Over the past couple of weeks I’ve become email friends with Kathy from BP. She works in their customer service department (for all I know, she might be the entire department – she is always the one who responds to me). As I have told you many times, their systems have lagged behind more than normal and so I occasionally email to find out a timeline/update whenever it seems to be an unusually long time.
This weekend has been one of those unusually slow times, but I was reluctant to email them because I knew (through Twitter and their home page) that one of their colleagues, Rob McQuown, who was involved in the statistical side of the site, had unexpectedly passed away. I wondered to myself if he was the one who would fix any issues with stat uploading, and because of that wondering I held off reaching out to them until this afternoon (when I couldn’t wait any longer!).
As usual, Kathy responded to my inquiry with an explanation of corrupted files, etc. that they had to ask their data provider to fix and send again. Then, she added the following:
“Our staff is also mourning the unexpected loss of long time BP staffer and friend, Rob McQuown, last Monday. We are trying to cover his responsibilities the best we can. We hope for your patience and understanding during this difficult time.”
While she didn’t exactly say it, I think that he must have been at least partially responsible for the update of stats/Team Tracker (you can read BP staff remembrances of him here). I wrote her back expressing our condolences while also telling her that those of us who are the praying type will be praying for their entire team. So, if you are the praying type, and feel so inclined, pray for the BP team, for Rob’s family and friends, and everyone else impacted by his death.
Today is also the HOF induction (Ron will, I’m sure, give us an update when he can about his time celebrating Edgar in Cooperstown. And BTW, why do they do the induction while games are going on? Seems like a simple thing to fix) and one of the inductees, Roy Halladay, was represented by his wife Brandy after he died tragically in a plane accident last year. Her words were about how no one is perfect (Roy was found to have high amounts of a few different drugs in his blood), but how baseball allowed imperfect people playing a game of failure (30% success rate is considered an all-star) to at times experience perfection, or something very near it. Baseball is just a game, but it does bring together people to experience all that life has to offer; the good and the difficult, the perfect and imperfect, the life and the death. And in doing so, to experience what it really means to be a family, to be friends, to be a team.
So to Kathy, to Brandy, and to our baseball teammates everywhere – we are on your team, and you are on ours. Whatever the EFL might stand for, today it stands for Everyone is Family League.
| EFL | ||||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB | RS | RA |
| Portland Rosebuds | 66 | 35 | .653 | — | 603.1 | 440.0 |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes | 61 | 36 | .631 | 2.7 | 612.2 | 464.2 |
| Old Detroit Wolverines | 57 | 40 | .583 | 7.4 | 565.0 | 475.4 |
| Haviland Dragons | 53 | 47 | .528 | 12.6 | 557.7 | 510.5 |
| Peshastin Pears | 51 | 50 | .504 | 15 | 528.5 | 525.6 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 49 | 48 | .504 | 15.1 | 457.8 | 452.0 |
| Kaline Drive | 50 | 50 | .502 | 15.2 | 473.2 | 469.4 |
| Canberra Kangaroos | 50 | 50 | .500 | 15.4 | 552.1 | 555.9 |
| Cottage Cheese | 45 | 53 | .460 | 19.4 | 566.0 | 599.9 |
| Bellingham Cascades | 44 | 53 | .449 | 20.4 | 465.1 | 518.9 |
| Brookland Outs | 39 | 59 | .400 | 25.3 | 480.9 | 592.7 |
| D.C. Balk | 37 | 63 | .373 | 28.1 | 441.1 | 572.6 |
Portland: W2, L 0; 10-5 (121 PA, .292, .322, 451; 22.7 IP, 8 ER, 3.18 ERA) The last 2 days were defined by Mookie Betts and Jose Berrios. Betts is on a hot streak now that the weather has warmed up, and Berrios has continued his great pitching. I have to admit, I was surprised that after a good couple of days I thought Flint Hill would have gained some ground on the Rosebuds, but we remained 2.7 games back.
Flint Hill: W 1, L 1; 13-7 (92 PA, .302, .348, .547; 22 IP, 9 ER, 3.68 ERA) I’ve already expressed my disappointment that we didn’t gain any ground this weekend…especially because my hitting was good (led by Javy Baez’s 2.125 OPS) and Wade LeBlanc was returned to his headliner role where he pitched well (5 IP, 2 ER).
