September 8, 2007 - Alaskan League award winners were named today following a vote of league GM's.
Tom Robbins, the Alabama Slammer, won Hitter of the Year in a surprisingly close contest. He was third in VORP among Alaskan League hitters. He hit .301 with 31 HR, 24 doubles, 92 RBI, and 78 runs in 346 AB (1.030 OPS).
The runners-up were Robbins' teammate, left fielder Dave Bonnar (.331/.389/.587, 19 HR in 344 AB, 1st in VORP), and third baseman Steve Davis, Valdez's best player (and now a free agent!), who went .310/.376/.556 with 25 HR in 365 AB (2nd in VORP).
Gary Tufts - another Glacier Pilot! - won Pitcher of the Year, and this was also contested. Tufts went 12-7 with a 2.42 ERA, 4.31 K/9, 2.22 BB/9, and 9 HRA in 138 IP in what was known as a fairly pitching-friendly park.
The runners-up were ERA title winner Vincent Robinson, yet another Pilot, who went 7-6 with a 2.22 ERA in 110 IP (3 HRA, 36 BB, 37 K), and rookie Scott Northeast of Juneau (see below).
Scott Northeast won Rookie of the Year, solidifying his growing popularity among Native American baseball fans throughout the state, but particularly in the culturally distinctive panhandle tribes. His 11-3 mark and 2.83 ERA in 149 IP (34 BB, 72 K) put him among the league's elite in a number of categories (6th in ERA, tied for 2nd in wins, tied for 2nd in GS, 2nd in IP, 3rd in VORP, 10th in H/9, 2nd in BB/9, 10th in K/BB, and 9th in OAVG).
Northeast's stiffest competition came from shortstop James Labbee of Juneau (.300/.339/.412 in 337 AB, 4 HR, 11-2 SB-CS, superb defense by league standards) and third baseman Jeremy Hodges, who had been traded from Valdez to Juneau midseason and went .329/.375/.454 in 240 AB. Right fielder Dirk Cluett also turned a lot of heads with his eye-popping performance in limited playing time for Fairbanks: .387/.417/.443 in 194 AB. Just six extra-base hits, though.
Raleigh Murdock blew away the competition in the Reliever of the Year vote. He pitched 47 innings - a lot of work for a reliever in a 96-game season - and put up a minuscule 0.96 ERA, with 1 HRA, 14 BB's, and 37 K's. Strikingly, he wasn't the closer for his Sitka club and recorded no saves. He was now a free agent as well.
Other notable relievers included Bryant Brenton of Mat-Su (22 SV, 2.06 ERA in 44 IP with 4 HR, 9 BB, and 39 K) and Walt Nippard of Kodiak (18 SV, 1.43 ERA in 44 IP with 2 HR, 9 BB, and 31 K).