Rocky Mountain Rundown
Inside the Mind of The Gregapus
Rocky Mountain Rundown #8
RPWL 30 for 30 worthy storylines
I have to give credit to Cam Farro for inspiring this week’s article idea. With only three games on the slate for Week 4, it felt like the perfect time to step away from 2026 talk and dive into something different.
Today we’re talking about “30 for 30” worthy stories from RPWL history. The moments, teams, heartbreaks and championship runs that would make for dramatic television if our league ever got the ESPN treatment it deserves.
I picked five storylines, briefly setting the stage for each while revisiting the defining moments and asking questions to the players involved. Which story would you want to watch the most? And more importantly, which storyline got snubbed?
It felt like a disservice to release updated power rankings after only three games this week, so the next rankings update will come following the games on the 27th.
“The Year Offense Died”
A Season that Forced Change
2019 was a pitiful year for offense but a pivotal year for the future of the league. The season was followed by a historic turnover as it marked the last fast pitch seasons for the Tribe, Yankees and Athletics franchises. It was the only season in league history without the Royals, the first season of the Pirates franchise and the only season of the Devil Rays.
Let's set the stage. 4 guys threw 66.5 or more innings with Frankie leading the way at 73. The only other time anyone has ever thrown over 60 was 2023 Teddy (61) and 2024 Boas (60).
Watching games in 2019 was different. Every at-bat felt hopeless. Every game seemed to come down to a single run. Pitchers threw endlessly out of a bucket while hitters simply tried to survive long enough to stumble into offense.
30 regular season games ended 1-0. Nearly one out of every four games played all season. In the playoffs it somehow got worse as 6 out of 12 games ended 1-0.
2019 League stats compared to season low pre 2019 and post 2019 (excluding ‘16 and ‘26):
2019- .130/.220/.392 42 home runs (126 games) 1.65 Runs per game
2018- .150/.297/.497 55 home runs (110 games) 3.30 Runs per game
2024- .183/.303/.355 55 home runs (126 games) 1.23 Runs per game
The 2024 comparison feels strange at first glance because scoring was actually lower, but the style of play was completely different. By 2024, pitching had evolved. Walk rates dropped dramatically and teams actually had to earn baserunners. In 2019, hitters rarely made contact at all.
2019 had 5.2 walks per game and 1.56 hits per game. Yes, 1.56 hits PER GAME, not by each team, but combined. In 2024 walks were down to 3.14 a game and hits were up to 2.27.
The numbers told the story, but anyone watching could already feel it. The game needed to change. The league wasn’t just in a pitching era. It was broken. So, heading into 2020, the single biggest rule change of the fast pitch era had arrived.
The smaller of the two major rule changes was abolishing hit-offs. No more home run derbies to end games. From 2020 on we’d play real wiffleball in extras. The major change was the addition of the reliever rule. Forcing teams to have more than one reliable arm. Although the one ball rule did not come into effect until 2021, the reliever rule forever changed the league for the better.
“Built from Heartbreak”
The Breakthrough Season
The Weight of Losing
2018 as a member of the Yankees Greg Myers lost in game 3 of the championship 1-0. 2020 Greg leads a Pirates team with no 1st round pick to the best record in the league and loses the championship in 2 games by a combined 3 runs. 2021 as a member of the Diamondbacks Dennis Donegan loses the championship to the Dodgers, one of the greatest postseason teams of all time. In 2022 Adam Milsted lost game 3 of the championship 1-0 as a member of the Astros.
3 consecutive championship losses, 4 in 5 years. A weight that felt insurmountable. After 2020 I genuinely didn't know if I was capable of winning a championship in this league. I couldn't just overpower hitters and I wasn't much of a threat at the plate.
Best Chance Yet
On draft night 2023, the Pirates were positioned with 3 picks in the top 11 including the 5th and 6th overall picks. As the night wrapped it was certain this was the Pirates best chance to make a run. #2 in the preseason rankings with a group of guys that were desperate to climb the mountain.
The real story starts in the postseason after an underwhelming regular season where they went 7-7 but tied for the 3rd most points in the league with 3 extra inning losses.
They were middle of the pack in nearly every team statistic but with concerns about relief pitching it seemed like an outside shot of making a run.
