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Eugene Church · 08-08-2009, 10:56 PM

The Islandian Times

Saturday, October 16, 2004

Bird Wins Again, MVP in RU
Sugar Valley's superb shortstop has done it again! Fresh off winning the Ruthlandian Union Golden Bat Award, Flipper Bird has added the 2004 Most Valuable Player accolades. The 24-year-old Bird led the Rattlers to another fine season. They finish the regular season in the second spot, just one game behind the East Division titlist, the Elnora All-Stars. Not only is Bird a standout with the bat, he is a talented defender as well. He hit for a .305 batting average with 30 homers and 132 RBIs. Bird outpaced everyone in the IPA in RBIs and sported a .980 fielding percentage, ranking among the top 5 shortstops in the Islandian Pro Alliance. He received 30 votes.

Belair Beach's first baseman Phil Gravelli ran a close second in the BNN MVP balloting with 27 votes. The 20-year-old Gravelli put up a sensational season, batting .356 with 35 roundtrippers and 120 RBIs. The Sunbirds took the RU South pennant.

Caleb Browne, Wynnamac's capable lefthander, came in third in the voting and was named on 20 ballots. The 31-year-old Browne registered 21 wins for the fifth place Sundowners. He only suffered 7 defeats and compiled a 2.97 ERA.

Forest City's power-hitting shortstop Bill Nilsen collected 18 votes and ranked fourth in the poll. The 24-year-old Nilsen hit at a .312 clip during the season, swatted 32 home runs, scored 115 times and batted in 112 runs.

The Golden Arm winner, 23-year-old pitcher Jamie Hicks of the Middlefield Roosters, polled 17 votes, coming in number five in the MVP balloting. Hicks was 23-9 for the season with a sparkling 2.38 ERA. The Roosters were the RU West champions.

Rounding out the votegetters were two outstanding pitchers, 27-year-old Carl Schmitz of the Volusia Vigilantes and 28-year-old Bud Enright of the Ranford Bulls. They ran 2-3 behind Hicks in the Golden Arm balloting and were tied for sixth place with 10 votes each in the MVP category. They both were 24-10 this past year. Schmitz had 2.54 ERA, while Enright put up a 2.66 mark.

Bird joins two other Ruthlandian Union MVPs, second baseman Francisco Abreu of Volusia (2001) and two-time winner, left fielder Jet Kazmarek of Valmara (2002 and 2003).

08-08-2009, 10:56 PM	#1174
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,868	The Islandian Times Saturday, October 16, 2004 Bird Wins Again, MVP in RU Sugar Valley's superb shortstop has done it again! Fresh off winning the Ruthlandian Union Golden Bat Award, Flipper Bird has added the 2004 Most Valuable Player accolades. The 24-year-old Bird led the Rattlers to another fine season. They finish the regular season in the second spot, just one game behind the East Division titlist, the Elnora All-Stars. Not only is Bird a standout with the bat, he is a talented defender as well. He hit for a .305 batting average with 30 homers and 132 RBIs. Bird outpaced everyone in the IPA in RBIs and sported a .980 fielding percentage, ranking among the top 5 shortstops in the Islandian Pro Alliance. He received 30 votes. Belair Beach's first baseman Phil Gravelli ran a close second in the BNN MVP balloting with 27 votes. The 20-year-old Gravelli put up a sensational season, batting .356 with 35 roundtrippers and 120 RBIs. The Sunbirds took the RU South pennant. Caleb Browne, Wynnamac's capable lefthander, came in third in the voting and was named on 20 ballots. The 31-year-old Browne registered 21 wins for the fifth place Sundowners. He only suffered 7 defeats and compiled a 2.97 ERA. Forest City's power-hitting shortstop Bill Nilsen collected 18 votes and ranked fourth in the poll. The 24-year-old Nilsen hit at a .312 clip during the season, swatted 32 home runs, scored 115 times and batted in 112 runs. The Golden Arm winner, 23-year-old pitcher Jamie Hicks of the Middlefield Roosters, polled 17 votes, coming in number five in the MVP balloting. Hicks was 23-9 for the season with a sparkling 2.38 ERA. The Roosters were the RU West champions. Rounding out the votegetters were two outstanding pitchers, 27-year-old Carl Schmitz of the Volusia Vigilantes and 28-year-old Bud Enright of the Ranford Bulls. They ran 2-3 behind Hicks in the Golden Arm balloting and were tied for sixth place with 10 votes each in the MVP category. They both were 24-10 this past year. Schmitz had 2.54 ERA, while Enright put up a 2.66 mark. Bird joins two other Ruthlandian Union MVPs, second baseman Francisco Abreu of Volusia (2001) and two-time winner, left fielder Jet Kazmarek of Valmara (2002 and 2003). Last edited by Eugene Church; 08-09-2009 at 11:37 PM.