Awards Watch 2014
Written by Josh Smith
This season has been filled with the best competition and talent the league has ever seen and the selection process for some awards will be grueling for the commissioners. Unfortunately, unlike last year, there will not be actual trophies for each award since the budget did not allow for it. But the recognition of being one of the best in any statistical category is a reward all its own. Many winners of any awards in the league become condenders for NWLA Wiffy Awards. HWL Award winners will be announced no later than June 30.
Rookie of the Year
We'll get this started with one of the more difficult categories. Rookie of the Year is a funny award and most players in the league this season technically qualify for it. But to make things easier, players that played in Fall Ball should not be considered since they really aren't rookies anymore and narrows the list down considerably. Major contenders for this award include Jacob Fischer, Drew McClanahan, Richard Ball, and Matt Gordon.
Cy Wiffle
Cy Wiffle is the most coveted pitching award in the league and this year's crop of pitchers is making it very difficult to choose a winner for this category. Typically, the winner of Cy Wiffle has a low ERA, low WHIP, a decent amount of Ks, and a good win/loss record. Drew McClanahan, Nick Kappra, and Steven Adkins are top contenders for this award but other pitchers are on the fringe of possibility as well such as Jeremy Ray, Paul Hesson, and Jacob Fischer. All of these pitchers have good records, low ERAs, and a growing number of Ks. But McClanahan is a tough candidate to beat in this area. The rest of these contenders will really need to dazzle to take this.
Strikeout King
Historically, whoever has won this award does not receive Cy Wiffle. It is because of this fact that it is often seen as a consolation award. But this year could very well be the first time that one pitcher wins both awards if Drew McClanahan continues to dominate. Steven Adkins led the league in strikeouts until recently but has since fallen 12 Ks behind McClanahan (who has 133 Ks). Nick Kappra is really the only other pitcher even remotely close to Adkins (with 105 Ks) but that bridge simply cannot be gapped this late in the season. Unless Adkins puts the pressure on and McClanahan has an off week, Drew has got this in the bag.
Closer of the Year
This may be the least valuable award in the league. Pitching glory is only reached in this league with no-hitters, perfect games, and most importantly - complete games. 5 innings games can go quickly so using a closer is an unorthadox technique that most teams do not use. Josh Smith leads the league in saves with 2 and behind him is Ronnie Canterbury, Drew McClanahan, and Josh Berletich with 1 save each. Canterbury could take the lead away this coming week if he saves both games against the Honey Badgers...but that is a tall order.
Home Run King
The race is close to but crazy close in this race. Matt Gordon has led the league in HRs all year long and he currently 3-HR lead with 11 HRs. Next is Paul Hesson with 8 and Jacob Dunkle, Richard Ball, and Andrew Westcott with 7 each. Gordon faces Poker Night this week so he will definitely be dropping some bombs. Westcott will be facing Nick Kappra and Dunkle and Ball will be facing Hesson and Fischer. So the odds are in Gordon's favor in preserving his lead to the finish.
Golden Slugger (Highest Batting AVG)
Matt Gordon had a stranglehold on this category for most of the year as well but Jacob Dunkle (.512) came out of nowhere and has recently dethroned him. Dunkle was one of the best hitters during Fall Ball but struggled early on in the season but has since gotten his groove back. Gordon (who's batting .439) has fallen to third (tied with Richard Ball) behind Jeremy Ray (.441). Not far behind Gordon is Drew McClanahan is Paul Hesson (.411) and Jacob Fischer (.406). So this is a batting title race that's far from over as anything can happen in Week 10 to shift the pecking order in this statistical category.
Silver Slugger (Most Hits)
Jeremy Ray has the most hits in the league right now with 30. Paul Hesson is the closest behind him with 25 followed by McClanahan and Adkins with 23 each, and Jacob Dunkle with 22. There's a possibility that McClanahan can snag this award as well since he has the easiest matchup of all the top hitters in the league against Poker Night. Adkins and Hesson will face each other and Dunkle and Ray will be battling. If Ray manages to get a few hits together next week he should preserve his lead in this category. If not this award will be up for grabs.
Bronze Slugger (Most RBIs)
Paul Hesson led the league in RBIs for most of the season but Matt Gordon has really brought in the runs lately and leads the league with 27. Hesson is in 2nd place with 23 followed by Richard Ball with 20. It's unlikely that Hesson or Ball could close in on Gordon with their tough matchups coming up this week. But it's possible that Rob Stewart (18 RBIs) could get in on the action if things go well against Poker Night. If Gordon can get on top of the board with his average he could become the league's first triple crown winner.
Most Improved Player
Given the unique situation of the Rookie of the Year situation this season, you could consider this another Rookie of the Year award pertaining to players that started their career in the league last fall. There are not that many returning players from the 2013 regular season (only 7) so this makes ROTY and MIP very strange awards this season. Nevertheless, there are several players who are in the running for this award but at the head of the pack is Paul Hesson, Nick Kappra, and Steven Adkins. Hesson was an above average hitter in Fall Ball and struggled with pitching. This year he's bloomed into one of the most respected hitters in the league and an excellent pitcher. Nick Kappra was a late-comer to Fall Ball last year and struggled with accuracy on the mound (including early this season) but has since become a master of his art. Kappra also is one of the best hitters in the league but he is just out of reach for any titles this year. Steven Adkins set the bar very high last fall. In fact, if I had to pick a Fall Ball MVP it would come down to either him or Paul Martin. Adkins hit 11 HRs but absolutely dominated on the mound with 45Ks and a 7-4 record. But his talent this year has increased with the competition even though his numbers don't necessarily compete with his inflated stats from last fall. Any of these three players would be a fitting winner of this award.
Paul Martin Sportsmanship Award
We've had this award since we started the league. It belongs to the player that best represents good sportsmanship, willingness to have a good time, and overall class. This year is a very difficult year to choose a recipient for this award. The list of candidates include: Stephanie Sadler, David Dillon, Jason Grady, Andrew Hankins, Ronnie Canterbury, Brad Washburn, Julie Meadows, & Scott Hatfield. All of these players are at different levels of talent but they all have the common thread of not dominating any category. Each one of these players humor other players around them, play the game with class, and demonstrate what the game is all about - having a good time.
Most Patient Hitter
This award is easily the least celebrated award of the bunch. It was created back in 2012 as a joke for Arielle Hord for walking WAY more than everyone else and it's stuck ever since. But walking today is no joke. On Base Percentage is a valuable part of the game and players are taking bases however they can get them because, in many cases, just one run decides the outcome of the game. Zack Reedy appeared to be a devout understudy to Arielle Hord and led the league in walks for most of the seaosn but Jeff Rider has since taken the lead with 25 BBs. Not far behind Rider is McClanahan and Reedy with 21, and Jason Grady with 20.
Golden Hands
Fielding is a thankless job and the fact that we don't keep fielding stats makes it hard to determine who the most dependable fielders are. But having watched hours and hours of video I have a list of players that have made impressive defensive plays and are generally dependable fielders: Jacob Dunkle, Adam Rose, Greg Sowards, Mike McCoy, Brian Ball, Zach Blatt, Richard Ball, and Brad Washburn. These fielders have made astounding grabs over the past several weeks. Like I said earlier, fielding is a thankless job and those who do it well deserve some praise.
