Some might say Mynorli Gaajlimitz had a down year in 2061. Some might say he was more impressive in 2061 than either of his first two seasons. Regardless of what some will say, everyone will be able to state that Gaajlimitz is the Frick League Batting Champion. An honor he wins for the second consecutive season.
Those that will say Gaajlimitz had a down year will point to Gaajlimitz's dip in several offensive categories. While many hope to one day see Mynorli break the .400 barrier, fans saw his 2061 average drop to .373 compared to his .394 tally from last season. You may recall Mynorli was hitting over .400 heading into the final week of the season a year ago. Gaajlimitz also saw a drop in almost every other stat including hits, doubles, RBI, and runs scored. Granted his 44 doubles and 111 RBI were still solid totals and led the team.
But the area that possibly hurt Gaajlimitz in his pursuit of .400 and a push for another hits record was the fact he drew more walks in 2061. Mynorli walked a career best 60 times this season which likely cost the 21 year old DH a few points on his overall average but did see him boost his on-base percentage. In fact, his .425 on-base percentage was not only a personal best, but it led the entire Frick League by 31 points and was the best in the BBA. HIs .891 also ranked him 6th overall in the Frick League, despite hitting just 5 homeruns this season.
"I don't think I started the season looking to do anything different" said Gaajlimitz on winning the award and the walk increase. "I took the same approach I always have. If the pitch is good enough for me to hit it, I hit it. If not, I let it go. I guess I let a few more pitches go this season that cost me some base hits. But in the end, as long as I'm on base, I'm helping the team. That's what I'm here to do."
One of the things that really draws attention is the number of intentional passes Mynorli got this year. He was intentionally walked 21 times this season. That led the entire BBA by another wide margin. To put that in perspective, if you add up the top 3 guys in the JL in itentional walks, they received 20. COMBINED! But even in the Frcik League, pitchers were afraid to pitch to him. Joffer and Delgado, the two guys behind him on the list of free passes in the FL, combined for 17 intentional walks.
"It's safer to walk him with a base open and a man on than pitch to him" said one rival manager this season. "If there is a runner on second or third and he's at the plate, he's going to put the ball in play. Odds are, he's getting a hit. So if you don't want that run to score, you're better off pitching to whoever is on deck than give him a pitch to hit."
So yeah, some might say when you add in that fear factor, Gaajlimitz was more impressive!
