The Women's Softball team at SUNY New Paltz is playing in Florida!
Click on the link below to be updated with their Spring Training Events!
LADY HAWKS IN CLERMONT, FL
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Pre-Season
The hawks have begun their pre-season training in preparation for spring 2011.
Returners this 2011 spring season are Melissa Liotta (Soph-INF), Gillian Davidoff (Soph-P/UT), Jenna Curchio (Jr-C), Casandra Baracavage (Jr-C/UT), Victoria Holm (Jr-OF), Samantha Barra (Jr-3B/DH), Courtney Costello (SR-P), and Jillian Gallagher (SR-1B/P).
There are many fresh faces for the Hawks this year, all showing excellent drive and passion for the game.
It will be exciting to see how these young players perform in game play!
Go to nphawks.com to check out the schedule and roster for this upcoming season!
Returners this 2011 spring season are Melissa Liotta (Soph-INF), Gillian Davidoff (Soph-P/UT), Jenna Curchio (Jr-C), Casandra Baracavage (Jr-C/UT), Victoria Holm (Jr-OF), Samantha Barra (Jr-3B/DH), Courtney Costello (SR-P), and Jillian Gallagher (SR-1B/P).
There are many fresh faces for the Hawks this year, all showing excellent drive and passion for the game.
It will be exciting to see how these young players perform in game play!
Go to nphawks.com to check out the schedule and roster for this upcoming season!
Monday, November 29, 2010
Sabermetrics
Major League Baseball is broadcasted into the living rooms of thousands of American fans each year. For those with MLB network channel, baseball can be watched on a daily basis. Rivalries formed over decades of the sport and the question of who the better team is always arises. Once a year teams from across the country play for the title of the World Series Champions. Two world series ago, the New York Yankees earned their 27th title.
However, because the Yankees have such a popular franchise, they are able to afford big name players. This isn’t the case for all of Major League Baseball teams. Especially since the state of the US economy has dropped, some teams struggle to pick up players who have enough talent and can create a buzz with an affordable price. Fortunately, there is a way to economically sign players who are efficient and successful. The philosophy of creating a team has changed drastically from the birth of baseball to the present. A concept used today is Sabermetrics. One team that has adopted this technique is the Oakland Athletics. The question is: Has the use of this method been successful?
When the American league began in 1901, the Athletics debuted as a team representing Philadelphia. During this time, the Athletics won 8 World Series. In 1954, the Athletics were sold to Kansas City, where they spent thirteen years without any distinguishable accomplishments. It wasn’t until 1968 that the Athletics were moved to Oakland. The early ‘70’s were big years for the A’s where they won 3 consecutive World Series in ’72, ’73, and ’74. It wasn’t until ’88 that they would win 3 consecutive more. Although the team is the second most successful team in the Major Leagues, with the New York Yankees reigning, the franchise is not one to pay large sums of money to recruit players ("Baseball almanac," 2009) . This says a lot about the franchise.
Sabermetrics, though not used by all baseball teams, is an efficient method of analysis to find the value of a player based upon more than just “speed, defensive range, arm strength, the ability to hit for power, and the ability to hit for average” (Harvard Law Review Association, 2004) . Sabermetrics is a strategy used to determine how well a player performs in comparison with players. The idea of sabermetrics has been around for some time, but a man by the name of Bill James coined the name deriving it from the abbreviation for the Society for American Baseball Research, or SABR (Talsma, 1999 ) . James founded sabermetrics in 1977. He began to explore new avenues for determining the value of a player. He also came up with more efficient ways to win baseball games (Gietschier, 2005) .
Another nickname more widely recognized in the world of baseball for sabermetrics is “Billy
Bean Ball” in honor of the General Manager of the Oakland Athletics. James believes that sabermetrics is “the search for objective truth in baseball” (Saccoman, 1996) . Because baseball is widely known for keeping statistics of every baseball player of each game played, sabermetrics is very useful in determining the value of a player.
