On Tuesday the Northwoods League released the recipients of the Rawlings ‘Big Stick’ Award Winners.  This award is given to the player at each position who had the best batting average during the 2017 regular season. Madison’s Zac Taylor (Illinois) was one of three outfielders to win the award.

Taylor led the Mallards with a .350 average, good for fourth overall in the Northwoods League. The outfielder smacked 13 doubles, seven home runs, and 33 RBI. Taylor was a late addition to the Mallards coming off an injury, which made his performance and numbers that much more impressive. Upon his arrival in mid-June, Manager Donnie Scott was able to pencil Taylor in every day and he was a staple in the middle of the order throughout the summer.

Rawlings has been rewarding the top hitters in the Northwoods League since 2007 in addition to honoring the best fielders since 2002. To honor their achievement, the nine award winners will receive an engraved bat from Rawlings. The complete list of 2017 Rawlings “Big Stick” Award Winners is below.