After the Astros beat the Royals in the play-in game, the 1st round matchup was set. Teddy and the Astros set to face my Pirates in a 3 game set. Just one year removed from a tough Championship loss, Teddy wanted this as much as any of us did.
Pat Farrell’s 2 run home run in game 1 was the difference in a 5-1 victory. Pirates struggled to find reliever outs in game 2 that led to a 3-1 loss setting up game 3. Both pitchers were knocked out in the GOAT rule game which left it in the hands of relievers, a spot the Pirates didn't necessarily want to be. Milzy did enough, scattering 3 walks across a scoreless frame en route to the 1-0 victory.
Slaying the Giants
Their reward? A matchup against one of the most dominant teams the league had ever seen. A Jays team that finished 12-2, tied for the most regular season wins ever. A team that finished 1st in average by 80 points, 1st in OBP by 52 points and hit 4 more home runs than any other team. A truly dominant season to that point.
A tall task that seemed impossible after a 1-0 game 1 loss in which the Pirates mustered 1 hit to the Jays 5. Game 2 is where the magic begins. Adam Milsted pitched 2 perfect innings against the best lineup in the league. Then came one of the defining moments of the postseason. Bottom of the 5th. Bases loaded. Pat Farrell launched a walk-off grand slam that instantly became one of the most iconic swings in league history. Setting up a game 3 for the ages. Dennis and Cam both hit 1st inning home runs, forcing these teams to once more rely on relief pitching. Milzy once again shines, throwing a scoreless inning in what turned out to be the 3 best and most important innings Milzy has thrown in his RPWL career. 1 late run in the 5th was all they needed after that to secure a spot in the Championship.
The Championship
The Royals survived the White Sox in a brutal three game series where only three total runs were scored. Both 1 seeds were gone and all 8 remaining players were still searching for their first championship. A dominant Game 1 led by Greg’s two home runs put the Pirates one win away from the title, but the Royals answered in Game 2 behind strong pitching and late inning struggles by Greg on the mound.
What followed might still be the most electric 2 inning stretch in league history. Behn opened game three with a two-run homer before Greg immediately answered with a two-run shot of his own. Moments later Pat Farrell went deep again as momentum completely swung toward the Pirates.
Then came the defining play of the series.
Behn ripped a ball to center looking to spark another Royals rally, but Dennis recovered it just enough to get the ball back to Greg. The relay throw home barely beat Behn to the plate as it hit the zone, producing one of the most iconic calls in league history, punctuated by Dylan yelling: “This. Is. Incredible.”
The Pirates rode that momentum the rest of the way, winning 8-2 and finally cementing themselves as RPWL Champions.
“From my perspective, I fully take ownership for that Game 2 loss. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t feeling the pressure late. I honestly think I blacked out after hitting the home run in Game 3. Knowing we had it locked up going into the final inning helped me enjoy the moment even more. I think you can see the relief after the last out when I threw my arms up and embraced Dennis. This league has meant so much to me and, at the end of the day, your legacy gets cemented by winning titles. Without that win, my story never would’ve felt complete. I love that team. I love this league. Long live the 2023 Pirates.” - Greg Myers
Q&A with Pirates 1st round pick Dennis Donegan:
Before the season did you ever feel like you may not win a title?
“Before the season, I definitely had some thoughts that I may not win one. After the 2021 season with the D-backs, I thought that may have been my best shot to get a ring in fast pitch.”
The regular season wasn’t spectacular, at what moment in the playoffs did you realize we could actually win it?
“After Pat’s home run in game 1 off Teddy in the first round. Anything can happen in the playoffs, you just need to get in. After that moment in game 1, I knew we had a deep enough team to find ways to beat anyone.”
Did winning feel more like joy or relief and why?
“I would say it was a combination of both. I felt a lot of joy after winning game 1, but felt stressed after dropping game 2 and being down 2-0 in game 3. Once we went up big in the later innings, it was definitely a great feeling but also a breath of fresh air.”
“The Toronto Formula”
A Reunion Tour
The year is 2020. Three of the four CS teams from the 2019 season no longer exist. Making way for a youth movement with 5 new franchises led by both up and coming and established young stars. Cam had already established himself as one of the wiffleball’s best players heading into his first year as captain. He was ranked 4th in our league and 23rd in the country by The Drop.
