2009 IAL Awards

MVP Albert Pujols Firstbaseman, Twin Cities Thunderchickens Led league in hitting (.332), rbis (146), slugging (.670), and OBP (.435).  Also hit 42 homeruns and scored 121 runs with a 55/94 strikeout/walk ratio.

Cy Young and Left-handed Pitcher of the Year C.C. Sabathia Three Rivers Gamblers Was 2009’s only IAL 20-game winner with 22.  Led  league with a 2.74 ERA.   CC was six strikeouts away from the Triple Crown.  His 252 strikeouts was second behind Tim Lincecum’s 258.

Rookie of the Year Geovany Soto Catcher, Twin Cities Thunderchickens Soto’s 29 homeruns and 89 rbis were tops among rookies and were second on the Thunderchickens behind only Albert Pujols.

Fireman of the Year Mariano Rivera Molly Putts Marauders A unanimous choice, Rivera led all IAL relievers with 38 saves in 2009.  He walked only 4 batters in 69 innings pitched with a 1.96 ERA.

Right-handed Pitcher of the Year Tim Lincecum Chicago Champions Lincecum led the IAL in strikeouts with 258 and came within .003 of winning the ERA title with a 2.74 mark.  He won 17 and lost 6.

Manager of the Year Tedd Mallasch Chicago Champions Mallasch came away with the most important stat of them all.  99 wins.  That was eleven games more than any other managers won.  Congratulations, Tedd!

Three Rivers Gamblers- Final 2009

A new year is upon us and that means that it’s the end of another Illowa regular season. The Gamblers finished up with a 9 game set against the Chicago Highlanders. On a blistery Sunday afternoon I hooked up with Rob over Skype to play.

The Gamblers needed to just not get blown out in this series to make the post season. We came in with an 81-71 record and in second place but things were tight. A bad series and we could find ourselves looking in from the outside.

The series got off to a good start as C.C. Sabathia went the distance for his 13^th complete game and 7^th shutout of the season. Glaus and Bay hit solo shots, a two-run triple by Braun and a run scoring single by Jeter accounted for the scoring as Three Rivers won 5-0.

Manager Moore must have said something to his team after game 1 because they came out smacking the ball in the next 4 games scoring 32 runs and winning the remaining games at Iron City Field. Chris Davis is an especially good listener apparently. He had 9 hits – one single, 2 doubles, 2 triples and 4 homers and drove in 13 runs as the Highlanders sprinted to a 4-1 series lead.

The Gamblers had a meeting of their own following game 5 and basically were told it was time to show what they were made of.

In game 6 C.C. put the team on his shoulders again and went out and threw five perfect innings before leaving with a strained something and a 4-0 lead. The Gambler pen preserved the shutout as C.C. finished his season with his 22^nd victory.

In game 160, extra innings are the last thing teams want to see but that’s what we got in Highlanderville. Armando Galarraga went 9 strong innings yielding just 2 runs and Mark Guthrie and the Highlander pen did the same as the game was knotted at 2 after regulation. Julian Tavarez was summoned from the apparently thin Chicago bullpen to pitch the 10^th. A pinch hit single by Mags plated Prince and Craig Breslow shut the door in the bottom half for the 3-2 Gambler victory.

The Highlanders bounced back in game 8 to win 6-5.

In the season finale Scott Kazmir earned his 16^th victory against just 4 loses as Three Rivers ended the season on a high note winning 10-4.

The Highlanders won the series 5-4 but the Gamblers pretty much sewed up a playoff spot. The Hitmen will have to win all 9 games this month to tie Three Rivers. Nothing is impossible that’s for sure.

Some highlights from this season:

· Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder both topped the 40 homer mark and 100 RBI mark with 43/127 and 41/109 respectively.

· Dustin Pedroia got 200 hits and hit 58 doubles while driving in 91 runs and scoring 111.

· Derek Jeter surpassed 2300 hits in his career.

· C.C. Sabathia set career marks for wins, innings, complete games, strikeouts and shutouts.

· Ryan Braun is the first Gambler to hit 30 homers and drive in over 100 RBI’s in his first two seasons.

Later,

Todd