New measurements have become factors in finding the value of players. A couple of the terms for the measurements include “OPS,” on-base plus slugging percentage, and “WHIP,” walks plus hits per inning pitched. “OPS” is found by the number of times a player reaches a base and how accurately he hits doubles, triples, and homeruns. “WHIP,” a term used for pitchers, is the number of walks and hits a pitcher gives up per inning pitched (Harvard Law Review Association, 2004) . For example, if the pitcher has a “WHIP” below 1.2 he is considered an effective player (Harvard Law Review Association, 2004) .
In addition, James contradicted the conventional idea that sacrifice bunting is an efficient way of creating runs. Instead, he believes bunting should not be utilized as a strategy to create runs. As an alternative strategy, he feels that on-base percentage, or the ratio of how many times a batter gets on base compared to his at bats, is a better way to measure the success of a batter. James believes that solely using batting average, or the ratio of the number of times a player receives a hit compared to how many times he gets up to hit, is ineffective. James conjured up a statistic called “runs created” that combines all offensive categories into a formula that measure how many runs a player actually contributes to the team’s offensive output (Gietschier, 2005) .
Billy James once stated “The value of baseball statistics… is not that they answer all of the questions involved, but that they provide definitive answers to some of the questions involved, which enables us to focus on the others.” In other words, statistics can answer the question of whether or not a player has power, can steal bases, or can throw out runners on the base paths. Once some of the answers are established, they can be factored into equations along with other factors such as on base percentage and fielding percentage to determine the definitive value of a player.
These equations are utilized by the Oakland A’s to find players that will be effective in creating wins. This past year, Andrew Bailey, age 25 received the honor of Athletics Rookie of the Year as a pitcher. Also in the past decade, the A’s have produced two other Rookie of the Year award winners, Bobby Crosby (2004) and Hudson Street (2005), a Cy-Young winner, Barry Zito (2002), and Two MVP’s, Jason Giambi (2000) and Miguel Tejada (2002) ("Baseball almanac," 2009).
Sabermetrics also gives teams an economic advantage over other teams not using it. For example, the Oakland Athletics signs undervalued and under priced players to build their team rather than signing big name super stars that produce at about the same level. This strategy works for low-income small market teams who want to compete with the higher income big market teams. The stark opposite example of a non-sabermetric team is the New York Yankees. For each win, the Yankees Pay tenfold the amount the Oakland Athletics pay per win. Ironically, the Yankees signed Jason Giambi in 2002.
According to James Sarowiecki, author of The Buffet of Baseball, in reference to the economic advantage Sabermetrics carries, “This [sabermetric] strategy wins games and equally important, saves money, because even though the players Bean likes are as productive as many high profile stars with the gaudy stats, they come a lot cheaper.” Also James Maslin, author of Three Strikes Your Out at The Ballgame, an article in the N.Y. Times, stated, “Oakland wound up ranking highest [in its 2003 division] with the least money, demonstrating a principle that can be appreciated far beyond the realm of baseball.”
Since Billy Bean has been General Manager, the A’s have improved noticeably. According to
Baseball-Almanac.com, “They won Division titles in 2000-02-03 and a 2001 wild card slot. Although they did not get far in post season play, they had a bedrock starting staff for those four seasons featuring Tim Hudson (sixty-nine wins), Mark Mulder (sixty-four wins) and Barry Zito (sixty-one wins) and later Rich Harden. They also developed sluggers Jason Giambi, Miguel Tejada (until they both sought more lucrative pastures through free agency) and Eric Chavez.”
In 2009, the Oakland Athletics ranked 4th in the American League West division. The win to loss ratio was 75-87, which created a winning percentage of .463. This left the Athletics only 22 games behind the team in first place. The home win to loss ratio for the Athletics of this year was 40-41, leaving the road win to loss ration 35-46 ("Baseball almanac," 2009).
Unfortunately when analyzing the A’s, I was unable to actually perform calculations needed to compare statistics because the formulas are too advanced for my mathematical skills. Therefore, I was limited to only research and analysis provided by statisticians. If I were to use this method of analysis in the future, I would make sure to have enough time to learn the mathematical equations to formulate better results.