On draft night Cam made his first selection as a captain. With the 8th overall pick Cam selected Jack Liberio. He followed it up by drafting both Gallo brothers. After a 4-3 start Cam shook up the league, acquiring Mike Collins from the Angels for Christian Gallo and picks. After that move the Jays finished 4-1 securing a wild card spot with an 8-4 record which tied for the 2nd best record in the league.
They handled business against the Astros before winning in 3 games against the Royals and squaring off against the AL 1 seed Phillies. A team in the regular season they went 0-2 against losing 13-6 and 8-2.
Mike and Jack both homer in game 1 on their way to a 5-3 win, Cam homers in game 2 but they fall short 3-1. Jack added another home run in game 3 and they won 6-1, setting up a showdown against the #1 overall seed Pirates. The Jays were riding momentum and were the better team on paper. The Jays brought the champagne out before game 2 even wrapped on their way to a 2 game sweep marking the 2nd time Cam had beat me in a Championship.
The years following the championship brought success, but not another ring. In 2021 the Jays went 8-6 before getting swept by the soon to be Champion Dodgers in the CS. The following year the Jays were without a 1st round pick as they went 5-9 before losing in the play-in game. The 2023 Jays were historically good. They finished 12-2 as the league’s top overall seed and looked destined for another title before a crushing Game 3 CS loss ended the run abruptly. A season that felt inevitable suddenly became one of the biggest “what ifs” in league history.
Time passed, rosters changed, and the league evolved. But by 2024, the Jays were right back where they started. Some teams rebuild. Others reunite. With the 6th overall pick, the Jays brought Jack Liberio back home. They followed it up with none other than Mike Collins with the 6th pick of the second round before rounding out the team with Matt Haines.
They finished the year with a league best 10-4 record. In an uneventful playoff run where they went a perfect 4-0, not allowing a single run and winning 3 games 1-0.
Four years after their first title together, the formula still worked. Same captain. Same core. Same result. In a league built on constant change, the Jays proved some combinations are timeless.
Q&A with Jays captain Cam Farro:
When you think of those Jays teams, what's the first memory or moment that comes to mind?
“First thing that comes to mind was we were able to run it back with basically the same team. That made it more fun and now my running joke is that Mike and Lib are in the Jays ring of honor. They’re 2 of my closest friends which made it more fun”
Which title meant more, proving you could do it in 2020 or proving it wasn't a fluke in 2024?
“2024 title meant more to me personally. I think 2020 was great because it was my first year as a captain and I proved I could do it as a captain, but 2024 was a gauntlet all season and everything went right when it needed to. Lib was great pitching, Mike had timely hits and we got to do it with Haines in his first year. Taking down Boas was huge for me because he would've had 2 rings in his first few seasons on a trajectory to win more. Selfishly, being the first to 3 rings was cool as well. 2024 was just a perfect season top to bottom”
“A Decade in the Making”
Full Circle Moment
The Origin Story
The Royals are the only Franchise to be captained by 2 different people. The franchise started when the league started in 2016. The roster featured captain Chris Durning, Tommy Loftus, Zane Johnston, Brendan Risley, Hailee Mayer and Nick Pellegrino. Chris was the only player to play more than 5 games in that season which was the standard at that point. They finished 4-6 losing in the first round of the playoffs.
2017 Royals roster: Chris Durning, Zane Johnston, Brendan Risley, Frankie Campinale and Nick Pellegrino. They finished 8-6 and were swept in round 1 of the playoffs.
2018 roster: Chris Durning, Zane Johnston, Brendan Risley and Behn Worley. They finished 5-9 missing playoffs.
The Gap Year
2019 looked a little bit different as the Royals franchise was no more. Chris was no longer dominant on the mound and entered the draft for the 1st time. At this point in time it seemed like the Royals franchise would be a part of the history books.
To this point in the Royals 43 game history the games played leaders were: Chris 39, Zane 31, Brendan 21, Behn 10, Frankie 9, Tommy 8. No one else had more than 4. They were a combined 17-21 in the regular season and 1-4 in the playoffs.
The Return
Then came 2020, Zane was coming off a great 2019 campaign and joined the influx of young captains. He decided to bring back the Royals franchise which he had spent every season with in their history.
Fittingly he drafted ex royals captain Chris Durning and Brendan Risley who both have also played in every Royals season to this point. The team was rounded out with Pat Farrell. They finished 8-4 before losing in 3 games in the DS.
