On the Lam, 60.6 - Batter of the Year

[trmmilwwi]

Well, the Outlaws sucked again this year. We finished 68-94 which was the worst record since 2053. It’s been a long, long draught since the championship season in ’44. The pitching has been steady, if not good, and has hovered around a team ERA of around 4.60, which is right on track for the team average over the last 65 seasons. So, where does the suckitude lie? The batting. The team average was down to .251 for the year, our 5th worst average over our 65 seasons. Ugh. Well, there has to be some good in all of this I guess.

BATTER OF YEAR

2B Jim Fennell

There wasn’t a lot to choose from but 2B Jim Fennell had what was easily his bets season in the Monty with a .284/20/56 slash line. Fennell made his big league debut in ’58 when he played in a few games at the end of the season but his real debut was in ’59 when he was a backup infielder for the year. He saw action in 67 games and managed a very respectable .321 average in spot duty. This season his average dipped a bit but he still carried an OBP of .371, easily best on the team. His OPS+ and wRC+ both were in the top range for the team as well so the award is his. Fennell will get a shot next season to repeat his award although it will likely be at 1B with spot duty at 2B.

SECOND PLACE
LF Shoin Yoshida – Yoshida continued to fill our his potential and posted a career best .254/24/86 line this season.

THIRD PLACE
C Blast McBearett – Blast cemented his spot as the everyday catcher with a respectable .247/11/46 slash. While that is not a great total in the grand scheme the additional value for what is one of the best defensive backstops in the game allows him to get bronze here.

[BaseClogger]

Can’t have good Italian sausage without plenty of fennel.

Too bad Fennell is a first baseman.

The Outlaws don’t deserve their struggles. You never lose 100 games and always seem to be on the brink of competitiveness. Just haven’t crossed that threshold.