For many of us the Caputo Complex Wiffleball League is thought to be a new league. Despite being the most recent addition to the NWLA they have played since 2006. They take the game to a new level - playing 9 Innings. Instead of having a strike zone board they use a 3rd party catcher (something no other NWLA League does). For those of you who've never seen them play - go to their Youtube channel where they post every game from each week. If you see their videos you will witness the madness. Their games are action-packed and unpredictable. There's great pitching and amazing hitting. They're also are a base running league - is there any better way to play the game? I think not. Having the catcher to pick off base-runners gives them an edge no other league has. Are they demented for playing this way? Perhaps. But I like to think they are just ardent athletes who want to take the game to new heights.

I spoke with Caputo Complex commissioner, Joseph Caputo, and asked him to tell me how it all started. "We started playing games back in the summer of 2005 with cones for a fence and a chair for a strikezone, but we really wanted to take it to the next level" he said. But lots has changed since their humble origins. In 2007 they began keeping stats and had a colossal season that stretched from March to August. "We later found out that was a little [too] lengthy," Caputo said. In 2008 they implemented the draft to eliminate the "top-heavyness of the league." Caputo refers to this era as "the draft era." Caputo says 2008 was his "favorite season" because they were at the height of their "great success" (a record 8 teams). 2008 was also the year they began to take video of their games. Although there are some videos from the '08 season on their Youtube channel you might not want to bother because the "quality is terrible." 2009 was the first year the league saw any set-backs. 1 of the 8 teams from 2008 dropped out half way through the '09 season. Because of this Caputo feels that '09 was "a step down" from '08. However, 2009 wasn't a total loss for Caputo Complex. They were sponsored by the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group and became an officially sanctioned league by the Wiffle Inc.

The league has continued to shrink. This year they have only 6 teams and they are almost guaranteed to continue to diminish in size. "Availability from our players seems to be dying down" Caputo said. The reason for the lack of availability is probably due to them being a young league comprising of mostly teenagers and you know what that means. That's right - graduation...a common killer of young wiffleball leagues. "If it were up to me it [the league] would last forever...I would say as of now, this is the last season." They have been briefly affiliated with a neighboring league known as FT Wiffle - a league that plays on an exclusively individual stats format (similar to early CWL) and also have amazing videos . 5 of Caputo's players also play in FT Wiffle, including FT Wiffle's commissioner Steven Gethard (Manager of Caputo Complex's Cardinals). "FT Wiffle is more a field than a league" Caputo said. "We have played them in the past...but it always turns out that each team wins their respective home games, so we stopped playing." Perhaps, in time, the two leagues can move past their differences in rules and merge together to keep wiffleball going in their area.

The possibility of this being their last season doesn't seem to be discouraging the game-play at all for the 2010 season. They are playing machines and they've played for weeks on end. The reason they aren't real powerful in the rankings is because of the lack of games they play - you try playing 9 innings and see how long it takes. The playoffs are on the horizon at just a couple of weeks away. What does the champion get? Cold. Hard. Cash. It's $25 to enter the league and what money isn't used for supplies is put back for the league champions. There's only one trophy awarded each year and it is given to the HR-Derby champion during the All-Star game. I asked for Caputo's predictions on what the results will be for the Playoffs. "My prediction is that the Cardinals will advance through to the World Series...and that the Rangers will win the World Series."

If this is indeed Caputo Complex's final season they won't be forgotten any time soon. The recordings of their games are impressive and are entertaining to watch. The videos alone should keep their name alive for a while. Also they have 2 strong candidates for the NWLA Hall of Fame - Alex DeCastro and Chris Baird . Hopefully this won't be the last year we hear from Caputo. I think it's important to appreciate the uniqueness of this league for taking this game to new heights.