2018 White Sands Pupfish Season Recap - One of the Toughest Seasons in Pecos League History

The 2018 White Sands Pupfish season represented one of the lowest points in the history of professional baseball in Alamogordo. The final record says almost everything that needs to be said: 7 wins, 51 losses and a .121 winning percentage.

White Sands finished last in the Pecos League Southern Division and produced one of the worst records any club had posted in the first eight seasons of the league. The Pupfish had been one of the Pecos League's original franchises in 2011. They had once been competitive, going 41-29 in the inaugural season and winning 37 games under Mickey Speaks in 2015. The 2016 team had legitimate All-Star players and could beat Tucson, Roswell and Alpine on the right night.

But the franchise had begun falling apart competitively in 2017. The Pupfish went 12-50 that year. Then came 2018, and White Sands got even worse.

The pitching staff was overwhelmed throughout the summer. Opposing teams regularly scored double-digit runs and the Pupfish suffered some enormous losses. Although several individual players continued competing and putting up respectable numbers, there was never enough pitching depth or overall roster strength to give White Sands a realistic opportunity to contend.

The 2018 Pupfish became less about chasing a playoff berth and more about simply getting through the season.

View the official White Sands Pupfish year-by-year history.

Ray Hancock Takes Over

White Sands entered 2018 with another new manager. Ray Hancock took over the Pupfish after Chris Stout's difficult 2017 season. Hancock inherited a franchise that had gone 12-50 and desperately needed improvement. Instead, the problems became even greater.

The official Pecos League managerial records credit Hancock with a 7-51 record in his only season managing White Sands. That gave him the most difficult single-season managerial record in Pupfish history.

View Ray Hancock's official Pecos League managerial record.

A New Southern Division

The Pecos League changed its alignment for 2018, creating three four-team divisions. White Sands was placed in the Southern Division with the Tucson Saguaros, Roswell Invaders and returning Ruidoso Osos.

That was an extremely difficult neighborhood. Tucson finished 41-18. Roswell finished 41-19. Ruidoso finished 26-34. White Sands finished 7-51. The gap between the Pupfish and the top of the division was enormous.

Read the official Pecos League 2018 realignment announcement.

View the official 2018 Pecos League standings.

The Fall From 2015 Was Complete

The decline of White Sands can be seen clearly in the franchise records:

2015: 37-28
2016: 28-39
2017: 12-50
2018: 7-51

In only three seasons, the Pupfish had gone from a 37-win club to a seven-win club. That was not an ordinary rebuilding cycle. It was a complete competitive collapse.

The roster no longer had the depth White Sands had enjoyed during its better seasons. The pitching staff in particular could not survive the Pecos League's offensive environment. Once the losses began piling up, there was very little opportunity to stop the momentum.

There Were Still Some Good Hitters

As bad as the team record became, several White Sands position players had respectable seasons. Chris McCoy became the most durable hitter on the roster.

McCoy played 58 games and collected a team-high 66 hits in 229 at-bats. He scored 39 runs and hit nine doubles, one triple and one home run. McCoy drove in 30 runs, drew 30 walks and stole seven bases. His .288 batting average was respectable considering the difficult season surrounding him.

View Chris McCoy and the complete 2018 Pecos League statistics.

Joshua Williams Provides the Power

Joshua Williams became White Sands' best power hitter. Williams appeared in 37 games and collected 47 hits in 141 at-bats, hitting .333 and scoring 33 runs.

Williams hit 13 doubles and six home runs while driving in 30. His six home runs were one of the stronger totals on the Pupfish roster. For stretches, Williams gave White Sands a legitimate middle-of-the-order bat.

View Joshua Williams' official 2018 Pecos League statistics.

Aaron Sheaks Returns

Aaron Sheaks returned after playing for White Sands in 2017. Sheaks appeared in 40 games and collected 44 hits in 149 at-bats. He hit .295, scored 23 runs and drove in 26. He also hit seven doubles, one triple and two home runs while drawing 23 walks.

His return gave White Sands one of the few pieces of continuity from the previous season.

View Aaron Sheaks' official 2018 statistics.

Chaztin Venezia Gets On Base

Chaztin Venezia played 39 games and collected 39 hits in 129 at-bats. He hit .302, scored 33 runs and drew 30 walks while driving in 20 runs. His ability to reach base gave the Pupfish another useful offensive player even as the team struggled badly in the standings.

The Pitching Numbers Explain the Seven Wins

The White Sands offense was not good enough to carry the team, but the primary reason the Pupfish won only seven games was pitching. The staff numbers are extremely difficult to read.

Joseph Johnson made eight starts and threw 63.2 innings. He finished 1-9 with an 11.31 ERA, allowing 103 hits and 100 runs. Eighty of those runs were earned. He walked 53 hitters and struck out 55.

For a pitcher to work more than 60 innings on a seven-win team required durability, but the run prevention simply wasn't there.

