October 13th
There is absolutely nothing to report this week outside of the League Championships. No retirements, no coaching changes.
So, we’ll use the opportunity to look at the major awards from the minor leagues. After that, 4 posts: a preview for each league, and then the League Championship series themselves.
#AAA
#MVP
Jack Hannifin of the Las Vegas Aces rode 63 homeruns and 126 RBIs to the AAA MVP. Hannifin is hoping to follow in the footsteps of last year’s winner, Benny Kauff, in parlaying the award into a WBL job and–given how bad the Angels were this year–he will certainly get a Spring Training invite.
Jim Gentile of Queens (Brooklyn) and Jung Ho Kang of Norfolk (Philadelphia) came in 2nd and 3rd in the voting, with Kang clearly establishing himself as a AAA force looking for a chance in the WBL.
#Pitcher of the Year
Just what Brooklyn needs: more pitching. 21 year old Dick Redding went 14-7 with a 3.46 ERA for Queens, edging out Mark Baldwin (Baltimore) for the award. Redding’s teammate, John Denny, came in 3rd.
#AA
Cy Williams (the House of David) barely edged out Lorenzo Cain (Houston) for the MVP award in AA. Williams hit .306 with 44 homeruns and 107 RBIs on the year. Eric MacKenzie of Hudson Valley (New York Black Yankees) came in 3rd.
Just what Brooklyn needs: more pitching. 22 year old Art Johnson went 10-4 with a 3.45 ERA for Jersey City, winning by a large margin over Jack Kralick (Philadelphia). Johnson’s teammate, Doc Newton, came in 3rd.
#A
Odúbel Herrera, who had an impressive late season callup for Philadelphia, was named the A MVP, outdistancing Staten Islands’ Danny Walton (the New York Black Yankees) and Oakland’s Jules Thomas (San Francisco). Herrera hit .358 on the year for Roanoke.
Clayton Kershaw–perhaps the best starting prospect in the game right now–took home the Pitcher of the year for Durham (Homestead). Kershaw went 10-4 with a 2.21 ERA, and given the state of pitching for the Grays, is sure to get a long look in Spring Training, despite being 19 years old. Carlos Rodón of the Staten Island Yankees came in second, with Larry Dierker of the Bingo Long Traveling All Stars (House of David), finished 3rd.