Season 12 Wrap Up

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Oklahoma City takes it all in Season 12!

After a hard fought 7 game series in an exciting World Series against Nashville, Oklahoma City has won their 3rd championship in the Kenny Powers World.  As of late, they have ruled the even numbered seasons, taking home the title in Seasons 8, 10, and 12.  Nashville almost ended their even season dominance, take a 3-2 lead by sweeping the three games at their park.  Despite not being able to win on the road this post season, Oklahoma City was equally as dominant at home as they were bad on the road, going undefeated at home in bringing home the trophy.  Catcher Braden Rodney was a key offensive force for Oklahoma City in the playoffs, going deep six times and driving in 12.  Cy Young winner Richard Ma continued his regular season dominance in the playoffs, going 5-0 with a 1.62 ERA. 

Congrats to Oklahoma City on capping off a most interesting postseason with another title.  A big congratulations on a great season goes out to Nashville as well.  Not many expected them to be the force they were this season, as in the preseason power rankings they were # 28 after going 58-104 in Season 11.  Great turnaround, and I'm sure they will continue to be a presence in the AL. 

That does it for Season 12, tell your friends, family, coworkers, etc. about the joys of playing in the Kenny Powers World, as it looks like we'll have a few openings to fill.   Still, we're hoping for a quick rollover, so we can get Season 13 under way as soon as possible.   Thanks for another great season!

Season 12 Awards Recap

With Oklahoma City and Nashville in the midst of battling it out for the World Series, the awards for Season 12 were handed out.  Let's see who the winners were!

Most Valuable Player
American League - Ivy Mench, Pawtucket -.313 AVG 46 HR 127 RBI
Ivy Mench led a powerful Pawtucket offense this season in route to capturing his first MVP award.  He led the league in OBP, was an all-star starter, and won a Silver Slugger award, his 2nd.  At only 26, he should be an MVP contender for many seasons to come. 

National League - Jeremy Randall, Buffalo -.312 AVG 44 HR 102 RBI
Jeremy Randall, Buffalo's star 25 year-old catcher, captured his 2nd MVP award (he also won in season 9) with another fantastic season.  He led the NL in OBP, SLG and OPS, was a starter in the All-Star game, and won his 4th Silver Slugger award.  Randall is another young player who will continue to rack up accolades for seasons to come. 

Cy Young Award
American League - Clyde Hurst, Vancouver - 19-6 2.41 ERA 241 K
Pitching wise, Clyde Hurst led the AL this season in, well, just about everything.  It wasn't a close race at all as Hurst was clearly the best pitcher in the AL yet again, as this is his 4th Cy Young win and 3rd in a row.  He has as many Cy Young Awards than all-star appearances, as he made his 4th this season.  At age 29, there's no telling how many more Cy Youngs he can win, especially with no other pitchers in the AL stepping up to challenge him. 

National League - Richard Ma, Oklahoma City - 21-3 2.17 ERA 183 K
Richard Ma led an outstanding Oklahoma City pitching staff to win his 2nd Cy Young award in 3 seasons.  Ma won the NL ERA title, tied for the lead in wins, and made his 5th All-Star team.  Amazingly, he also threw two no-hitters this season!  It pretty much doesn't get much better than that, and at age 28, Ma has many more great seasons to come. 

Rookie of the Year
American League - Kyle Surtain, Detroit - .278 AVG 32 HR 80 RBI
Detroit's 23 year-old up-and-coming Right Fielder, Kurt Surtain, took home AL Rookie of the Year honors, with a solid season.  Surtain has tremendous power and as a great all-around hitter, so future all-star appearances should be in his future.  He also has nice speed, as he stole 13 bases this season.  He also made the All-Star team this season.

National League - Jeff Jennings, Las Vegas - 17-8 3.41 ERA 114 K
Jeff Jennings took home the NL Rookie of the Year award in a unique Starter/Long Reliever role.  Whenever he came into pitch, he was very effective and racked up 17 wins with a solid 3.41 ERA.  He has highly effective pitches, but is mediocre vs. lefties, and his RH split isn't that great either.  He doesn't have elite talent, but could contend for future awards, even though it's not a given.  Still, hats off to a very impressive rookie season for Jennings.  

Fireman of the Year
American League - King Stoops, Chicago - 2.72 ERA, 48 SV - 3rd Win
National League - Jamie Mancuso, Memphis - 1.31 ERA, 51 SV - 2nd Win

Silver Slugger Awards

American League
DH	Al Soto	Vancouver	1st
C	Livan Espinoza	Little Rock	1st
1B	Javier Sivilla	Pawtucket	1st
2B	Sherman Perez	Pawtucket	2nd
3B	Chipper Nippert	Vancouver	3rd
SS	Luis Vega	Pawtucket	4th
LF	Joey Aumont	Vancouver	1st
CF	Weldon Rando	Cincinnati	2nd
RF	Ivy Mench	Pawtucket	2nd
National League
P	Allan Blackley	Boston	1st
C	Jeremy Randall	Buffalo	4th
1B	Yuniesky Diaz	Tampa Bay	2nd
2B	Joaquin Valverde	Oklahoma City	5th
3B	Allan Farquhar	Tampa Bay	1st
SS	Sammy Ozuna	Chicago	1st
LF	Jack McMichael	Tacoma	2nd
CF	Felix Cochrane	Memphis	1st
RF	Al Martin	Tacoma	2nd

