Former Pro Baseballer Leads All ISC Hitters with .432 Batting Average (2002-2008)

(Travis Wilson, in Jordan-esque shot, with Patsy’s at the 2008 ISC World Tournament, can do more than just flash the leather)

The player with the highest batting average at the ISC World Tournament over the past seven years (2002-2008) ? Travis Wilson, with eye-popping .432 batting average, 35 hits in 81 at bats. (minimum 70 AB’s for consideration). Fifteen of those 35 hits came in his very first ISC World Tournament – amazing when you consider how long Jerry Hoffman of the Lancaster Chameleons held the former record for a double elimination tournament with 14 (set back in 1983).

(Reigning ISC World Tournament batting champion (.432), Travis Wilson, while playing pro baseball in the Atlanta Braves organization)

Wilson’s biography is an interesting one, earning a gold medal while playing for the world Champion New Zealand Black Sox back in 1996, then catching the eye of a major league baseball scout for the Atlanta Braves, and playing professional baseball for seven years, mostly in AAA, before returning to New Zealand — and men’s fastpitch in 2004. He rejoined the Black Sox the following year, in 2005 and will be with them in Saskatoon this summer, when they attempt to hold onto the gold in the ISF World Championships. (the 81 at bats shown in this batting average ranking are for only the last four years, as he did not play during the first four years covered in these stats). He was with Patsy’s of New York in last year’s tournament.

The top four hitters are the lone members of the “.400 club”:

Travis Wilson, .432
Jason Hill, .413
Evan Potskin, .402
Chad Boom, .401

A closer examination show that these four have almost identical numbers, Wilson rising above the other three by virtue of two more hits:

Travis Wilson, 35-for-81
Jason Hill, 33-for-80
Evan Potskin, 33-for-82
Chad Boom, 33-for-82

As for hitters near the head of the class who have made the most of their at bats, the list must includeyoung Jason Hill (2nd, at .413, 33-for-80), and Tex Lessard (.387, 29-for-75). One fan writes:

[About Hill]:

“He’s got a chance to become one of the absolute top guys. Very calm at the plate, able to adapt to different styles of pitching…has a ton of power. He’s going to be fun to watch.”

[About Lessard]:

“very underrated – good to see him get some recognition.”

Another interesting name on the list is Frank DeGroat, who is sizzling along at a .387 clip (29-for-75) since coming over from modified. The .387 is remarkable, considering that DeGroat is a middle-of-the-lineup guy, counted on for his power, not a hitter in the mold of Ichiro. And he’s still hitting high average, along with the extra-base hits.

In the voter’s prediction poll, Jody Eidt garnered the most votes, with 87, followed by Colin Abbott with 68, and Jarrad Martin with 58. (not surprising, as Martin and Eidt placed 1-2 in the earlier “most hits” poll. Colin Abbott actually ranked further down the actual list, tied for 19th with Kyle Beane, at .340, but 49 hits in 144 at bats, certainly no slouch. We are talking about the top 20 highest batting averages in the world over the past seven years. Every player on the list owns a batting average higher than MLB’s top hitter of the modern era, Tony Gwynn (.338).

Martin’s actual ranking among the world’s top hitters for average was 6th, with a .385 average (60-for-156), while Eidt was right behind him at 7th, with a .378 average (59-for-156), a single hits separating the two.

Also not surprising is that the players at the top of the poll tended to have fewer at bats (between 70 and 100). Jeff Goolagong has the highest average for any player with over 100 at bats, .391, 43-for-110).

Fewer at bats or not, Wilson’s numbers are astounding, and leave him 20 points ahead of his nearest rival,

Actual Ranking

1. Travis Wilson, .432
2. Jason Hill, .413
3. Evan Potskin, .402
3. Chad Boom, .402
4. Jeff Goolagong, .391
5. Frank Degroat, .387
5. Tex Lessard, .387
6. Jarrad Martin, .385
7. Jody Eidt, .378
8. Keith Mackintosh, .376
9. Donnie Hale, .370
10. Ian Fehrman, .366
11. Chris Miljavac, .358
12. Ted Kosceisza, .357
13. Reno Dambrosio, .355
14. Chris Delarwelle, .354
15. Don Garvey, .352
16. Todd Budke, .350
17. Jeff Ellsworth, .346
18. Rob Gray, .345
19. Kyle Beane, .340
19. Colin Abbott, .340

