23.15 The President Grover Cleveland Award

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23.15 The President Grover Cleveland Award

Post by Chey » Fri Nov 06, 2015 7:52 pm

It's award season in Buffalo! The boys in blue may have won no great glory, but even in a season of sorrow there is joy to be had. A number of players set themselves above the rest, inspiring a new generation of Buffalo's boys and girls (and men and women!) with their heroic feats over the long campaign. Over the next few days, the individual awards won by Buffalo Bison players will be highlighted.

The President Grover Cleveland Award


The President Grover Cleveland Award is presented annually to the Buffalo Bison player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to the game of baseball. The award is named for former Buffalo mayor, New York governor, and the 22nd and 24th President of the United States,Grover Cleveland, of whom it was said, “in Grover Cleveland the greatness lies in typical rather than unusual qualities. He had no endowments that thousands of men do not have. He possessed honesty, courage, firmness, independence, and common sense. But he possessed them to a degree other men do not." The President Grover Cleveland Award recipient is selected by vote of the Buffalo Sportswriter Association.

Tommy Suarez grew up poor as dirt, in a barely developed neighbourhood in Ensenada, Mexico. The eighth of nine children, Tommy spent most of his day working odd jobs around the neighbourhood to help his family survive -- but when he had a spare moment, he was throwing a baseball. And, slowly but surely, people began to take notice: this kid was a talented pitcher, and more.

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Teachers and coaches who worked with Tommy discovered that he was exceptionally bright, and a tremendous leader of his peers. These traits, combined with his all-world changeup, kept him moving along the road to major league baseball. While he was never the most talented player on his team, Suarez's intangibles were enough to bump him up the minor league ladder until 2020, when he finally broke into the MBBA -- and in 2023, he spent his first full season in the major leagues. That alone is a wonderful story of hard work and perseverance: poor kid from Baja makes good. What makes Tommy's season truly remarkable, however, was his performance on the mound.

Starting off the season in the bullpen, Suarez stunned management by playing in eight games before giving up his first earned run. By the time he finally broke into the starting rotation, Suarez had emerged as a star reliever and was ready to start at the big league level -- and boy, did he. Through seventeen starts, Suarez tacked six wins and was named Player of the Game a remarkable ten times.

On the year, Suarez posted an ERA of 2.79. Not only was that the best mark on the team, but it was the best performance of Suarez's entire life. Never, at any level, has Tommy Suarez posted a full-season ERA as good as he did this year, in the major leagues. While some question how far this season was from his true talent level, it's impossible to deny that Tommy Suarez had a season for the ages.

Indeed, the poor kid from Baja made good.
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