2021 was an all time low in Royals franchise history. Once again, Zane, Chris and Brendan were reunited, this time joined by Eric Stewart. They finished with a league worst 1-13 record missing playoffs.
2022 seemed like their breakthrough. Zane drafted Brendan Boas who was coming off a semidominant rookie campaign. He also brought back Chris During and Eric Stewart. They won a league best 12 games but once again fell short getting swept in the semifinals.
At this point the Royals were 2-8 in the playoffs with 0 series wins. Zane and Chris have played in all 6 seasons of the Royals existence and Brendan Risley has played in all but 1.
The Breakthrough
2023 would stand as the lone outlier to this point in Royals history. The first time Chris wasn't on the team but it was all familiar faces as Zane was joined by Brendan Risley, Behn Worley and Eric Stewart. They went 8-4 before dropping their opening play-in game. With their backs against the wall, they did the unthinkable. They went on an unprecedented run beating the Angels before sweeping the Phillies and taking down the number 2 overall seed White Sox to reach the Championship. They eventually lost in a historic 3 game series against the Pirates. The question started getting asked. Is Chris the curse? Chris was a member of the #1 seed Blue Jays who lost in their only playoff series. Chris was still winless in the playoff series and the Royals just tripled their franchise playoff win mark.
Back Down to Earth
Hoping their magical 2023 run wasn’t a one year anomaly, the Royals brought back the same core in 2024. This time, the magic never came. They finished 4-10 and missed the playoffs entirely.
Full Circle
Here we are in 2025, 5 players have played double digit games in the Royals 8 years of existence. Unheard of in a re draft style league.
The 1st pick was clear, Tommy Loftus who was returning to dominant form. After a 2 year hiatus he brings back Chris Durning and finishes the draft by acquiring Brendan Risley… obviously. Look familiar?
Expectations were at an all time high heading into the season. After a 9-5 record they awaited the winner of the Mets and Astros to face in the CS. After handling the Mets in 2 games and after nearly a decade with the franchise, Chris Durning had finally won his first playoff series. He was rewarded with a spot in the championship against the very player who helped this team to their best regular season in history, now White Sox captain Brendan Boas.
The story seemed too good to be true. In an all time playoff moment, Brendan Risley hit a home run off Boas. The Royals handled business winning 5-0. After a 1-0 loss in game 2 where they had 1 baserunner, the stage was set. By the seventh inning, neither team had blinked. Tommy still hadn’t allowed a hit. Boas was matching him pitch for pitch. That’s when Zane delivered the biggest swing of his career, a solo home run to take the lead. This was all Tommy needed to stamp their names in history.
A team reunited after 10 years. Nearly a decade after the Royals first took the field, the same names were still writing the story.
Q&A with Royals captain Zane Johnston:
When you became a captain in 2020, did you ever consider starting fresh with a new franchise or was bringing back the Royals always the plan?
“Never considered starting fresh, I always wanted the core to be a combination of me, Chris, Behn or Rizz if they were available. I definitely got to the point where I mixed it up to try and make a jump competitively like trading Behn for Pat in 2020 or drafting AK later on. It just never really felt right chemistry wise unless the main core was there. I want to play with my best friends, it's just more fun that way so I will always make the most effort I can to get them on my team.”
After so many playoff disappointments, especially the 2023 run that ended one step short, did you ever wonder if you could win a championship?
“Honestly as heartbreaking as 2023 was and it was VERY heartbreaking, it gave me the most confidence ever that the Royals could win a chip. On paper that roster without Chris probably looked like one of the least threatening Royals rosters we’ve ever assembled and we ended up battling out of the play-in and eventually took a very good Pirates team to 3 games in the Championship. It proved to myself that if I play at my peak I could put the Royals in a championship position, especially if I’m getting help at the plate like Behn did that whole playoff run”
What did it mean to share that championship with Chris and Rizz after spending so many years together in the Royals story?
“It meant everything. Could I have drafted different rosters throughout the years and put together better teams? Probably, but it just wouldn't have felt right coming together after the final out of a chip to celebrate with anyone else. It’s been a long wiffleball journey for Chris, Rizz and I and I really wish Behn was on the team because we all have been waiting for that moment since we started playing wiffleball and some days we would leave the field not knowing if it would ever come. So shoutout to Tommy for coming back to the Royals for the first time since the OG team and getting us over the hump. It was such a weight off my back and the best moment of my Wiffleball career.”
