[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Saturday, October 12, 2030

Valmara's Lem Voted Pro Cup MVP
For the first time in IPA Pro Cup history the Most Valuable Player didn't come from the championship team. The honor went instead to Teddy Lem of the runner-up Valmara Vipers. Lem outpolled five players from the the Blue Lake Blue Sox. There was no clear-cut Most Valuable Player on the Blue Sox. It was truly a team effort. In a very close vote the IPA Baseball Writers Association selected Lem as the outstanding player in the Pro Cup playoffs this season. Lem lost his first postseason start and then rattled off six straight victories, including two in the Finals over Blue Lake. The 26-year-old Lem was 6-1 with a 2.37 ERA in 7 starting assignments. During the regular season Lem posted an impressive 21-14 mark with a 3.31 ERA. This year's Pro Cup MVP also picked up the award in 2026, when the Vipers won their first Pro Cup. That year Lem was 3-0 in 4 starts with a standout 1.76 ERA.

Blue Sox hurlers Doug Kirkpatrick and Billy Trakas were tied for second in the MVP balloting. Trakas got the Blue Sox to the Finals and was injured, while Kirkpatrick missed the first two rounds because of injury, but came back with a flourish and made his presence known in the Finals. The number four votegetter was LF Eddie Nagen, followed by 3B Matt Thompson and CF Chris Halley. No one else received any votes.

Trakas, a stylish 23-year-old southpaw, got the Blue Sox through the early rounds with a 3-0 record and a 2.38 ERA. Kirkpatrick won two of three starts in the Finals against Valmara, going 2-1 with a super 1.73 ERA. He won game seven in a great outing 2-0. Nagen was the batting leader for Blue Lake. He hit .290 in the postseason with 4 homers, 9 RBIs and 11 runs scored. Thompson batted .303 with one roundtripper, 11 RBIs and scored 5 times, while Halley sported a .296 batting average with one homer, 8 RBIs and 7 runs.