It was the worst of times. That about sums it up. The Legends finished 45-93 for the season. That is the worst record of any full season professional team in America. The Astros and the Legends have extended their development contract for two more years in August. I guess the folks in Lexington might have mixed feelings if that is good or bad.
Although (Legends President Alan)Stein noted that attendance (people in seats) was down by only 3.5 percent, and that the Legends’ research indicated that only about 15 percent of fans care about winning, he made a point of speaking about a return to championship contention some day.
When asked why he made an issue of winning if the fans don’t care, Stein smiled and said, “Because I care.”
So for the 15% who care, here are the numbers and rankings for the 2008 version of the Legends.
The Good
The Hitters
The Legends only got caught stealing 35 times in 186 attempts. Their caught stealing total was the second lowest. They were in the top half of the league in HR (7th) and Triples (T-6th).
Not many Legends ranked among league leaders, so we will deal with team leaders. Matt Cusick is prominent among the list despite being traded to the Yankees just before the trade deadline.
Runs: Eric Taylor (67)
Hits: Craig Corrado (139)
Doubles: Craig Corrado (26)
Triples: team lead shared by two players no longer with the team Matt Cusick (traded to Yankees) and Colin Delome (promoted to Salem) both had 6 and were tied for 8th most in the league.
HR: Brian Pelligrini (21) 4th most in the league.
RBI: Brian Pelligrini (69)
Total Bases: Craig Corrado (176)
Walks: Eric Taylor (48)
Stolen Bases: Craig Corrado (43) 5th most in the league
OBP: Matt Cusick (.356)
Average: Matt Cusick (.285)
Slugging: Matt Cusick (.462)
OPS: Matt Cusick (.818)
The Pitchers
On the good side, there is not too much to brag about. They didn’t hit many batters (56 – 4th) and didn’t walk many batters (412 – 6th). So you could say they pitched to contact. If you think that is good, see below.
Appearances: Fernando Abad (45) 10th most in the league
Wins: Anthonly Bello (7)
ERA: Leandro Cespedes (4.02)
Saves: Jay Pacella (12) was promoted to Salem at the end of the season or else would have been amoung league leaders. He ranked 11th.
Innings PItched: Leandro Cespedes (130)
Strike Outs: Leandro Cespedes (137) good for 5th most and more than a K an inning.
WHIP: Anthony Bello (1.36)
The Bad
The Hitters
Lexington pulled up the rear in Hits, Average, and On Base Percentage. They were next to last in OPS, Slugging, Total bases, RBI and Runs. They had the third most strike outs in the league.
Team leaders among the “bad” stats.
Strike Outs: Russell Dixon (120)
Caught Stealing: Steve Brown (6)
The Pitchers
The Legends definately pitched to contact. They gave up the most hits (1373 in 1211.2 IP) and tied for the third most long balls (119). They tied for the worst WHIP 1.47 and gave up the 3rd most runs (715)
Leading the team in the “not so good” categories are:
Hits: Leandro Cespedes (138 – just 3 more hits than Ks but 8 more than IP)
Runs: Robert Leonhardt (97) second most in the league.
Earned Runs: Robert Leonhardt (76) also second most in the league.
Home Runs: Leandro Cespedes (19) fourth most in the league. Carlos Ladeuth (16) tied for 6th.
Hit Batters: Leandro Cespedes (8)
Walks: Leandro Cespedes (45)
The Fielders
Errors: Craig Corrado (33)
The Crowd
Let’s hear it for the 85% who don’t care about winning! The Legends drew 370,570 (average 5449) which was the third highest total in the league.