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Legion of Character students named
7th Grade Legion of Character students Scarlett Reinhardt, Ava Priest, Carly Patterson, Isabel Johnson, Edgar Gonzalez, Reese Davis,
Sophia Wright, Leira Wilson, Julian Aiden O’Dea, Luan Michau, Robert Mathes, Ella Crowe, Kiri Clark, and Madeline
Williams, Ellison Steinhauer, Maddox Ray, Landon Mathes, Isaac Kuyper, Kaela Kearney, Brownell.
Sports
Fanatic
The steady decline in
total Major League Baseball
player’s batting averages
over the past few years espe
cially through the early part
of this season is finally be
ginning to trouble the na
tional press and perhaps
league officials as well.
When the average and of
fensive numbers as a whole
reach the lowest level since
1968, someone should in
vestigate, but what are the
mysterious causes of the de
cline?
Remember; baseball low
ered the pitching mounds by
ten inches and narrowed the
strike zone after the 1968
season to increase hitting
since pitching had domi
nated the game for years at
that point. Here we are again
though.
The causes of this offen
sive drop could be self in
flicted by the batters
themselves though. Making
contact and putting the ball
in play was important in
those days. Now, pffff! No
body cares that a guy strikes
out 200 times a season.
As strikeouts became less
scandalous to widely ac
cepted, hitters seem trans
fixed on stats like “launch
angle” and “exit velocity” as
opposed to batting average.
Scouting reports have gotten
much more thorough and ac
curate, therefore the effec
tiveness of defensive shifts
certainly contribute to the
offensive decline.
On the other hand, what
are pitchers doing differ
ently?
If you believe much of
the latest reports, they are
cheating. Over the past few
years, more and more play
ers claim that teams are
“doctoring” baseballs in
order to increase the spin
rate for their pitchers. Any
increase in the spin rate
makes balls break harder
and later, which is a massive
advantage for the defense.
Are the reports valid?
The scientific analysis of
pitching now clearly docu
ments increases in spin
rates. By adding pine tar or
other sticky substances to
the baseball, hurlers can
gain tremendously higher
baseball rotations on every
pitch, and it appears that
many pitcher are doing
something to gain advan
tages.
MLB which is normally
notoriously slow and lenient
in addressing cheating sud
denly has become proactive.
ESPN reported on Monday
that a new league policy is
forthcoming. Any players
caught with a foreign sub
stance will face a ten day
suspension with pay.
Wait a minute.
“With pay...”
Never mind. MLB con-
Continued on Page 3B
8th Grade Legion of Character students Stiles, Bayleigh Stalker, Mckenzie Runyan, Keener, Kaelin Jones, Callie Hamby, Maria
Megan Wigington, Jeremy Westbrook, Diego Rivera, Wyatt Richards, Cheyenne Fortanel, Larry Flores-Jardinez, Luca Ellison,
William Thrasher, McKinley Thomas, Ember Pritchard, Addison Lewis, Kelton Keith, Ada Brylee Deering, Caitlin Cole.
By
Tommy
Gartrell
Columnist
Mysterious
Decline
Submitted by Hayden Pass
for the Optimist Club
The Optimist Club Inter
national has as one of its core
purposes to aid and encour
age the development of good
character in our youth. In
keeping with this part of it
mission the Optimist Club of
Jasper founded the Legion of
Character in 2018 to recog
nize students in the 7th and
8th grades who exhibit good
citizenship and character
traits. Before the pandemic
limited visitation by outside
groups like the Optimists
they would conduct games
with the purpose of acquaint
ing students at the school
with the Optimist Creed. Al
though in 2020 and 2021
these activities had to be cur
tailed for the reason of social
distancing the Club re
quested nominations by the
teachers for 20 students in
each grade that best dis
played the following while a
student this year at PJHS to
be included in this year’s Le
gion of Character:
1) being courteous and
Continued on Page 3B
June 13-June 19
June 13th:
On this day in 1947, the
Boston Red Sox hosted the
Chicago White Sox in the
very first night game at Fen
way Park. The Red Sox
won, 5-3, and every Boston
run came in the bottom of
the fifth. Ted Williams, who
finished two for four, drove
in two on a single before
center fielder, Sam Mele,
plated the go-ahead run.
Mele’s heroics gave Boston
a lead it never relinquished.
June 14th:
On this day in 1987, the
Los Angeles Lakers cap
tured their fourth NBA title
of the eighties following
their 106-93 win over the
Boston Celtics. The Lakers
clinched the series in six
games and defeated Boston
in the finals for the second
time in three years. Magic
Johnson, who won the MVP
award, completed Game six
with 16 points and 19 as
sists. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
had a team-high 32 points
while James Worthy scored
22. This was the last finals
matchup that took place be
tween Magic and Larry
Bird.
June 15th:
On this day in 1938,
Ebbets Field hosted its first-
ever night game when the
Brooklyn Dodgers wel
comed the Cincinnati Reds.
It was a history-making
evening for both teams, par
ticularly the Reds, who won
easily, 6-0. Cincinnati
starter, Johnny Vander
Meer, was the main story
line, striking out seven bat
ters in a complete-game
effort. Vander Meer also be
came the first and only
major league hurler to toss
consecutive no-hitters.
Continued on Page 3B
This week in
Sports History
By Ethan Swiech
THAUIH Y0UIIS
Donnie Craig & the Pickens County Sheriffs Office
Sloan Elrod & Pickens County EMS
Kris Stancil, Pickens County Commission Chair
Mark Roland and Roland Tire
Royston, LLC
Chattahoochee Technical College
The Wilson Company (Jostens)
CADY Studios
Quick Burger
Fatz of Jasper
Marco’s Pizza
Pickens County Schools Transportation Department
Pickens County Schools Maintenance Staff
Pickens High School Staff
It took numerous people and resources to make this year’s
Commencement Ceremony for the Pickens High School Class of
2021 possible. We could not have hosted this event without the
assistance of so many people. On behalf of the Class of 2021 and
Pickens High School, I want to express my sincere appreciation
to the people, businesses and organizations who helped make this
a memorable event for our graduates, their families and this
community.
Chris Wallace, Principal
Don’t Miss
Outdoor Columnist
O’Neill Williams
on taking great
hunting/fishing photos
next week