Gold Glove Awards 

American League
P	Cristian Wanatabe	Texas	1st
C	Heinie Pecina	New York	1st
1B	Otto Gibson	Seattle	1st
2B	P.T. Henriquez	Augusta	3rd
3B	Chipper Nippert	Vancouver	3rd
SS	Tom Post	Dover	3rd
LF	Dennis Bailey	Augusta	1st
CF	Pepe Mendoza	Little Rock	3rd
RF	Clyde Rosen	Boise	1st
National League
P	Allan Blackley	Boston	1st
C	Darren Riley	Salem	1st
1B	Pablo Montanez	Louisville	1st
2B	Alfonso Castro	Tampa Bay	1st
3B	Tony Bonifacio	Las Vegas	1st
SS	Bryant Swift	Las Vegas	4th
LF	Alving Machado	Memphis	1st
CF	Luis Estalella	Indianapolis	1st
RF	Chad Whitaker	Louisville	1st

Season 12 League Leaders

Now that the regular season is complete, here's a recap of the Season 12 League Leaders!

Offense

In the American League, Al Soto appeared atop of the league leaders three times, leading the AL in Home Runs (56), RBI (156) and Slugging Percentage (.648). Ivy Mench also had an excellent season, leading the AL in OBP (.413) and OPS (1.015).  A new single season record for Stolen Bases was set by Weldon Rando with an astounding 111!  Rando broke his own record, as he also holds spots 2-4 on the list of most Stolen Bases in a single season.

In the National League, Jeremy Randall had a great season leading the league in OBP (.459), Slugging (.646) and OPS (1.105). Bey Relaford captured both the Home Run (48) and RBI (141) titles.

Here's the complete list of offensive league leaders!

American League
Batting Average	Bernie Jackson	Boise	.335
Home Runs	Al Soto	Vancouver	56
RBI	Al Soto	Vancouver	156
Stolen Bases	Weldon Rando	Cincinnati	111
Hits	Billy Beaulac	Vancouver	194
Runs	Salvador Mendoza	Colorado	123
OBP	Ivy Mench	Pawtucket	.413
SLG	Al Soto	Vancouver	.648
OPS	Ivy Mench	Pawtucket	1.015
National League
Batting Average	Mike Russell	Las Vegas	.325
Home Runs	Bey Relaford	Buffalo	48
RBI	Bey Relaford	Buffalo	141
Stolen Bases	Paul McInerney	Buffalo	62
Hits	Randall Holt	Helena	197
Runs	Felix Cochrane	Memphis	118
OBP	Jeremy Randall	Buffalo	.459
SLG	Jeremy Randall	Buffalo	.646
OPS	Jeremy Randall	Buffalo	1.105

Pitching

Pitching wise, in the American League, Clyde Hurst had a decent year leading the AL in ERA, Wins, Strikeouts, WHIP, Complete Games and Shutouts.  Disappointingly, he only tied for the league lead in quality starts.  Despite that, we have an inkling he'll win his record breaking 4th Cy Young, and 3rd in a row this season.  His 3 Shutouts tied the mark for 5th most all-time.

In the NL, Richard Ma won the ERA title, and tied for the most wins. Che-Bang Kata took home yet another Strikeout title, led the league in WHIP, and tied for most Quality Starts. Jamie Mancuso and Damaso Perez tied the mark for 4th most Saves all-time with 51 each.

Here are the Season 12 Pitching League Leaders!

American League
ERA	Clyde Hurst	Vancouver	2.41
Wins	Clyde Hurst	Vancouver	19
Strikeouts	Clyde Hurst	Vancouver	241
Saves	Kings Stoops	Chicago	48
WHIP	Clyde Hurst	Vancouver	0.99
Innings Pitched	Clyde Hurst	Vancouver	261.2
Quality Starts	Clyde Hurst	Vancouver	27
	Erubiel Troncoso	Cincinnati	27
Complete Games	Clyde Hurst	Vancouver	10
Shutouts	Clyde Hurst	Vancouver	3
National League
ERA	Richard Ma	Oklahoma City	2.17
Wins	Richard Ma	Oklahoma City	21
	Jimmie Soto	Buffalo	21
Strikeouts	Che-Bang Kata	Tacoma	240
Saves	Jamie Mancuso	Memphis	51
	Damaso Perez	Tacoma	51
WHIP	Che-Bang Kata	Tacoma	1.03
Innings Pitched	Ramiro Vazquez	Rochester	246.2
Quality Starts	Matty Posada	Louisville	28
	Che-Bang Kata	Tacoma	28
Complete Games	Douglas Telford	Burlington	8
Shutouts	Damion Xaio	Helena	2
	Steve Lampkin	Rochester	2
	Richard Ma	Oklahoma City	2
	Ellis Brock	Tampa Bay	2