Oct 21, 2010

ROCHESTER, Minn. (October 21, 2010) – 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.

Catcher                         Chadd Krist, Brainerd Lakes Area Lunkers, University of California, .996

First Base                     Ty Wosleger, Thunder Bay Border Cats, Fairfield University, .994  

Second Base               Mikel Alvarez, Alexandria Beetles, Florida Gulf Coast University, .973    

Shortstop                     Brad Zapenas, Green Bay Bullfrogs, Boston College, .980      

Third Base                    Tommy Reyes, Brainerd Lakes Area Lunkers, U of California Irvine, .944

Outfielder                    Jordan Smith, Willmar Stingers, St. Cloud State University, .993

Outfielder                    Tony Mueller, La Crosse Loggers, Winona State University, .991

Outfielder                    Tanner Nivins, Thunder Bay Border Cats, Stony Brook University, .991

Pitcher                          David Carroll, Willmar Stingers, University of Maryland, 1.000

Celebrating its 53rd year, Rawlings recognizes the best performers in Major League Baseball annually. Rawlings has rewarded the top defenders in the Northwoods League since 2002. The recipients receive a special Rawlings baseball glove mounted on an engraved trophy base. 

\”The ballplayers that earned this honor will be very pleased with the actual award they’ll be able to place on their mantle,\” said NWL Director of Operations Curt Carstensen.  \”Rawlings does a fine job rewarding the top defensive players in the Northwoods League year after year.\”

To qualify for an award a player needs to appear in at least two-thirds of the scheduled games at a specific position, with the exception of catcher which is half.  For pitchers, the player that had the highest total defensive chances without committing an error earns the number one spot.

The Northwoods League is a summer baseball league composed of 16 teams with top college players from across the United States.  With a family-oriented atmosphere, the Northwoods League has more teams, plays more games, and draws more fans than any other Summer Collegiate Baseball League in North America.  Franchises are located in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan and Canada.  To learn more about the league, visit www.northwoodsleague.com.