For those who can’t resist breaking it down by country, here is that list:

CANADA

2. Jason Hill, .413
3. Evan Potskin, .402
5. Tex Lessard, .387
7. Jody Eidt, .378
8. Keith Mackintosh, .376
10. Ian Fehrman, .366
12. Ted Kosceisza, .357
13. Reno Dambrosio, .355
17. Jeff Ellsworth, .346
18. Rob Gray, .345
19. Colin Abbott, .340

USA

3. Chad Boom, .402
5. Frank Degroat, .387
11. Chris Miljavac, .358
14. Chris Delarwelle, .354
15. Don Garvey, .352
16. Todd Budke, .350
19. Kyle Beane, .340

New Zealand

1. Travis Wilson, .432
6. Jarrad Martin, .385
9. Donnie Hale, .370

Australia

4. Jeff Goolagong, .391

For the first time in three “ISC Stat Trivia” polls, the readers missed the mark to some degree, pegging the actual batting champion, Travis Wilson at 7th, runner-up Jason Hill at 16th, and third place Evan Potskin and Chad Boom at 11th and 12th, respectively.

With 233 votes cast, here is how our reader’s predictions went:

1. Jody Eidt 87 votes
2. Colin Abbott 68 votes
3. Jarrad Martin 58 votes
4. Jeff Goolagong 30 votes
5. Donnie Hale 29 votes
6. Todd Budke 26 votes
7. Travis Wilson 20 votes
8. Tex Lessard 17 votes
9. Chris Miljavic 16 votes
9. Frank DeGroat 16 votes
10. Keith Mackintosh 15 votes
11. Chris Delarwelle 13 votes
11. Chad Boom 13 votes
12. Evan Potskin 12 votes
12. Jeff Ellsworth 12 votes
13. Rob Gray 11 votes
14. Ian Fehrman 9 votes
15. Reno Dambrosio 8 votes
16. Jason Hill 7 votes
17. Ted Kosceisza 3 votes
18. Kyle Beane 1 vote
19. Don Garvey 1 vote

A poll commenter who has played against these guys thought highly of Abbott (.340), Delarwelle (.354), and Lessard (.387), 5th, 14th and 19th, respectively:

My top 3 would be Colin Abbott, Chris Delarwelle and Tex Lessard. Despite that bad wheel, Abbott still has the best hand-eye coordination among fastpitch hitters. Delarwelle tends to get pitched around a lot, though I’m sure his slugging percentage is high. I know Lessard has had some good World Tournaments in Ontario and Eau Claire.

Commenter “Scout” asked about the omission of Ryan Wolfe from the list, a question echoed by another commenter, and good question, considering Wolfe ranked third for most hits overall with 54.

No Ryan Wolfe??

The answer was that Wolfe is at .327, 54-for-165. Everyone that has been around for the final day of the WT knows that not only does Wolfe have a ton of hits, but often big ones, as was the case with his championship game home run in 2008, to help Kitchener capture the crown. But at some point, those at-bats pile up. Nonetheless, he remains near the top in many categories, and appears on the short list when they are asked to identify the top players in the game today.

There were others with 40 or more hits down the list just a bit with lots of at bats that brought the average down, as it tends to do over time:

Patrick Shannon, .338, 33-for-136
Ryan Wolfe, .327, 54-for-165
Paul Rosebush, .317, 57-for-180 (that’s an average of 25 at bats every year for 7 years !)
Darren Box, .309, 45-for-152
Bill Simmons, .299, 41-for-137
Thomas Makea, .296, 45-for-152
Rhys Casley, .292, 42-for-144

Mike Encinas of Southern California garnered “Nostradamus” honors, with this top 3 picks:

1. Jody Eidt
2. Jarred Martin
3. Donnie Hale

Eidt, Martin and Hale were all in the top 10 – 7th, 6th and 9th respectively.

Watch the Morning Brief for our next ISC Stat Trivia Polls coming up soon !

Here is the latest “ISC Stat Trivia” poll — can you name the hitter with the top batting average at the ISC World Tournament over the past seven years ? (2002-2008).

Eligibility for this select group is a minimum of 70 at bats (average of 10 AB’s per year).

PICK THREE when voting.