However, the use of sabermetrics has proven to be a successful tool in the present day game of baseball. Using statistical information to determine the value of players is now the strategy of yesteryear. Proven success has been shown through the achievements of the Oakland Athletics in recent years. Not only are they keeping pace but often surpassing the success of the higher income, larger market teams. This more efficient and more economically sound strategy of building a winning team shows signs of continuing to be applied in future generations of baseball
franchises.
Works Cited
-Baseball almanac. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.baseball-
almanac.com/teamstats/schedule.php?y=2009&t=OAK
-Gietschier, Steve. "The Stats That Matter." Sporting News 229(2005): 5.
-"Losing Sight of Hingsight: The unrealized Traditionalism of Law and
Sabermetrics." Harvard Law Review Association 117(2004): 20.
-Saccoman, John. "Sabermetrics: The team Teching Approach." Education
117(1996): 2.
-Talsma, Gary. "Data Analysis and Baseball." The Mathematics Teacher 92(1999):
6.
Originally written Spring 2010. Edited 11/29/2010
However, because the Yankees have such a popular franchise, they are able to afford big name players. This isn’t the case for all of Major League Baseball teams. Especially since the state of the US economy has dropped, some teams struggle to pick up players who have enough talent and can create a buzz with an affordable price. Fortunately, there is a way to economically sign players who are efficient and successful. The philosophy of creating a team has changed drastically from the birth of baseball to the present. A concept used today is Sabermetrics. One team that has adopted this technique is the Oakland Athletics. The question is: Has the use of this method been successful?
When the American league began in 1901, the Athletics debuted as a team representing Philadelphia. During this time, the Athletics won 8 World Series. In 1954, the Athletics were sold to Kansas City, where they spent thirteen years without any distinguishable accomplishments. It wasn’t until 1968 that the Athletics were moved to Oakland. The early ‘70’s were big years for the A’s where they won 3 consecutive World Series in ’72, ’73, and ’74. It wasn’t until ’88 that they would win 3 consecutive more. Although the team is the second most successful team in the Major Leagues, with the New York Yankees reigning, the franchise is not one to pay large sums of money to recruit players ("Baseball almanac," 2009) . This says a lot about the franchise.
Sabermetrics, though not used by all baseball teams, is an efficient method of analysis to find the value of a player based upon more than just “speed, defensive range, arm strength, the ability to hit for power, and the ability to hit for average” (Harvard Law Review Association, 2004) . Sabermetrics is a strategy used to determine how well a player performs in comparison with players. The idea of sabermetrics has been around for some time, but a man by the name of Bill James coined the name deriving it from the abbreviation for the Society for American Baseball Research, or SABR (Talsma, 1999 ) . James founded sabermetrics in 1977. He began to explore new avenues for determining the value of a player. He also came up with more efficient ways to win baseball games (Gietschier, 2005) .
Another nickname more widely recognized in the world of baseball for sabermetrics is “Billy
Bean Ball” in honor of the General Manager of the Oakland Athletics. James believes that sabermetrics is “the search for objective truth in baseball” (Saccoman, 1996) . Because baseball is widely known for keeping statistics of every baseball player of each game played, sabermetrics is very useful in determining the value of a player.
New measurements have become factors in finding the value of players. A couple of the terms for the measurements include “OPS,” on-base plus slugging percentage, and “WHIP,” walks plus hits per inning pitched. “OPS” is found by the number of times a player reaches a base and how accurately he hits doubles, triples, and homeruns. “WHIP,” a term used for pitchers, is the number of walks and hits a pitcher gives up per inning pitched (Harvard Law Review Association, 2004) . For example, if the pitcher has a “WHIP” below 1.2 he is considered an effective player (Harvard Law Review Association, 2004) .
In addition, James contradicted the conventional idea that sacrifice bunting is an efficient way of creating runs. Instead, he believes bunting should not be utilized as a strategy to create runs. As an alternative strategy, he feels that on-base percentage, or the ratio of how many times a batter gets on base compared to his at bats, is a better way to measure the success of a batter. James believes that solely using batting average, or the ratio of the number of times a player receives a hit compared to how many times he gets up to hit, is ineffective. James conjured up a statistic called “runs created” that combines all offensive categories into a formula that measure how many runs a player actually contributes to the team’s offensive output (Gietschier, 2005) .