View the complete 2018 White Sands pitching statistics.

Jordan Young Becomes the Staff's Most Durable Arm

Jordan Young also carried a significant workload. Young made seven starts and threw 53.1 innings, striking out 48 hitters. But he finished 0-4 with an 8.94 ERA and allowed 96 hits and 70 runs.

The numbers reflected the central problem White Sands faced all summer. The Pupfish simply could not keep opposing teams from generating large innings.

Young's season would not be the end of his Pecos League story. He later continued in the league and became a 2019 All-Star after his time with White Sands.

View Jordan Young's 2018 White Sands statistics.

Tommy Giunta Battles Through Seven Starts

Tommy Giunta made seven starts and finished 1-6. He threw 37 innings and finished with a 10.70 ERA, allowing 63 hits and 51 runs.

In one remarkable July game at Tucson, however, Giunta gave the Pupfish one of their best pitching performances of the season. White Sands and Tucson played a seven-inning game on July 14, and the Saguaros won only 1-0.

For a White Sands team that routinely allowed large run totals, holding Tucson to one run was remarkable. Giunta took the loss despite helping keep the Pupfish in the game all night.

View the official July 14 box score - Tucson 1, White Sands 0.

One of the Saddest Scores of the Season - Roswell 26, White Sands 1

Nothing illustrated the gap between White Sands and the league's strongest teams more clearly than June 21 at Joe Bauman Stadium. Roswell defeated White Sands 26-1.

Twenty-six runs.

For the Invaders, it was another night for an explosive offense that would eventually win 41 games. For White Sands, it was the kind of loss that demonstrated how far the franchise had fallen. A rivalry that had once produced heated, competitive games had become dramatically one-sided.

View the 2018 Joe Bauman Stadium game results, including Roswell's 26-1 victory over White Sands.

Then Roswell Won 24-0

Two weeks later, things somehow got worse. On July 5, White Sands returned to Joe Bauman Stadium and Roswell defeated the Pupfish 24-0.

White Sands did not score a run. The Invaders scored 24. Within a span of two weeks, Roswell had defeated White Sands by scores of 26-1 and 24-0.

The combined score was:

Roswell 50, White Sands 1.

Those two games alone illustrate the enormous competitive difference between the franchises in 2018. Roswell was fighting for the top of the Southern Division. White Sands was simply trying to survive the season.

View the official July 5 result - Roswell 24, White Sands 0.

But White Sands Somehow Beat Roswell

Baseball is strange. Even the worst teams win games opponents expect them to lose, and one of White Sands' seven victories came against Roswell.

On May 28, the Pupfish went into Joe Bauman Stadium and defeated the Invaders 14-13. Roswell would eventually finish 41-19. White Sands would finish 7-51. Yet on that night, none of those final records mattered.

The Pupfish scored 14 runs and won. It became one of the clearest reminders that even during one of the worst seasons in Pecos League history, White Sands was still capable of producing an upset.

View the official May 28 result - White Sands 14, Roswell 13.

The Seven Wins Became Precious

When a team wins only seven times, every victory becomes memorable. There are no routine wins. There are no three-game winning streaks that disappear into a long season. Each victory interrupts a long stretch of frustration.

Players who continued showing up every day had to find motivation in individual improvements, opportunities to advance and the possibility that tonight might finally be one of those seven nights. That is a very different baseball experience from playing for a championship contender. But it is still professional baseball, and the players continued playing.

The Roster Tells the Story of Survival

The official White Sands roster included Adam Rigney, Anthony Garcia, Harry Ferguson, Jason Funkhouser, Jordan Young, Joseph Johnson, Peyton Cochran, Rodney McKay, Tommy Giunta and Ulric Johnson among the pitchers. Joe Randazzo handled catching duties.

The infield included Brandon Torres, Cameron Haskins, Josh Youngchild, Joshua Williams and Tevin Brown. The outfield included Caleb Lindsey, Chaztin Venezia, Chris McCoy and Drew Richard.

Several players were rookies receiving their first professional opportunity. For many of them, the season was not about participating in a pennant race. It was about getting professional innings, professional at-bats and professional experience that might lead somewhere else.

View the official 2018 White Sands Pupfish roster.

7-51 - One of the Worst Records in League History

When the regular season finally ended, White Sands had won seven games and lost 51. The .121 winning percentage placed the club among the weakest teams the Pecos League had ever fielded. The comparison with the rest of the league was stark:

Tucson: 41-18
Roswell: 41-19
Ruidoso: 26-34
White Sands: 7-51

In the Mountain Division, Garden City also endured a historically poor season at 11-50. White Sands still finished with four fewer victories. The Pupfish were not merely last in their division. They had the worst record in the entire Pecos League.

View the official 2018 Pecos League final standings.