“At Long Last”
After Years of Almost
For nearly a decade, the Ridley Park Longballs chased the one thing that always seemed just out of reach. A major tournament championship.
The Longballs became the face of competitive RPWL, taking on the best teams in the country across multiple formats and proving this league belonged on the national stage. But no matter how talented the roster was, the ending always seemed to hurt.
2019- Up 1-0 in the MAW Championship with a 2 run lead in Game 2. They lost the series in 3 games.
2019- Lost NWLA semifinals
2023- Another MAW Championship Game 3. This time a 9 inning 1-0 loss.
2023- Blew a 2-1 lead in NWLA semifinals
2024- Back in the MAW Championship again. Another Game 3. Another 1-0 loss, this time in 8 innings.
2025- On ESPN in the NWLA Championship. Another crushing defeat, 2-1.
Years of heartbreak. Years of “almost.” A team that constantly put itself in position but could never finish the job. Then came September 2025.
Fresh off the NWLA loss, the Longballs entered MAW hungrier than ever and found themselves staring down the Juggs in the Championship, the gold standard of fast pitch wiffleball and a team that had crushed their hopes before.
After falling behind 1-0 in the series, the Longballs finally did what they couldn’t for years. They closed the door.
Back-to-back wins. A MAW Championship. And at long last, the climb was over.
Colin, Sean and Dylan all answer the same question
In the Longballs history, which loss hurt the most?
Colin Pollag- “We’ve had a few big losses over the years but the one that hurts the most is the 2023 semifinals games against Skibbe. We played MAW our first game Sunday and I had the mindset that if we won that game we were going to win it all. We ended up beating MAW and Leroy putting up nearly 20 runs combined and honestly felt like we were unbeatable. We had a long break but got off to an early lead against Skibbe and thought we had it in the bag. As the final inning came along it just started down-pouring, you could almost feel the tension building in our dugout because our pitchers notoriously struggle in the rain. We ended up blowing the game and that eliminated us from the tournament. The rain isn't an excuse because Skibbe also had to pitch in it but that whole inning felt like something out of a movie with how the rain came at that moment and ended as soon as the game did. Leaving that tournament I felt as if we beat ourselves more than losing to another team.”
Sean Bignear- “2025 NWLA championship. That loss hurt so bad because we had never been that close to winning in that kind of style before. We were playing some of our best wiffleball all day and it felt like we let a huge opportunity slip away. We don’t know how many chances we have left to win NWLA”
Dylan Harshaw- “For MAW it was the 2019 game 3 chip loss. We were up 2-0 with a 1-0 series lead and Tommy pitching when back then it was pretty much game over. Overall I’d probably say the Skibbe NWLA loss in 2023. Up 2-1 in a game where we totally outplayed them, and we lost because the pouring rain in the 6th inning was brutal. Really think we would've won it that year.”
The reason I wanted to ask them the same question is because they’ve had enough heartbreaking losses that I was curious if certain games stuck out more than others. I think the biggest what if has to be the 2023 NWLA tournament. That tournament has meant so much to the Longballs and the league, I think that’s the one they want most and the one they’ve felt they should have won already. Now the question becomes, was this MAW win what they needed to go on a run in major tournaments?
Q&A with Longballs Captain Dylan Harshaw
Do you think something changed mentally heading into the 2025 MAW championship or did it finally just break your way?
“I’ll be honest, I don’t think anything changed mindset wise in the 2025 chip for me. I think things finally just fell our way. There's been a major mindset change since winning but I think this one felt like any other except we were finally on the winning end.”
Describe the moments after the final out. What emotions were you feeling and what were you thinking about?
“The one word I can use to describe the feeling after the final out is easy. Relief. It literally felt like 10 years worth of painful losses were lifted off my shoulders after Boas got that final out.”
Every league has stats. Every league has champions. But the stories are what actually last.
The 1-0 heartbreaks. The dynasties. The collapses. The reunions. The players who kept coming back until the ending finally changed.
Maybe someday RPWL really will get its 30 for 30 treatment.
Until then, these stories are ours.