- Northern Elite League
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The Northern Elite League (NEL) was created in 1992, as a way of giving Northern Ontario baseball players a competitive league of their own. This task was spearheaded by North Bay's Peter Topolie, who is the current president of Baseball Ontario.
The NEL originally had 5 teams competing for the Blue Jay Cup. They were:
- North Bay Jays
- Sault Ste. Marie Cambrian Nissan
- Sudbury Lakers
- Timmins
- Garson
This league features teams playing in a Showcase Tournament, a 15 game regular season, and playoffs at the home of the 1st place team.
The current 2006 season has four teams:
- Sault Ste. Marie Black Sox
- Sudbury Reds
- Timmins Whiskey Jacks
- Valley East Vipers
Contents
Current Standings
Team GP W L T XL Sudbury Reds 15 13 2 0 0 Valley East Vipers 15 9 6 0 0 Timmins Whicksy Jacks 13 4 11 1 0 Soo Black Sox 13 4 11 1 0 As of June 30, 2006
Professional Alumni
The NEL has produced 2 professional players. Aaron Fera, from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., was a 32nd round draft pick of the Toronto Blue Jays in 1999 out of a college in Georgia. He made it to High A with the St. Louis Cardinals Organization and finished off by playing a few seasons of Independent baseball. He was a power hitting outfielder for the Soo Black Sox during his time in the NEL.
The second professional player produced was James Pidutti, who was signed by the Blue Jays in 2002 as a free agent. The left-handed reliever pitched in 44 1/3 innings over 2 seasons at the Rookie Ball level. James was known for his sinking fastball and movement but also was a power hitter for the Sudbury Lakers during his NEL days. He had a career 5.68 ERA in 30 professional games.
As a 16 year old playing against all-star players mainly 18 and 19 years old went 7-2 with a 1.84 ERA. walking 21 and striking out 64 batters. Went on a torrid batting streak against all-star players his own age and finished just under .500 for a batting average in 1998.
Won 1999 Play-off M.V.P. in the NEL, 2000 City League M.V.P and stayed hot into 2001 despite being cut from the Barrie Baycats of the IBL.
Recruited as an outfielder in college but proved himself on the mound after pitching effectively late into games against powerhouses such as North Central Texas, Seminole State and Cowley County. Nearly pitched a no-hitter in final college start against 7th ranked team in the nation Hutchinson.
Signed by Blue-Jays brass after impressive private workouts in August.2002. Had strong starts in both pro seasons and held an era. in the 2’s late into both campaigns.
Finished playing professionally in Italy in 2005 and came back and won another NEL Playoff MVP in 2006.
Past Champions
Northern Elite League Career Records
Year Champions Finalists League/Playoff MVP 1992 North Bay Jays Damon Topolie, North Bay 1993 North Bay Jays Soo Nissan Pat Primeau, North Bay 1994 North Bay Jays (9-7-0) Soo Nissan (11-5-0) Brian Ducharme, Soo 1995 Sudbury Lakers (12-5-1) Soo Nissan (17-2-0) Trevor Cain, Sudbury 1996 Soo Nissan (17-2-0) North Bay Jays (12-8-0) Aaron Fera, Soo 1997 Soo Nissan (13-5-1) North Bay Jays (16-3-0) Greg Abour, Soo 1998 Soo Black Sox (16-4-0) Sudbury Lakers (15-5-0) Jon Agliani, Soo 1999 Sudbury Lakers (8-3-1) Soo Black Sox (7-5-0) James Pidutti, Sudbury 2000 Soo Black Sox (11-4-0) Sudbury Lakers (9-5-1) Rob Conley, Soo 2001 Soo Black Sox (15-0-0) Timmins Whiskey Jacks (4-10-0) Jeff Leonard, Soo 2002 Soo Black Sox (15-3-0-1) Sudbury Lakers (17-2-0-1) Jason Rooley, Soo 2003 Timmins Whiskey Jacks (10-9-0-0) Callander Selects (10-9-0-1) Chris Greer, Timmins 2004 Sudbury Lakers (11-4-0-0) Timmins Whiskey Jacks (Unknown) Gary Bayrack, Subdury 2005 Sudbury Reds (7-1-0-0) Timmins Whiskey Jacks (4-4-0-0) Robb Fenton, Sudbury 2006 Sudbury Reds (13-2-0-0) Timmins Whiskey Jacks (4-11-1-0) James Pidutti, Sudbury and Chris Greer, Timmins Team Record (W-L-T-ExL) Championships Won Soo Black Sox Formerly Soo Nissan 121-43-1-2 6 Sudbury Reds Formerly Sudbury Lakers 115-54-5-2 5 North Bay Jays Defunct 43-27-1 3 Timmins Whiskey Jacks 54-103-3-1 1 Valley East Vipers 40-119-6-1 0 Garson/North Shore Defunct 20-36-2 0 Callander Selects Defunct 16-21-0-1 0 Note: Records compiled 1996-2006
Categories:- Sport in Northern Ontario
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