End of Season Team Awards

At the end of the season, the team received a ballot to vote on some awards for its teammates. Each teammate received one vote (10), Ron Loven got one vote (11) and Austin got an extra vote as team manager/traveling secretary/statistician/media personnel (12). Those results have now been received and will be revealed here....

Gold Glove Infield:
This was a very close vote as four different players received first-place votes (Eric Johnson, Lee Valle, Andy Briggs and Austin Colby) and another player (Jeff Johnson) received multiple second-place votes.
The team played excellent infield defense as a whole on the season and each player who received votes had something to do with that. Without further ado....

Winner: Lee Valle: 6 first-place votes/1 second-place vote
Lee defied age this season going through one of the best stretches of third base play I've seen. Lee played the last 12 league games without an error at third base!!!! That's unbelievable! it wasn't like he was sitting back and watching either, over that stretch he managed 18 assists and 14 putouts. A great season from Lee and a well-deserved honor!

Runner-Up: Austin Colby: 3 first-place votes/4 second-place votes
While Austin played over half his innings in the outfield, when he was in the infield he made it count. He led the team in chances per game and chances per inning played in the infield and managed to pick up 30 assists on the year at shortstop to go along with 24 putouts and 3 doubleplays in just 13 games.

Gold Glove Outfield:
If the infield vote was close like brothers are, then the outfield vote was close like conjoined brothers are. The three main outfielders, Jamy Antoine, Jason Merritt and Austin, all played outstanding in the grass during the year. Implementing a three-man outfield put a lot of pressure on those three but they handled it well and took advantage of the extra chances to make plays. The outfielders combined for 15 assists this season, which is a team record. All three players received at least three first-place votes and at least two second-place votes. Come meet your winner....

Winner: Austin Colby: 5 first-place votes/4 second-place votes
Austin was named on every ballot except one, which is saying a lot in and of itself. In 16 games, he chased down 31 putouts to go with his 3 assists and team-record 2 outfield double plays. He was steady throughout the season but probably earned a few votes for his highlight-reel catches from a few of his first games in the outfield. He was able to make a couple jaw-droppers which voters remember.

Runner-Up: Jason Merritt: 3 first-place votes/6 second-place votes
Jason was named on 9 of a possible 11 ballots including three first-place nods. he was probably the most steady and routine of the three outfielders and set a team-record with 6 assists. He led the team with a .980 fielding percentage from the grass and did an excellent job manning the left-field line. Many a double did he turn into an out. Well played Jason.

Pleasantly Surprising:
This is always a tricky award. Some voters aren't sure what to look for in a 'most pleasantly surprising category.' Here is what I look for: a player whose skill set was better than anticipated - a player who played above his skill set - a player who was so much fun to have on the team that he added value in that regard. Based on the votes that came in, this was a tough one to call for most people. Five people received votes, all of them had at least three total votes and one first-place vote. Lee, Andy, Adam Hey, Jamy and Jason were the vote-getters.

Winner: Andy Briggs: 5 first-place votes/2 second-place votes
Andy joined the team this year based on this recommendation to Austin from Jason, 'He talks a lot about baseball and seems to know what he's talking about. He can't be all bad.' Well said Jay, and a good move by Austin to give him the invite. It paid dividends because not only did Andy fill up the third criteria mentioned above with his jovial disposition and knowledgeable baseball chatter, but he could flat-out play too. Andy allowed this team to play a 5-man infield by doing a fantastic job at shortstop, allowing Austin to play center. He also handled the bat very well, posting a .600+ average for much of the season before a late-season slump ended him at .513.

Runner-Up: Jamy Antoine: 3 first-place votes/2 second-place votes
In his second year, Jamy showed why he is a media darling both at the plate and in the field. He improved his outfield play 100% from last year to this year, getting laser corrective eye surgery helped immensely. Jamy also displayed more consistent power on the season, finishing with 7 doubles, 4 triples, and 2 homeruns while driving home 36 runners, good for third on the team. An excellent year for Jamy and the voters responded.

MVP:
While the other categories were tighlty contested, the MVP vote was the only unanimous vote with every available first-place vote going to Austin. Three players, Eric, Jason, and Andy, were in a dogfight for runner-up honors as each received at least four votes with Andy and Jason getting the other available first-place votes.

Winner: Austin Colby: 10 first-place votes
Austin had the finest church season of his career. He played much more controlled defense, but kept some of the game-breaking plays in his back pocket if needed. He almost hit for the coveted triple-double at the plate too, posting a leauge-record 19 doubles along with another league-record 10 triples, and falling short in homeruns with just 7. He had a cool 55 runs scored (a team record) and 55 rbi. Austin showed his true value when it mattered, hitting an astounding .778 with runners in scoring position and an other-worldly .815 wtih 2 homers and 14 rbi from the 5th inning and on this season. His overall vital line was .766/.760/1.404/2.164 and he captured 4 Player of the Game awards as well as all-tournament at the Bloomington tournament and tournament MVP.

Runner-Up: Jason Merritt: 1 first-place vote/4 second-place votes
Jason had a great first season in the royal blue and white. As mentioned earlier, he played great outfield while hitting .631. He was second on the team in slugging percentage, working that number up to .881. He slugged 14 extra-base hits including 9 doubles, 3 triples, and 2 homeruns. He scored 37 times and drove home 29. Jason's OPS of 1.570 was an excellent number and gives him a great springboard for next season.