Josh Burckhardt: Wiffle King of the Pacific Northwest by Nate Bullock

[Dislaimer]: This article written by Nate Bullock for the August/September issue somehow slipped through the cracks and didn't make it into the magazine. This was in no way on purpose and I offer my humblest apology to Nate for this mishap. So since it's still a great article and a good read I've attached it here. Hope this makes up for it Nate! --- Sincerely, Wiffler's Digest

Josh Burckhardt: Wiffle King of the Pacific Northwest by Nate Bullock

Josh Burckhardt of the Cowlitz Phillies is having a season for the record books.  Already one of the most feared hitters in the league he’s taken his hitting to new levels this season.  He is currently batting an eye-popping .500 with 22 homeruns and 92 RBIs.

Burckhardt smashed three round-trippers in his last series against the Clark County Colt .45’s, and he currently sits at 22 homeruns for the season in 22 games and 156 at-bats.  Brad Williamson of the Lexington Brewers set the previous homerun record with 19 bombs last season.  To top it off, Burckhardt is the first player to eclipse the 70 homerun mark for a career.  He has 25 more homeruns than the next leading homerun slugger.

Before the season, Burckhardt was sitting just one RBI short of the all-time leader, Jim Hewey of the Brewers at 200.  He quickly passed that with 17 RBIs in his first two games of the season.  Adding to his hitting prowess, Burckhardt has a unique opportunity to become the first CCWA  player to crack the 100 RBI in a season barrier with 92 RBI through 22 games and two games to go.

Burckhardt doesn’t only hit homeruns, but he also hits for average.  He is leading all batters in the CCWA, hitting at a .500 clip.  He is currently the only player in the entire league batting over .350.  He also owns the single season record of .516 with a career batting average of .408.  He is a pitcher’s nightmare in the batter’s box as he can beat you with a timely single or the long ball.

It should be interesting to see just how far Burckhardt can lead the Phillies this season.  They will be tested in the postseason by some very good teams and will definitely need his big bat to help them reach the finals.