Halifax Hawk 2024 Most Valuable Pitcher
Closer Tommy Gardner
by Caitlen Sullivan
Halifax Chronicle Herald Sports Editor
November 10, 2024
The Halifax Team Awards are voted upon by the Nova Scotia media – radio, television, newspaper, and blog. The voting for Most Valuable Pitcher was close indeed. Here are the results of the MVP vote: It was expected that starter Sancho Delgado would win the award. Sancho finished the year with a 12-8 record and an ERA of 2.59, second best in the MBWBA by 0.08 to California’s Jesus Tonche. Sancho’s 5.9 WAR was the best on the Hawks for 2024.
Closer Tommy Gardner
Tommy Gardner became the Hawk closer for 2024 almost by default. He was the best of a poor bullpen pool that overall performed way better than expectations for the year. A key component of the bullpen success was Gardner’s performance as the club closer. Tommy appeared in 76 games, a career high, and notched an impressive 45 saves, enough to be tops in the MBWBA in that category. He had only 4 blown saves and walked just 11 guys in 83 innings. His 2.71 ERA was a full 1.50 improvement over his 4.26 of last season.
Tommy was a starter with Chula Vista and Montgomery as he worked his way up through the Halifax system. Now just 25, he has been in the Hawk pen for three full seasons. Last year was his first as the team’s closer. He was the 472nd overall pick in the 2017 MBWBA amateur draft, taken in the 19th round by the Hawks. At 5’9” and 165 pounds, he is hardly an imposing presence on the mound, but he sure got the job done in 2024.