2018 White Sands Pupfish - By the Numbers

Manager: Ray Hancock
Regular Season Record: 7-51
Winning Percentage: .121
Southern Division Finish: Fourth Place
League Finish: Worst record in the Pecos League
Home Ballpark: Griggs Park - Alamogordo, New Mexico
Playoffs: Did Not Qualify

Chris McCoy: .288 AVG, 66 H, 39 R, 9 2B, 30 RBI, 30 BB
Joshua Williams: .333 AVG, 47 H, 13 2B, 6 HR, 30 RBI
Aaron Sheaks: .295 AVG, 44 H, 7 2B, 2 HR, 26 RBI, 23 BB
Chaztin Venezia: .302 AVG, 39 H, 33 R, 30 BB

Jordan Young: 53.1 IP, 48 SO
Joseph Johnson: 63.2 IP, 55 SO
Tommy Giunta: 37 IP

Signature Win: White Sands 14, Roswell 13
Notable Loss: Roswell 26, White Sands 1
Notable Loss: Roswell 24, White Sands 0
Notable Pitching Battle: Tucson 1, White Sands 0

View complete 2018 Pecos League statistics and standings.

View the complete 2018 White Sands Pupfish roster.

This Was No Longer the White Sands of the Early Pecos League

That may be the most difficult part of the 2018 story. White Sands had once mattered in the standings. In 2011, the Pupfish went 41-29. They were part of the original identity of the Pecos League. Games with Roswell were genuine rivalries, and Griggs Park had been one of the league's recognizable early venues.

Even in 2015 and 2016, White Sands remained capable of putting legitimate professional players on the field and beating strong opponents. By 2018, that competitive foundation was disappearing.

A 26-1 loss to Roswell was not a rivalry game. A 24-0 loss was not a rivalry game. Those were signs of a franchise that had fallen far behind its opponents.

The Pitching Was Simply Not Competitive Enough

The individual pitching lines demonstrate the size of the problem. Joseph Johnson had an 11.31 ERA. Tommy Giunta finished at 10.70. Jason Funkhouser finished at 11.00. Anthony Garcia finished at 12.23. Andrew Vlad finished at 11.84. Joe Nicolace finished at 11.37. Ulric Johnson finished at 15.21. Adam Rigney finished at 15.85.

Those were not isolated difficult outings. They represented a staff-wide problem. White Sands could occasionally score enough to win a wild 14-13 game. It could not build a successful season while allowing opponents that many scoring opportunities every night.

Aaron Sheaks and Chris McCoy Kept Showing Up

One aspect of a seven-win season that often gets overlooked is the challenge faced by the everyday players. Chris McCoy played 58 games. Aaron Sheaks played 40. Chaztin Venezia played 39. Joshua Williams played 37.

Those players were in the lineup repeatedly while losses accumulated around them. There was no realistic playoff chase to motivate the club in July. There was no pennant race. There was no championship waiting at the end.

The motivation had to come from the opportunity to play professional baseball, put statistics on a résumé and possibly earn another opportunity somewhere else. That takes its own form of resilience.

The End Was Beginning to Become Visible

In retrospect, 2018 also looks like one of the clearest warning signs that the White Sands franchise was approaching the end of its Pecos League run. The decline had become severe.

2017 had been terrible at 12-50. Instead of improving, White Sands fell to seven wins. Unfortunately, 2019 would not provide a major turnaround. The Pupfish would finish 8-50 in their final season.

That meant White Sands' final three years produced records of:

2017: 12-50
2018: 7-51
2019: 8-50

Twenty-seven victories across three seasons. One hundred fifty-one losses.

By the end, the franchise that had once been an important part of the original Pecos League was no longer competitive enough to continue on the same path.

One of the Worst Teams Ever - But Still Part of Pecos League History

There is no reason to pretend the 2018 White Sands Pupfish were better than they were. They were one of the worst teams in Pecos League history. Seven wins in a full season makes that unavoidable.

They suffered enormous defeats. They had one of the weakest pitching staffs in the league. They finished 34 games behind the 41-win Tucson Saguaros in the Southern Division standings. They were never close to the playoffs.

But terrible teams are still part of baseball history, and the 2018 Pupfish provide an important lesson in how quickly an independent baseball franchise can fall.

Three years earlier, White Sands had won 37 games. Two years earlier, the Pupfish had players hitting over .400 and representing the club in the All-Star Game. Then came 12 wins. Then seven. The descent was dramatic.

And yet there were still moments. White Sands went into Roswell and won 14-13. Joshua Williams hit .333. Chris McCoy played almost every day and collected 66 hits. Jordan Young continued pitching through an extremely difficult season and later remained in professional baseball.

And on July 14 at Tucson, a team that had been giving up runs by the dozen somehow played the Saguaros to a 1-0 game.

Those moments did not save the season. Nothing really could.

The 2018 White Sands Pupfish finished 7-51.

It was one of the worst records in the history of the Pecos League.

And it represented the lowest point yet in the long decline of professional baseball at Griggs Park.