Billy James once stated “The value of baseball statistics… is not that they answer all of the questions involved, but that they provide definitive answers to some of the questions involved, which enables us to focus on the others.” In other words, statistics can answer the question of whether or not a player has power, can steal bases, or can throw out runners on the base paths. Once some of the answers are established, they can be factored into equations along with other factors such as on base percentage and fielding percentage to determine the definitive value of a player.
These equations are utilized by the Oakland A’s to find players that will be effective in creating wins. This past year, Andrew Bailey, age 25 received the honor of Athletics Rookie of the Year as a pitcher. Also in the past decade, the A’s have produced two other Rookie of the Year award winners, Bobby Crosby (2004) and Hudson Street (2005), a Cy-Young winner, Barry Zito (2002), and Two MVP’s, Jason Giambi (2000) and Miguel Tejada (2002) ("Baseball almanac," 2009).
Sabermetrics also gives teams an economic advantage over other teams not using it. For example, the Oakland Athletics signs undervalued and under priced players to build their team rather than signing big name super stars that produce at about the same level. This strategy works for low-income small market teams who want to compete with the higher income big market teams. The stark opposite example of a non-sabermetric team is the New York Yankees. For each win, the Yankees Pay tenfold the amount the Oakland Athletics pay per win. Ironically, the Yankees signed Jason Giambi in 2002.
According to James Sarowiecki, author of The Buffet of Baseball, in reference to the economic advantage Sabermetrics carries, “This [sabermetric] strategy wins games and equally important, saves money, because even though the players Bean likes are as productive as many high profile stars with the gaudy stats, they come a lot cheaper.” Also James Maslin, author of Three Strikes Your Out at The Ballgame, an article in the N.Y. Times, stated, “Oakland wound up ranking highest [in its 2003 division] with the least money, demonstrating a principle that can be appreciated far beyond the realm of baseball.”
Since Billy Bean has been General Manager, the A’s have improved noticeably. According to
Baseball-Almanac.com, “They won Division titles in 2000-02-03 and a 2001 wild card slot. Although they did not get far in post season play, they had a bedrock starting staff for those four seasons featuring Tim Hudson (sixty-nine wins), Mark Mulder (sixty-four wins) and Barry Zito (sixty-one wins) and later Rich Harden. They also developed sluggers Jason Giambi, Miguel Tejada (until they both sought more lucrative pastures through free agency) and Eric Chavez.”
In 2009, the Oakland Athletics ranked 4th in the American League West division. The win to loss ratio was 75-87, which created a winning percentage of .463. This left the Athletics only 22 games behind the team in first place. The home win to loss ratio for the Athletics of this year was 40-41, leaving the road win to loss ration 35-46 ("Baseball almanac," 2009).
Unfortunately when analyzing the A’s, I was unable to actually perform calculations needed to compare statistics because the formulas are too advanced for my mathematical skills. Therefore, I was limited to only research and analysis provided by statisticians. If I were to use this method of analysis in the future, I would make sure to have enough time to learn the mathematical equations to formulate better results.
However, the use of sabermetrics has proven to be a successful tool in the present day game of baseball. Using statistical information to determine the value of players is now the strategy of yesteryear. Proven success has been shown through the achievements of the Oakland Athletics in recent years. Not only are they keeping pace but often surpassing the success of the higher income, larger market teams. This more efficient and more economically sound strategy of building a winning team shows signs of continuing to be applied in future generations of baseball
franchises.
Works Cited
-Baseball almanac. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.baseball-
almanac.com/teamstats/schedule.php?y=2009&t=OAK
-Gietschier, Steve. "The Stats That Matter." Sporting News 229(2005): 5.
-"Losing Sight of Hingsight: The unrealized Traditionalism of Law and
Sabermetrics." Harvard Law Review Association 117(2004): 20.
