The Northern States League

Newsletter #552 December 2nd, 2025

 

STILL SOME DECENT RACES AS WE HEAD DOWN THE STRETCH.  GLENVILLE AND CREEKSIDE ARE TIED FOR THE 2ND COOPER WILD CARD AND LONGSTOWN IS JUST 3 GAMES BEHIND COASTAL IN THE SCHMIDT WILD CARD.  TWO NO-HITTERS THIS MONTH.  DUES FOR 2026 ANNOUNCED

 

Dear Members,

 

The division races all remain close to the same this month, but the 2nd wildcard in both conferences are still anyone’s bet.  With 16 games left, it’s no time to leave anything on the table.  Let’s see what is happening in the league.

 

But on a side note.  Is college football messed up or what?

 

Series #18 results:

Sou 0 at NE 4, NE 2 at Sou 2                                     Cro 2 at GB 2, GB 3 at Cro 1

VT 2 at Coa 2, Coa 0 at VT 5 (1 make up)                Alb 3 at GP 1, GP 4 at Alb 0

IN 2 at Lon 2, Lon 1 at IN 3                                       Mar 3 at Dun 1, Dun 2 at Mar 2

SC 2 at Cle 2, Cle 3 at SC 1                                       SL 1 at NH 3, NH 2 at SL 2

Kal 2 at Fra 2, Fra 1 at Kal 3                                      EY 4 at Yk 0, Yk 1 at EY 3

Cre 1 at Gle 3, Gle 1 at Cre 3                                     Cac 0 at Key 4, Key 2 at Can 1 (1 rain)

 

Series #19 results:

NE 1 at Coa 3, Coa 3 at NE 1                                     Sou 1 at Cro 3, Cro 2 at Sou 2

GB 1 at VT 3, VT 3 at GB 1                                       GP 0 at Lon 4, Lon 3 at GP 1

Alb 2 at Mar 2, Mar 1 at Alb 3                                   IN 0 at Dun 4, Dun 1 at IN 3

SC 2 at SL 2, SL 4 at SC 0                                         Kal 2 at Cle 2, Cle 2 at Kal 2

NH 1 at Fra 3, Fra 4 at NH 0                                      Cre 2 at Yk 2, Yk 2 at Cre 2

EY 3 at Key 1, Key 0 at EY 4                                    Cac 2 at Gle 2, Gle 2 at Cac 2

 

Series #20 results:

VT 4 at Sou 0, Sou 2 at VT 2                                     NE 1 at Cro 3, Cro 4 at NE 0

Coa 2 at GB 2, GB 1 at Coa 3                                    Alb 2 at Dun 2, Dun 1 at Alb 3

Mar 1 at Lon 3, Lon 3 at Mar 1                                  IN 1 at GP 3, GP 4 at IN 0

Cac 1 at Cre 3, Cre 3 at Cac 1                                    Yk 0 at Key 4, Key 4 at Yk 0

EY 1 at Gle 3, Gle 2 at EY 2                                      NH 3 at SC 1, SC 2 at NH 2

Fra 1 at Cle 3, Cle 1 at Fra 3                                      SL 2 at Kal 2, Kal 3 at SC 1

 

It’s not a secret that we had some issues getting things finished up in November- it just happens that Thanksgiving gets upon us before we know it and things get pushed to the side.  Like many of you, we had guests here for the holiday and certainly this helped delay things last month.  But we’re caught up albeit a few days late, and the final month of the campaign is upon us with the same issues of holidays on the horizon.  With the races we have coming down to the wire I think that our attention will be on those and finishing up on time.

 

Our biggest divisional lead belongs to Vermont in the Murphy.  A 19-6 month kept Dave well ahead of his nearest competitor and the team appears to be just cruising into the post season with the best record in the league and the first team we have grabbing 100 wins.  The team highlight was taking 7 of 9 from Coastal including a 5-0 sweep at home.  Crosstown is in 2nd place and holds the first wild card at this moment, after winning 15 times this month to at least pressure the Woodchucks, but more importantly open up a 6-game lead on Coastal in both he division and the wild card.  Despite hanging in all season long, there is no guarantee that Coastal will be around when the playoffs begin- Jones club back by 6 as mentioned but hold just a 4-game lead on what was at one time a fading Longstown team.  So, 3 of the 6 teams in the group are in pretty good shape.  The Elite faded a bit this month as they were throttled by Crosstown 7-1 after a nice 6-2 over Southport.  They still lead Gulf Breeze, but just by a single game for 4th place.  The ‘varks played nemesis to Crosstown, taking their set 5-3, but faded to a 2-6 with Vermont.  Southport rounds it out- 8 games back of Gulf Breeze yet have 8 to still play with the ‘varks.  Fifth place is a goal.

