Season 10 Recap

Oklahoma City wins their 2nd title in Season 10!

Thought I'd kick off our blog with a recap of Season 10.  Oklahoma City defeated the Vancouver Grizzlies to take their second World Series title in three seasons.  It was a hard fought battle that went seven games.  Oklahoma City and Vancouver have won the last four titles now in alternating years.  Both Oklahoma City and Vancouver look pretty stacked for Season 11, so it will be tough to dethrone them as league champions, but there are certainly some teams out there that are capable.  

Now, let's take a look at the award winners from Season 10. 

NL MVP: Antonio Liang .296 AVG 53 HR 124 RBI
The second year slugger had his coming out party in Season 10 capping it off with the NL MVP award.   He also made the all-star team and won a silver slugger award.  At only age 23, Liang has the potential to rack up a few more MVP trophies throughout his career.

AL MVP: Anthony Xavier .315 AVG 45 HR 108 RBI 35 SB

Xavier, an offseason free agent acquisition prior to season 10 for Seattle, proved he was worth the max contract he got by doing it all for the Sonics in Season 10 in helping lead them to Wild Card appearance in the playoffs.  This is Xavier's 3rd MVP award, and on top of that made his 6th All-Star team and won his 5th Silver Slugger.

NL Cy Young: Richard Ma 21-6 2.37 ERA
Richard Ma help lead Oklahoma City to the World Series title with a simply dominant season.  He made his third consecutive all-star appearance as well in Season 10.  It wouldn't be a surprise to see him win more Cy Young awards, and it's hard to believe he didn't win in Season 8 with a 22-4 record and a 2.14 ERA.

AL Cy Young: Clyde Hurst 20-8 2.98 ERA
Hurst took home his 2nd Cy Young in Season 10, as he also won it in Season 8.  After an off year in season 9, he bounced back with a stellar season 10 to take home the trophy.  He also made his 2nd all-star team in season 10.

NL Rookie of the Year:  Luis Navarro .373 AVG 32 HR 88 RBI
Oklahoma City also had the Rookie of the Year in Luis Navarro who put up an incredible .373 batting average and a whopping 1.140 OPS, a feat only two other players have accomplished in the history of the world, making him a no-brainer for Rookie of the Year and if he had more plate appearances, he likely would have been MVP too.   

AL Rookie of the Year: Timothy Crede 12-3 2.98 ERA
A midseason call-up, Crede dominated in the 21 starts he made in his rookie campaign.   The 26 year-old looks like he'll be a great pitcher for seasons to come, and he hasn't even accumulated a full season of major league service yet.

A few big International Free Agents were signed in season 10, let's take a look.

Delino Santana, Little Rock, $24.7 mil - he will be an excellent fielding shortstop with a solid bat.  At only age 19, he is a few years away from the Big Leagues.
Victor Diaz, Montreal, $18.7 mil - this lefty looks like he could be decent in the majors now, and at only age 20 could be a star by the time he hits the majors.
Omar Valentin, Salem, $15.8 mil - already has a great batting eye and contact at age 20, should develop into a regular .400+ OPS guy. 
Vladimir Franco, Pawtucket, $13.1 mil - has an elite batting eye better than most major leaguers at age 20, and his other batting skills are all have plus potential.

That concludes the Season 10 recap.  We're only one owner away from starting season 11, it should be an exciting one!