Old Detroit: W 1, L 1; 11-15 (88 PA, .240, .341, .440; 6.7 IP, 7 ER, 9.45 ERA) Old Detroit management alerted us to the fact that he had had at least one bad day, when he emailed that he didn’t mind that BP didn’t update stats on Saturday. After giving up 15 runs in two days, and after getting to revel in Edgar Martinez’s HOF induction, and still only losing one game, Ron has to be somewhat pleased (though he did lose some ground on Portland, to the tune of 1.1 games).
Haviland: W 1, L 1; 11-11 (83 PA, .258, .398, .424; 4 IP, 0 ER, 0.00 ERA) It was a tale of two days for the Dragons. Yesterday his team was on fire, both his hitters and pitchers providing excellent days. His offense was led by Miguel Sano (2.700 OPS and who apparently changed his swing to save his season, it seems) and Ramon Laureano (2.000 OPS). But Friday was a different story, with no pitching (thus replacement innings) and little hitting. Oh, he also fell behind the leaders, but only by .3 games.
Peshastin: W 1, L 1; 11-9 (88 PA, .272, .330, .494; 14 IP, 7 ER, 4.50 ERA) The middle of our standings is so volatile. On Fridays update the Pears were behind both Pittsburgh and Canberra. Today? They look up at the underside of a pear! Marcus Semien led the way for the offense (hitting for the two-day cycle) and Joey Wendle came back from the IL to chip in a tidy little OPS of 1.111. Pear pitching, however, gave those runs back a little too generously.
Pittsburgh: W 0, L 2; 8-16 (81 PA, .205, .284, .397; 1 IP, 4 ER, 36.00 ERA) If the Alleghanys want to pretend this weekend never happened, I don’t think anyone will blame them. He probably doesn’t want to hear that his team excelled in Ks over the past two days, chalking up 22 of them (11 per game or 28% of their PAs) on their way to scoring 8 runs (they also hit 4 HRs). And the only pitcher to appear would have been better having not thrown a single pitch. He dropped 1.6 games off the lead, so Ron has little room to complain.
Kaline: W 2, L 0; 19-7 (110 PA, .308, .418, .582; 18.7 IP, 9 ER, 4.34 ERA) An EMD on EDW! Kaline has had a nice month offensively. It continued the past couple of days. Oscar Mercado and Omar Narvaez led the team in hits and Yuli Gurriel chipped in 2 HRs on their way to scoring 19 runs. Jake Arrieta and Marcus Stroman were masterful, and the Drive drove away with 2 wins over 2 days.
Canberra: W 0, L 2; 8-15 (75 PA, .273, .347, .485; 8.3 IP, 6 ER, 6.48 ERA) There must have been something about choosing to go to Cooperstown this weekend that didn’t sit well with the baseball gods. Canberra’s owner joined Old Detroit’s owner in New York this weekend, and perhaps they were able to commiserate together about their teams’ poor showing this weekend. The young guys. Hiura and Margot, did their best to will their team to win while ownership was off celebrating, but Joey Lucchesi was so upset with Ryan’s absence he allowed 10 hits over 4 IP, and 6 ER. Apparently players named Joey are sad when the owner of Kangaroos leaves for a weekend…haha. Get it?
Cottage: W o, L 2; 6-15 (103 PA, .211, .265, .347; 8.7 IP, 12 ER, 6.23 ERA) Fear not, Canberra! Cottage found a way to have a worse two days than you did, but just barely. I mean, there were three bright spots – Jeff McNeil, Cory Seager and Eric Thames – but otherwise there was a lot of stinky Cheese. And let’s stay away from the pitchers, just for the sake of Dave’s happiness. I mean, he already told us all about them, and they were true to form the past two days.
Bellingham: W 1, L 1; 12-14 (54 PA, .348, .444, .522; 5 IP, 4 ER, 7.20 ERA) An EMD on EMW! The Cascaged were at it once again, but perhaps like old guys, there just wasn’t enough (you know, old people need to take more breaks than young guys). Brian McCann, Hunter Pence, and Jarrod Dyson, all 34 and older, led the way for Bellingham.
Brookland: W 1, L 1; 9-12 (77 PA, .261, .338, .478; 16.7 IP, 11, ER, 5.94 ERA) Manny Machado led the team in HRs (2) and Cody Bellinger led the team in BBs (4) and Vladamir Guerrero, Jr. hit his first ever Grand Slam in the MLB. That’s a lot to celebrate! Jordan Lyles and Griffin Canning both pitched well for the Outs.
