Spotlight on "Howlin' Mad"

In this very short season, one star has emerged for the Baffin Island Beavers.

1B Charlie "Howlin' Mad" Murdock

His career as a Beaver didn't start so well, he was acquired to fill the need for a 1B prior to the 2012 season for C/1B Elijah Stuart.  He has a very good ST that year, but floundered in the first 37 games, batting a horrible .176 with 0 HR.  He was demoted to AAA Waba where he need to tailer his swing to handle big league pitching.

He immediately made a huge impact there, in the 68 games he played he bashed out 22 HR's, driving in 72 RBI with a .375 AVG, .404 OBP and .675 SLG!

In 2013, with the big club, he earned his spot at 1B.  For the year he batted .278, driving out 29 HR and batting in 129. Not bad for his first full year.

So far in 2014, "Howlin' Mad" has been just that, mad at the ball, just tearing the cover off of it.  In 46 games he has 14 jacks, 35 RBI with an AVG of .346 and SLG on .613.  Murdock has been clutch for the Beavers so far, and the future looks bright for this power hitting first baseman.  He isn't no slouch defensively either, rated as 14 at his only position he fits what Baffin needed when they traded for him.

"We felt we needed to put a power bat at 1st, for the first two years we didn't have that.  Murdock fit the bill perfectly, and he was great defensively.  So all-in-all a perfect match for Howlin' Mad",  Aaron Blank was quoted saying from an undisclosed location near the Wheafield Inn & Bar in Kitscoty, AB 23 km west on Lloydminster, AB.

Look for this guy to be a key player in Baffin's resurgence this year.

BTW Trav, :P