-Saccoman, John. "Sabermetrics: The team Teching Approach." Education
117(1996): 2.
-Talsma, Gary. "Data Analysis and Baseball." The Mathematics Teacher 92(1999):
6.
Originally written Spring 2010. Edited 11/29/2010
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There are a variety of informational websites just a click away!
Friday, November 12, 2010
Preparation is key!
The SUNY New Paltz Softball team is now underway with preparation for season. Unlike Division I schools, the program is limited to how may pre-season practices that a head coach can hold.
Coach Denise Marchese knows this set back and approaches it with confidence in her team.
Since mid-October, the team has been running group practices. These practices are based on strength conditioning and skill improvment.
Instead of focusing on running situational drills, each individual player focuses on self progress. The phrase "you are only as good as your weakest teammate" is a prime motivation for players to put 110% in each work out and skill building program.
By putting this responsibility on each player, a sense of maturity and trust is built through the team. Competition as a whole raises the bar for each team member.
Last year the phrase "H.E.A.R.T." was a driving factor that the team followed.
H-Hustle :
Each player should hustle on and off the field during practice and in play. Hustle drives a player to stay motivated. Hustle creates a professional expectation that each player should have for one another. Hustle establishes a sense of work ethic that drives a player to want to raise the bar. Expectations rise. Passion is created. Performance increases. Success is expected.
E-Effort:
Effort can be easily described in a few phrases - "Perfect practice makes perfect play. " "If you fail to prepare you are preparing to fail."
A-Attitude:
The only way to succeed is to keep a positive attitude. Dwelling on the past does not allow progress. The more a team is willing to move forward and forget about past mistakes, the more apt a team is to succeed. You can learn from past experience and succeed. You cannot succeed if you dwell on the past and fear to overcome obstacles. Expectation determind results. Every pitch determines a different outcome. Softball is a game of chance. You have an equal amount of success that you have failure. It is how mentally prepared and confident you are that you will succeed.
R-Respect:
The amount of respect you have for yourself reflects the amount of respect you have for your team. The amount of respect the team has for the program reflects the amount of respect the team will recieve. Respect determines success not only on the playing field, but also in the real world. Respect is reflected on one's reputation that carries out into every day life. If one respects their opponent, play with generate an intensity that cannot be matched.
T-Teamwork:
There is no game without teamwork.
The preparation in the "off season" will determine the outcome in season play. This year the team has an opportunity to play against top ranked teams during their spring break trip.
It is up to the new team to adopt this phrase, if not another that unifies the team to spark enthusiasm, determination, responsibility, trust, and pride. Most importantly it is up to each individual on the team to be better than the best they can be. Potential of a true athlete is insurmountable."A true champion is someone who wants to make a difference, who never gives up, and who gives everything she has no matter what the circumstances are. A true champion works hard and never loses sight of her dreams."
- Dr. Dot Richardson
Monday, September 13, 2010
Play Ball!
Pre-season for the Hawks is underway! The Lady Hawks begin their tryouts tomorrow, Tuesday, September 14, 2010. After losing 7 seniors the Hawks are in a building year.
Along with the excitement of who will make the team, Alumni weekend is coming up!
Mark your calendars for Saturday, October 16!
On Saturday is an Alumni Softball game Vs the 2011 team. The alumni game starts at 1:00 pm and the field will be open after the homerun derby for the players to get there earlier to warm up. Our current softball field is under construction, so this years game will take place at the Field of Dreams Complex (located behind the Fair Grounds in New Paltz- Ulster County Fairgrounds).
If you are an Alumni, please meet in front of Elting Gym at 10:30 a.m. to head over to the Field of Dreams Complex!
At 11:00 a.m. the Lady Hawks will be hosting a Home-Run Derby before the Alumni Game! This year if you would like to participate, bring $10 for ten hits. Anyone is welcome to take part in the homerun derby and the first place winner will receive a prize.
After the Alumni game there will be an Alumni reception from 5:00-7:00 p.m. in the lower conference room of the SUB. The reception will have free food/beverages for all spring sport Alumni.
