2053.03 YSN Press Release: Team Announces 2052 End of Year Awards, Look to 40th/80th Anniversary
Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2022 9:01 pm
Yellow Springs, OH – The Yellow Springs Organization is proud to debut a new way to recognize the amazing men who've played for them over the years, introducing a series of annual awards named for legendary figures from the organization's past.
General Manager Rob McMonigal and Owner Bo Jackson were on hand to provide the awards to the players, as part of their exit meetings.
"Ron, I mean Rob brought the idea to me and I immediately loved it. The Yellow Springs organization has a longstanding history in the Brewster and it's time we do more to recognize it and the players who've donned our iconic uniforms."
"This team goes back to 1995, when it was in Phoenix, and while there has been a lot of work done to capture the stars of the past, we felt there was more we could accomplish," added McMonigal. This set of awards is just one piece of a number of planned items we'll be working on in the off-season and into the 2053 year, which is our 80th year of existing! 80 years! That's just unbelievable!"
"It's also the 40th anniversary of moving here to Yellow Springs, the tiny city no one said could possibly ever support a major league franchise. And yet here we are, still going strong, while other teams have moved from far larger cities, trying to capture the magic of long-time, consistent teams like ours. We have a culture of winning and the fans respect that."
"Some fans may take this for granted, but we have the 5th best winning percentage of any franchise at .525, with years like 2052 being an aberration," said McMonigal. "So are our 27 playoff appearances. It's an honor to be a part of the Nine, and I look forward to many decades of running the team. This 80th year will be something special for fans and players alike."
Jackson chimed in a final time, saying, "Look for things we've done before, like the Hall of Fame, to get a fresh coat of paint, and for some new surprises, too, that we're not ready to debut yet."
"Let's just say you won't want to miss the opening night of quite a few homestands this year," said McMonigal, "unless you prefer to get your collector's items at a premium on the black market."
The Initial Awards are as follows:
2052 Coach of the Year Award:
Armando Melendez, Manager of the Indianapolis Downforce
In his third year as the manager of the Nine's AAA team, Melendez took the team to its first playoff appearance since 2048. After losing records in 2050 and 2051, the 83-61 record was a 13 game improvement. The 57 year old has been managing for 8 years and appears to have a bright future ahead.
2052 Offensive Player of the Year Award:
CF Frederick Brisset
Brisset gets the first-ever award for offensive greatness for a season. Easily the best offensive player on the team, Brisset had 33 home runs (12 more than the next best player on the team), 108 RBI (only player to do so), and was second on the team in OPS with .832, just missing Eric Grant's .834 in his 74 games to Brisset's 153. The iron man anchored the lineup day in and day out.
2052 Defensive Player of the Year Award:
2B Dong-Po Thum
The evergreen Thum is still wowing people at the ballpark with his amazing work in the middle infield. Logging nearly 1300 innings at second base, his natural position, the long-time and expected lifetime Niner had a zone rating of 19.2, far higher than any other player at their primary position while making just 6 errors on over 700 chances.
2052 Pitcher of the Year Award:
SP Dave Lee
Lee may not have won a lot of games for Yellow Springs in 2052, just nine, but wins and losses aren't the best way to judge a pitcher. Instead, look to his 141 strikeouts (second on the team), minuscule 36 walks against 199 and 2/3 innings pitched, 1.10 overall WHIP and FIP of 3.54, all of which led the team's starters in 2052.
2052 Rookie of the Year Award:
LF Eric Grant
The left hander was new to the BBA, but sure didn't act like it. He played 73 games for the Nine in 2052, establishing himself as the team's primary left fielder going into 2053. Hitting a solid OPS of .834, the former #1 draft pick, selected 34th overall in 2050, wasted no time in getting to the majors at age 23. Grant showed a little pop in his bat with 8 home runs and interestingly enough for a rookie, had no issues with a split. In fact, he actually hit lefties better (.918 OPS v LHP and .819 v RHP). Another value pick from Ron Collins,
2052 Prospect of the Year Award
SP Reece Newsome
The only question in everyone's mind is why Reece wasn't given a September call up. The 25 year old former first round pick (in 2049, overall selection #42), this young man has learned the secret to dominating opposing batters, at least those in AAA. Reece had an amazing 243 strikeouts in 176 and 1/3 innings, good for a K/9 ratio of 12.4 – as a starting pitcher! Newsome walked a mind-boggling 20 batters, averaging just 1 free pass per game, which led to a WHIP of .84. It's no fluke, either, as his WHIP was .86 in 2051. If he can translate this into major league success, there will be more Yellow Springs Nine awards – and maybe a few in the wider Brewster as well.