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by Fritz Vertigo

In two weeks, the twin aces of the New York Mud Hens will find themselves pitched in battle against a foe they never thought they’d have to stare down—each other.

On Tuesday, Brian Kelley and Eric Wolfer were both announced as finalists for the NYCMBL’s Cy Young award, which will be handed out on November 13 at the Zone Sports Bar in Queens, New York. The duo, who have been a potent 1-2 punch for the Mud Hens all season, now find themselves pitted against one another to determine who will be named the top pitcher in New York’s premier amateur baseball league.

The similarities between the two hurlers have been noted: Both are hard-throwing right handers with nasty dispositions and great off-speed stuff. But for the two Cy Young hopefuls; that’s where the similarity ends.

The ace of the Swampers since their inception in 2007, Wolfer didn’t actually turn to baseball until the advanced age of fourteen. Instead, the Brainerd, Minnesota native excelled in the little known sport of curling, even earning a spot on the 1996 junior squad that took home the gold at the Pan-American games in Mexico City.

However, in 1997, after a freak curling accident killed his friend and mentor Jan Van Gunderson, Wolfer walked away from the sport—and a lucrative endorsement deal with Nike—and moved to New York where he utilized the control and precision he learned on the snowy lakes of Minnesota to become a talented pitcher.

“I’ve never looked back,” says Wolfer. “Maybe someday I’ll pick up the broom again, but not anytime soon.”
After several solid years with the Hens, Wolfer’s 2009 season in the NYCMBL might well be his best ever, as the three-year veteran went 10-3 with a 1.57 ERA.

Kelley on the other hand, was born to be on the baseball field—just maybe not as a player. The son of Trip Kelley III, known better as the legendary mascot, “ The Santa Clara Rooster,” being an in-game entertainer seemed to be a logical career choice for the Hens’ right hander, until he caught the eye of the Corpus Christie Crawdaddy manager Clem Neuhouse during a fifth-inning promotion for a local radio progam.

“The kid had a natural arm,” says Neuhouse. “The other helpers were using slingshots and cannons, but here was this kid just launching shirts into the 15th, 16th row with nothing more than pristine mechanics.” Under Perry’s wing, Kelley became a hard-throwing attraction who met with success at Dickinson College before joining the Mud Hens midway through the 2008 season. He went 10-1 with a 1.27 ERA this season.

Both players—as well as the Mud Hens organization—have been quick to play down any idea that this award might come between the two aces.


“We’re all teammates,” says Hens first baseman Ara Melikian. “If I were a betting man, I’d put money on this competition making both guys work harder next season.”


“It doesn’t matter who wins this thing,” adds the Hens’ Director of Operations, Richard Reed. “They’re true Swampers through and through.”