DC: W 0, L 2; 4-8 (78 PA, .197, .269, .296; 9 IP, 0 ER, 0.00 ERA) Richie Martin (quick, which MLB team does he play on? I didn’t know…) led the Balk with a 1.375 OPS over two days, recording 4 hits in 8 ABs and also swiping a base. And the pitching was perfect, just not enough (Friday was replacement innings for your team).
| AL East | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| New York Yankees | 64 | 33 | .660 | — |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes | 61 | 36 | .631 | 2.8 |
| Old Detroit Wolverines | 57 | 40 | .583 | 7.5 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 56 | 45 | .554 | 10 |
| Boston Red Sox | 54 | 45 | .545 | 11 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 38 | 62 | .380 | 27.5 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 30 | 67 | .309 | 34 |
| NL East | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Atlanta Braves | 59 | 41 | .590 | — |
| Washington Nationals | 52 | 45 | .536 | 5.5 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 51 | 48 | .515 | 7.5 |
| Canberra Kangaroos | 50 | 50 | .500 | 9 |
| New York Mets | 45 | 53 | .459 | 13 |
| Miami Marlins | 36 | 60 | .375 | 21 |
| D.C. Balk | 37 | 63 | .373 | 21.7 |
| AL Central | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Minnesota Twins | 59 | 38 | .608 | — |
| Cleveland Indians | 56 | 41 | .577 | 3 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 49 | 48 | .504 | 10.2 |
| Chicago White Sox | 44 | 51 | .463 | 14 |
| Bellingham Cascades | 44 | 53 | .449 | 15.5 |
| Kansas City Royals | 37 | 63 | .370 | 23.5 |
| Detroit Tigers | 29 | 65 | .309 | 28.5 |
| NL Central | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Chicago Cubs | 54 | 44 | .551 | — |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 52 | 48 | .520 | 3 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 50 | 47 | .515 | 3.5 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 46 | 51 | .474 | 7.5 |
| Cottage Cheese | 45 | 53 | .460 | 9 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 44 | 52 | .458 | 9 |
| Brookland Outs | 39 | 59 | .400 | 14.8 |
| AL West | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Houston Astros | 63 | 37 | .630 | — |
| Oakland A’s | 57 | 42 | .576 | 5.5 |
| Haviland Dragons | 53 | 47 | .528 | 10.2 |
| Texas Rangers | 50 | 48 | .510 | 12 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 51 | 49 | .510 | 12 |
| Kaline Drive | 50 | 50 | .502 | 12.8 |
| Seattle Mariners | 40 | 61 | .396 | 23.5 |
| NL West | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 66 | 35 | .653 | — |
| Portland Rosebuds | 66 | 35 | .653 | 0.1 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 50 | 49 | .505 | 15 |
| Peshastin Pears | 51 | 50 | .504 | 15.1 |
| San Francisco Giants | 49 | 50 | .495 | 16 |
| San Diego Padres | 46 | 52 | .469 | 18.5 |
| Colorado Rockies | 46 | 52 | .469 | 18.5 |
Your comments about Rob McQuown were of great interest, Jamie. Here’s an obituary I found. It even included a picture, which didn’t paste in.
Robert Kerr McQuown September 18 1965 July 16 2019 (age 53)
Robert Kerr McQuown September 18 1965 July 16 2019 (age 53)
Posted on July 19, 2019 by dany
September 18 1965 July 16 2019 (age 53)
Robert Kerr McQuown, 53, of Springfield, passed away on Tuesday, July 16, 2019 at Memorial Medical Center. Robert was born on September 18, 1965 in Springfield the son of John R. McQuown and Celia P. Meyer. Robert was a Baseball Statistician and devoted fan of sports. He enjoyed tabletop gaming. At other points in his career, Robert was a web engineer and computer programmer. He was a former member of Willow Creek Church in South Barrington and First Presbyterian Church in Springfield. He was preceded in death by his mother. He is survived by his father, John McQuown (Ellen Smith) of St. Simons Island, GA; brother, Daniel John (Kari) Kidder-McQuown; aunt, Melinda Meyer Hunter of Lancaster, CA; and several nieces, nephews, cousins, and close family friends who were also Rob’s family. Cremation will be accorded. No services at this time. Memorial contributions may be made to Chicago Cubs Charities at http://www.mlb.com/cubs/community/cubs-charities/donate and/or Lincoln Library’s Teen Program, checks can be sent to Lincoln Library 326 S. 7th St. Springfield, IL 62701, mark memo “Teen Tabletop Gaming”.
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Robert Kerr McQuown September 18 1965 July 16 2019 (age 53).
That’s great sleuthing, Mark! Thanks for adding more to the story. Seems like a pretty great guy.