The league experienced a lot of difficulty in getting 4 teams by the end of spring training. It was expected that the Neapolitan Creamers would not return since none of the players from that team live in town anymore. But when the Parasites decided not to reform the possibility of a 2011 season became unlikely. The Green Bears and Hot Dogs were ready to return and were at full strength but the league needed two more teams to have a genuine season. Suddenly two teams formed seemingly overnight.
The Fat Bastards featured rookie Jeremy Litton and veteran Tyler Call. This was Call's first appearance at a game since 2008. Unfortunately, Call would not show up to any more games after opening day. The Fat Bastards went 1-1 thanks to Call's fair pitching and clutch hitting and it's safe to say that the Fat Bastards would have performed better had Call stuck around. Also making a cameo appearance for the Fat Bastards was William Held. Held didn't seem to have the same magic on the mound that he did in previous seasons as he gave up 9 ER in one game. His bat did a lot of talking, hitting .444 but with no home runs and only 2 RBIs. Like Call, Held only played one week's worth of games and if he and Tyler Call simply would have kept showing up the standings could have been a lot more interesting.
The Dirty Birds were doomed from the start. The teams founder, Kevin Hancart, made a dramatic exit at the 2010 all-star game and was kicked off the Green Bears team. With the Green Bears and Hot Dogs full and a need for a 4th team, Hancart had to form his own team if he wanted to play in 2011. Kevin showed up to Week 1 of the regular season without his teammate and played for the Fat Bastards. In Week 2 Kevin came with his teammate and the Dirty Birds made their season debut, which would also serve as their farewell. The Birds were crushed in a double-header against the Hot Dogs. Hancart performed well at the plate in game one, hitting a solo HR and playing decent defense. It was a different story with Kennedy, he went 1-6 with 5Ks on the night and his only saving grace was a pretty nice stop on a ground ball. The defeats were demoralizing and neither Hancart or Kennedy were seen for the rest of the season.
The rivalry between the Hot Dogs and Green Bears was still strong as they played each other many times as the other two new franchises were failing (the Fat Bastards somehow managed to play 6 games). There was no question that the Hot Dogs were dominating in 2010 but the Green Bears were a whole new team, going 3-2 against the Hot Dogs and outscored them 16-9. This became the deciding factor when faced with the question of who the 2011 champion should be. The numbers the Green Bears had proved they were the better team and why they were named the 2011 GDWL Champions. Also aiding this decision was the Hot Dogs not showing up to any more games after June 14, making the Green Bears the last team standing.
Sure there probably would have been a few weeks of no games and maybe a few games in late July or early August but the commissioner was tired of that trend. "I'm so tired of the same pattern every season," Commissioner Josh Smith said. "We have a strong start followed by a mid-season petering out and then maybe (but not always) we have a few games at the end of summer. It's unfair to me and to other players willing to come here every week. I come here one to two hours before game time to set up the field only to be stood up by the opposing team(s). I am done wasting my time." Smith has commissioned the league since it's inception in 2002 and has seen ups and downs. The league went through modest growth spurts through 2007, when the league had 4 somewhat steady teams and almost every team played 10 games a piece (a goal that Smith has for every season). 2007 was the league's best season at the time and in 2008, despite moderate media coverage in the local news, the league could not get the season off the ground because of low player turnout. Smith did not bother calling players together in spring of 2009 because of the bust that occurred in 2008. In 2010, some of the players asked Smith if the league could get back together. The result was the league's best season to date, with 3 of the 4 teams playing over 10 games. Turnout was modest but consistent, something that could not be repeated in 2011 for unknown reasons. "Unless something changes I'm not going to waste any more time, money, or energy on something that refuses to work out," Smith concluded. So the league has unofficially ended and depending on the actions of what few players remain, the league may never resurface.
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