In Review: Tri-City ValleyCats

And now we get to turn our attention to the NYPL Champion Tri-City ValleyCats.

The ValleyCats finished the regular season 38-36, a half-game better than the Connecticut Tigers to win the NYP-Stedler Division.

Home: 19-17
Away: 19-19

Of course, the ValleyCats defeated the Batavia Muckdogs in the 1st Round of the NYPL playoffs, and defeated the Brooklyn Cyclones - who had the best record in the NYPL - in two games for the Championship.

The average age of the ValleyCats' batters was 21.5, just a touch over the NYPL average (21.1). The pitching staff's average age was the same (21.5), while the NYPL pitchers' average was 21.3.

Runs: 340 (7th out of 14), 4.59 per game
Doubles: 115 (11th)
Triples: 16 (12th)
Homers: 50 (2nd)
Stolen Bases: 73 (7th) - 26 caught stealing - 73.4% SB rate
Strikeouts: 542 (4th-fewest)
Walks: 258 (7th)

Batting Average: .244 (8th)
OBP: .321 (8th)
SLG: .361 (6th)
OPS: .681 (7th)

Runs allowed/game: 4.05 (2nd)
ERA: 3.43 (3rd)
WHIP: 1.30 (5th)
Strikeouts: 604 (4th)
Walks: 208 (2nd-fewest) - 2.90 K:BB ratio
Wild Pitches: 51 (7th)

Fielding Errors: 80 (3rd)
Fielding Percentage: .973 (2nd)
Passed Balls: 21 (T-4th)
Bases Stolen Against: 68 (9th)
Caught Stealing: 33 (5th)
Caught Stealing %: 33% (T-6th)

Team Leaders:
Runs: Ben Orloff (52)
Hits: Ben Orloff (73)
Doubles: Enrique Hernandez (18)
Triples: Dan Adamson (4)
Homers: Dan Adamson (9)
RBI: Mike Kvasnicka (36)
Total Bases: Dan Adamson (112)
Strikeouts (most): Dan Adamson (79)
Walks: Tyler Burnett (45)
Stolen Bases: Ben Orloff (23)

Avg (100 AB minimum): Ben Orloff (.307)
OBP: Ben Orloff (.405)
SLG: Ben Heath (.457)

IP: Carlos Quevedo (85.1)
Wins: Carlos Quevedo (7)
Losses: Bobby Doran and Jake Buchanan (5)
ERA (20IP min.): Jorge De Leon (0.64)*
WHIP (20IP min.): Carlos Quevedo (0.98)
Strikeouts: David Martinez (57)
Walks (by starter): Carlos Quevedo (8 walks, 85.1IP)

*We should note that Tommy Shirley made five starts, pitching 17IP, and did not allow a run. That's solid.

Offensive Employee of the Year: This one was difficult, because while Ben Heath and Dan Adamson put up big numbers, Ben Orloff - in a repeat NYPL performance - was a pretty great lead-off man. Getting on base at a .405 clip, he did his best Ichiro impression, mainly getting on with singles (69 of his 73 hits were for singles), but he also stole 23 bases, getting thrown out just five times, for an 82.1% success rate. Ben Orloff is your Astros County Offensive Employee of the Year.

Pitcher of the Year: Carlos Quevedo. There were a few possibilities here, but Quevedo is our choice for Astros County's Pitching Employee of the Year. His WHIP was under 1.00. There were only two pitchers in the top 40 - ordered by IP - who walked fewer than ten batters all season long. The other? Tri-City's Bobby Doran. Williamsport's Eric Pettis walked seven batters, but in 26 fewer IPs. Win.