 

The Brett has our best race(s) as we head into December.  It’s Keystone on top right now with a 6 ½ game lead over East York. Interestingly, East York bashed the leaders in their series 19, with Mick taking 7 of the 8 rolling the dice as only Mick can.  But the lead is still there in case Keystone stumbles in December.  Keystone made up for that Mick series, trouncing York in series 20, 8-0.  East York is being pursued for the Cooper wild card, but the threat is not there yet- both Glenville and Creekside sitting 8 down.  Yet at the same time, East York holds the #1 wild card by a comfortable margin.  What is not comfortable is the tie in the 2nd Cooper wild card between Creekside and Glenville- 2 teams headed to where only one can go.  Scoop had 14 wins this month to Coach’s 13 to forge the tie.  The two played in series 18 and the result, fittingly, was a 4-4.  Both have Kesytone left on the schedule, while Creekside has East York and Glenville has York.  It’ll be a fun finish!   York won just 5 times this month while Cackalacky grabbed 7, leaving it as a possible Tiger Shark move to 5th place.  But the First Caps should have enough in the tank to hold off their rivals.  Right now, E is up over Cackalacky by 4 ½.

 

In the Winfield, Frankfort is in control, but just by 5 games over Cleveland.  The clubs met in series #20 and wound up in a 4-4 split, so the Hit Men will have to really fire up the afterburners to shave that 5 game lead of the Cardinals.  Cleveland is only 4 out in the wild card but would have to leapfrog 2 teams (Cre & Gle) to be a factor.  Four games further back, Kalamazoo checks in at .500 with a nearly impossible run to the wild card, but certainly still possible.  New Hudson and Sugar Creek are out if it but still have something to play for.  New Hudson is going to be a factor in the wild card race- oh, not them, but they face Kalamazoo and Cleveland while Sugar Creek will also factor in with series against Kalamazoo and Frankfort.  So, no one is singing yet, but they are warming up their vocal cords as Frankfort will try and close it out.

 

What is going on in the Yount?  What seemed like a surefire easy win by Albany has suddenly turned into just a 5-game lead over Longstown.  This is a story of 2 franchises, as Albany was cruising, now fading, while Longstown was cruising, then fading, now cruising again.  Hey- make up your minds!  Albany was 13-11 this month- okay, but hardly a glittering month.  Meanwhile, Longstown won 16 times including a solid 7-1 over Grant Park.  So, the lead is 5, and Becker remains in the wildcard hunt (3 back) should they falter with Albany.  By the way- the two meet in December.  Longstown also has Duneland on the schedule while Albany has Indiana.  Indiana’s offense is rock solid.  The pitching?  Not so much.  The club won just 9 times, including an ugly 0-4 at Duneland.  Just ½ game behind Indiana is Duneland- making a hard charge this month with 11 victories, and still leading Marietta by ½ game.  Marietta won 10 times to drop down the table but at least is showing some moxie as we head towards the finish line.  Grant Park rounds it out- before you laugh, check this out- the Pandas dropped 7 to Longstown, yet mashed Indiana 7-1 and bested Albany 5-3.  Where has this been all year long? 

 

The league had 2 no-hitters this month.  In series #18, Gulf Breeze’s Eovaldi was just one walk away from a perfect game in face-to-face action with Crosstown.  Then in the very next series, Longstown used 4 pitchers to complete a no-hitter against visiting Grant Park.  I’ll get the box scores to Bob later today.

 

Al got a friend in another league to send his used cards to us.  The cards came in here and we sold them, netting $116.04- directly to the treasury.  Thanks, Al!

 

Just because we’re talking $$$, I know a lot of you like to get your dues paid in December, so let’s stay at $40 this year.  There is certainly no rush to pay, and you have until the lottery (roughly mid-January) to do so.

 

There are lots of things coming up after Christmas and we’ll keep you informed.  For now, though, I want to stay focused on the year at hand and keep most of the 2026 stuff in 2026.  However, I would ask that should you not be staying in the league next year that you let me know as soon as you can.  Vacancies are tough to fill, and I would like some time to work on any.  Just keep me informed- communication is a must as you all know.

 

I sent everyone the original file for the APBA roster breakdown sheet by NSL team.  Yes, there have been a couple of changes, and you’ll see them after we close out 2025.  I think I have 2/3 of the league members sending in that their roster is okay- what I’m really looking for is whether I have all of your players addressed.  Check out the team totals portion at the bottom of the breakdown sheet and just let me know if you agree with what I have.

 

Potential playoff participants will want to read and re-read the Constitution regarding the player and pitcher limits in the playoffs.  We’ll certainly be in touch as soon as possible after the season ends and probably in that last week of December.  I will have guests with me through the holidays, so things might be closer to the 1st, but I’ll get to things just as quickly as possible.

 

That’s what I have for you today.  Enjoy your final series and have a wonderful holiday season!

 

                                                                                    Best Wishes,

 

                                                                                    Rich