career low .703 heading into MVP’s final 2 games.
Across the pond, or the hallway, resides the incumbent champion, Nick Bettenhauser (commonly known as “Munch”). With Nick making a brief trip to Dallas and his lobbying over in England on his brother’s behalf, it would take a shortened MVP lineup for him to secure 9 more at-bats to qualify for a chance to defend his title. Munch is currently hitting .667 on 3 at-bats and is slated to lead-off in the final 2 games as the GM’s way to make the most of his limited chances at the dish. He is also hitting lead-off because the replacement hitters have combined for a pathetically low .142 in the GM’s absence.
Now, to the rest of the field.
Last week’s Bullworm’s victory counts all the same in the win column for the Brew Crew, but saw MVP’s top 3 averages take massive hits, pun intended. Going into the Bullworms game, Muscles, Rizz, and Brady were hitting .800, .788, and .786 respectively. Gravity, the law of averages, and the young Bullworms defense appear to have neutralized what seemed to be the most unstoppable trio of Italians (Tom is Italian on his maternal side, or was it Jewish?) since the ‘56 Yankees. With Muscles and Rizz both going 2-4 and Brady biting off more than he could chew at the lead-off spot with a hitless performance; the 3 are now looking at more earthly averages of .737, .757, and .647 going into next week.
Dips in averages aside, the 3 are still very much in a competitive position to capture their 1st batting titles in their promising, or in Muscles’ case, advanced DSSL careers.
However, those who placed bets on the field early in the season are waiting eagerly, DraftKings App in hand, for the next 2 games. Muscles and Rizz were both originally placed in the field and have busted out of there like a pair of runaway brides. The field was initially set at +800 and Vegas is on the verge of a recession. While I don’t know exactly what a recession is, it is my understanding that we are in one. The 2 have since emerged as favorites heading into next week’s match-up against the defending champion*, Boys.
On Brady’s side, it appears last week did not do him any favors, but anyone with 2 eyes knows Tom is a hit machine. To clear his mind prior to the postseason, Brady will be flying out to Punta Cana following Sunday’s match-up with Boys, which means it’ll be his last chance to compete for the regular season title. While his success is dependent on quite a few factors including some poor performances by other MVP stars, a 3 or 4 hit performance can jump him right back into contention and, for Tom, that’s like breathing.
Then there’s Ryan James. While this blogger typically gives RJ the Skip Bayless/LeBron treatment, RJ’s .889 average is no joke. Some might say that this is his title to lose, which at this point, appears to be true. Only needing 3 at-bats to qualify, Ryan has himself a Hilary Clinton-esque lead in all the polls across the Sunday Softball world. Many Softball purists feel his average is lacking in terms of volume of plate appearances and question the validity of this potential accomplishment, but like LeBron, a ring is a ring and a title is a title. Despite his impressive average, his wife and children are the only thing between him and softball immortality.
Current Odds (Courtesy of William Hill):
- Ryan James -400
- Nick Rizzi -110
- Joe Sorrentino +250
- Alex Bettenhauser +500
- Tom Brady +1500
- Nick Bettenhauser +5500
- The Field +10000
MVP Brew Crew Softball Club 
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