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(AP)
The 2031 season has come and gone and congrats to the Maine Guides who captured their 4th Brewmasters Cup under their current GM and league record 10th overall. The Guides cruised to a 92-70 regular season record, beat Miami in the Wildcard round, swept Santo Domingo in the Divisional round, and then beat Montreal and Denver 4-1 in the LCS and Brewmasters respectively by winning the last three games in each series.
The Brewski's
The Daily Keg is excited to announce the 2nd annual Brewski Awards show. After pouring over the season the selection committee has announced the the winners for the following awards, some serious...some not so serious. So without further delay here we go.
Player of the Year
1B Turell 'Two Ton' Morris - The best player on the best team hit .314/.405/.637 with 61 HR's and 144 RBI's while compiling a 7.0 WAR. He is the only player in the history of the BLB to hit over 60 home runs, and he's done it twice now in consecutive seasons. His 130 home runs over the last two years is something no one could even imagine happening at the start of last year. In his 2nd appearance in the postseason he hit 6 more home runs and drove in 17 and was the LCS MVP.
2030 winner: Johnny 'Big Stick' Swope, SEA
Hitter of the Year
RF Ron 'Vampire' Hutchison - Wait you gave 'Two Ton' the POTY but then gave someone else the hitting award? Well yes...no one ever said we at the DK knew what we were doing. 'Vampire' though had a heck of a a season for a 24 year old just coming into his prime. On the year he hit .326/.392/.647 with 54 HR's, 125 RBI's, and a 7.5 WAR...which in any other world without Morris would be breathtaking. He led Hartford to the best record in the Domestic and even though he faltered come playoff time (12 AB's, 0 hits, 3 K's) this kid is only going to get better, which should be a scary thought to the rest of the DL.
2030 winner: Turell 'Two Ton' Morris, MAI
Pitcher of the Year
P Manabu Hamada - After going 16-8 for the BC last season he compiled a 19-1 record with a 2.38 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, and 6.7 WAR this season. He was also 3-0 in four starts during the postseason and almost led Denver to their 1st ever league title.
2030 winner: P Manabu Hamada, DEN
Rookie of the Year
2B Alex Arana - The switch hitting 24 year old was the 24th pick in the 2nd round of the 2028 draft out of UCLA. He worked his way up through the SDRR system and this season played in 125 games for the Rum Runners and hit .317/.372/.463 with 12 HR's and 57 RBI's with a +3.4 ZR at second base.
2030 winner:
1B Pat Walton, HAR
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All-State Hands Award
(Given to the player with the most total chances and no errors...who doesn't play primarily first base)
LF Jamie Hendon - The New York Knight's left fielder recorded 303 total chances and never made an error, ending up with a +1.3 ZR in 1387 innings. He also hit .283 with 16 HR's and 70 RBI's.
2030 winner: RF Dusty Janson, DEN
Army Ranger Sniper Award
(Given to the catcher with the highest runner thrown out percentage with a minimum of 30 attempts)
C Ian 'Pickles' James - The most complete player in the game had 57 players attempt to run on him and he threw out 24 of them for a 42.1% RTO. He also hit an outstanding .305 with 42 HR's and 99 RBI's while recording a 7.5 WAR.
2030 winner: C Micah Gordon, WIL
Frank Abagnale, Jr Award
(Given to the player who stole at least 20 bases and was caught the least)
LF Akiyuki Kimura - Last year Pat Welch was 29 out of 30, this year Kimura was an amazing 41 out of 42 during the regular season and 6 for 6 in the playoffs. He also hit .279 with 28 HR's and 92 RBI's and had a +6.3 ZR in left field. Talk about total package.
2030 winner: CF Pat Welch, BAT
Ludacris Award
(Given to the player who got hit with the most pitches)
2B Dave 'Bulldog' Bickford - In the last three seasons Bickford was beaned a total of 20 times in over 1500 plate appearances. This season in 155 games he was beaned an outrageous 21 times, four more than 2nd place. His .359 OBP was the highest of his career though and once after getting hit in the shin said "I'll take it anyway I can get it" before collapsing in pain.
2030 winner: 1B Geoff 'Mr. Reliable' Dail, MIA
Broadside of the Barn Award
(Given to the player with the highest strikeouts per plate appearance)
C Sean Gallion - Not only did 142 runners attempt to steal on him, the most in the BLB, but when he was on offense no one swung and missed more than Gallion. In 517 plate appearances he struck out 150 times for a 29% rate, the highest in the league by over three percentage points.
2030 winner: LF Sayid bin Sariyah, LAD
Swing For Between the Infielders Award
(Given to the player with the most hits but no home runs)
2B Ricky 'Heartthrob' Figueroa - Denver has the 2nd back to back winner of the Brewski's as 'Heartthrob' recorded 189 hits, one more than last season, but once again failed to get one over the fence. He hasn't hit a home run now since 2028 and in over 1000 games played has seven in his career.
2030 winner: 2B Ricky 'Heartthrob' Figueroa, DEN
Dickey's BBQ Beans Award
(Given to the pitcher who hits the most batters)
P Pat Burgess - When he got tired of giving up home runs Burgess instead just decided to start hitting batters. He led the league with 15, which is still a far cry from Bettis who beaned 30 last season.
2030 winner: P Nate Bettis, PHO
The Milton Swingline Stapler Award
(The player who earned a check without deserving one)
P Jerrod Blick - In his 1st full season in Toronto the now reliever made $17,450,000 and went 3-1 with a 4.92 ERA and -0.7 WAR. Surprise surprise he decided to accept his player option for next season where he will earn another $17,450,000 in what will almost certainly be his last season ever employed in the BLB. The former two time All-Star will reach almost $150 million in career earnings by then, which isn't that surprising considering he had double digit victories as a starter from 2020 to 2027 with an average ERA that was near 3.00.
2030 winner: P Jerrod Blick, TOR
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