At Least One Wild Card Likely for Atlantic League Playoffs

It is getting close to “wild card” time.  Some newspapers have been listing the major league wild card data in their standings for weeks now, but this subject also carries importance in the Atlantic Leaguesince it seems very real that Southern Marylandand Yorkcould capture both first and second half divisional titles.

The Blue Crabshad a two and one half-game lead in the Liberty Divisionafter a daytime win Tuesday, and the Revolutionwere a mere half-game behind pacesetting Lancasterin the Freedombracket.  It is key to remember that whenever a team wins both halves the wild card or possibly two such playoff teams will be those with the best full-season records, which means both teams could come from the same division. 

If Southern Marylandand Yorkwin both halves, this is what the wild card race looked like entering  Tuesday evening:

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Bridgeport Tops in Player Sales With 53

      With nearly 40 player contracts sold already this season out of the Atlantic League(including those to foreign leagues), we decided it would be interesting to see which teams have had the most success in this area since the league started.

      Given a major assist from the 2010 Somersetmedia guide, the all-time leader is Bridgeportwith 53 sales, followed by Newarkat 45, the Patriotsand Long Islandat 42 apiece and Camden37.  For more recent league entries, Lancasterhas sold 22, York19 and Southern Maryland13.  Nashua, NHwas tops among former teams with 34 player sales.

Stavisky Trades Bat for St. Bonaventure Position

Atlantic Leaguegrad Brian Staviskyhas exchanged his baseball glove for a suit and tie by being named earlier this week as Director of Compliance at St. Bonaventure University. Stavisky retired earlier this summer, ending a nine-year professional career in which he hit .301 and topped out at Triple-A.  A Port Allegany, PAnative, Stavisky played 29 games for Lancasterin 2008. 

       (Subscriptions to the Atlantic League Notebook are available on a monthly or full season basis via  www.AtlanticLeagueBaseball.com or www.WirzandAssociates.com .  Bob Wirz also writes a weekly subscription column, the Independent Baseball Insider, which can be found via his blog, www.IndyBaseballChatter.com. The author has 16 years of major league baseball PR experience with Kansas City and as chief spokesman for two Commissioners, and lives in Stratford, CT.)