A little about Our Coach
It was the bottom of the seventh inning and the SUNY New Paltz Hawks softball team was beating the hosted SUNY Cortland Red Dragons, the dominating school of the State University of New York Athletic Conference. After an error on the hawk’s defense, the home team lost the lead and lost the game.
After the game she smiled and said “We played damn hard and I’ll be damned if we didn’t shake up the most feared team in the conference. Let’s go take game two.”
The 2010 women’s softball team earned one of the most victorious seasons in the history of Hawk softball and recorded a 20-18 season in Denise Marchese’s first year of coaching. For the fourth time in Hawk’s history, the softball team qualified for the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Championship Tournament.
Denise Marchese, 37, named head softball coach at SUNY New Paltz last year, set out to change the outlook on New Paltz athletics.
Marchese lived the life as a champion, winning state championships in high school and national championships in college.
“Being a part of a national championship is undescribable,” said Marchese. “When you have worked so hard and reached something that seemed so unattainable, you finally realize anything is possible.”
This is the message Marchese sends to her team in practice and in play. As she walks the field during warm ups in practice, Marchese looks for who seems ready and determined to be the best. Throughout practice, she tests the perseverance of the players by hitting balls over their heads and around their practical span of reach. She is looking for champions.
Marchese stresses that perfect practice makes perfect play. During a daily practice Marcheses manages to run infield, outfield, pitching, and catching like a maestro directs a symphonic band. While each group is busy with their own set of skills to perfect, the practice as a whole runs smoothly to create “perfect play.”
With limited and occasional help from volunteer assistant coaches that cannot always be at practice, Marchese leads with confidence and respect of each individual player who comes to the field ready to give their full potential.
Once practice is over, Marchese returns to her office to look over the success of the day. Behind her desk is a giant white board full of names of potential players. Marchese carefully plans her team out with what talent she is given.
“I was lucky [last year] to have had seven seniors who all lead by example,” said Marchese. “This year is a building year.”
Marchese confidently jots down names of players who she plans to test in the next day’s practice. As she does, she reminisces on her past experience as a player.
Growing up in Commack, Long Island, Marchese was inspired to play by her father who brought her to his softball games. Around six years old, Marchese began to play. As the oldest of two, a younger borther and sister, Marchese led the way in accomplishments in softball.
In her Junior and Senior years of high school, Marchese was named All League and All County. Her coach, Bill Edwards, led the team to win the State Championship.
“Bill was the most inspirational and influential coaches I have ever had,” said Marchese. “He was truly the first coach that ever made me consider wanting to aspire to be a great coach.”
Marchese played for a summer traveling softball team, the PSI Curriers, where she had the opportunity to travel to South Dakota and win the America Softball Association (ASA) National Championship. She was also involved in a Mid Atlantic Regional Championship win and placed 5th in nationals in 1989.
Marchese went on to play at Eastern Connecticut State University where, as a four-year starter at first base, she received the Gold Glove award 3 years in a row, among other still reigning honors and achievements.
Marchese began coaching while in her fifth year of college at the age of 23. After graduating, Marchese became the head coach at St. Joes in West Hartfort, CT for four years.
“When I graduated college, I wasn’t as fortunate as graduates today who can apply to be grad assistants,” said Marchese. “I was very lucky to have been able to be an assistant and gain the experience.”
Marchese begame the Head coach at SUNY Oneonta for three seasons, starting in 2000. Afterwards, Marchese stepped up to a larger position, as the assistant coach at Central Connecticut State University for a total of 5 years.
Feeling that she was very familiar with the SUNYAC Conference and believing she had a niche in coaching, Marchese decided to apply for the position head coaching position at New Paltz.
Although only a year of coaching has passed at New Paltz, Marchese has begun recruiting for the 2012 season.
“Building a name is important for the college,” said Marchese, “and recruiting is not easy.”
With a chuckle and a spin of her chair, Marchese popped up from her desk remembering she had to get home to feed Charlie, her beagle.
“See you on the field?” Marchese said with a grin as she shut her door to the office.
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