Northwoods League alumni represent 17 of the 180 players competing in the Arizona Fall League (AFL) this season. Each year every Major League Baseball (MLB) team sends six top prospects to the AFL. The AFL season began last week and will continue until mid-November. Games are held in Arizona in six MLB teams’ spring training stadiums located in Mesa, Peoria, Phoenix, Scottsdale and Surprise.
The Northwoods League is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2010 Rawlings Big Stick Award. This award is given to the player at each position who had the best batting average during the 2010 regular season.
Former Mankato Masher and current member of the New York Yankees, Curtis Granderson, has been making key contributions during the 2010 Major League Baseball (MLB) playoffs. Granderson, a speedy outfielder from the University of Illinois-Chicago, helped lead the Yankees to an American League East Division championship while playing in 136 games with a .247 batting average and 25 home runs.
The Northwoods League has announced the recipients of the 2010 Rawlings Finest in the Field Award. The annual award recognizes the top fielders at each position. The winners are selected based on final fielding statistics compiled by league statistician Pointstreak, a Vancouver, British Columbia based sports statistical service company. The 2010 Rawlings Finest in the Field Award recipients and their field percentages are below.
The Thunder Bay Border Cats are pleased to announce that Mike Steed will return as field manager for the 2011 Northwoods League season.
Ballpark Digest announced yesterday that Liz Kern, General Manager of the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters, is a recipient of their Executive of the Year Award. Each year Ballpark Digest honors noteworthy accomplishments in the baseball industry, whether it is Major League Baseball, Minor League Baseball, independent baseball, summer-collegiate baseball, or college baseball. The awards given out cover both individual as well as team accomplishments. This is the fourth season for the Ballpark Digest Awards.
The Mankato MoonDogs Baseball Club, a member of the Northwoods League, is proud to announce Mike Orchard will return as field manager for the 2011 season. The 2011 season will mark his fifth year in the Northwoods League and third at the helm for the MoonDogs.
The Brainerd Lakes Area Lunkers are proud to announce the return of Ryan Levendoski as field manager of the Lunkers for the 2011 season. This will be his fifth season in the league and third as field manager of the Lunkers.
The Battle Creek Bombers are excited to announce the recent hiring of their new field manager, Donnie Scott. Scott spent over 17 years in the Cincinnati Reds system where he more recently served as the Dayton Dragons Field Manager.
The Northwoods League announced that Liz Kern, General Manager of the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters, has been named 2010 NWL Executive of the Year. The award, which was decided by a vote of team officials at the League's annual fall meetings last week in Waterloo, IA, is given annually to the League's outstanding executive. In another vote, the Willmar Stingers were awarded the second annual Organization of the Year award, giving a sweep of the awards to the two 2010 NWL expansion franchises.
