Freddy Smith named Northwoods League Manager of the Year

Rochester, Minn. – The Northwoods League announced the 2023 Postseason All-Star Team and award winners on Friday, August 11. Duluth shortstop Michael Hallquist was named the League’s Most Valuable Player and Green Bay’s Brett Sanchez was named Pitcher of the Year as voted by the League’s coaches and members of the media. Freddy Smith from Willmar was named the Manager of the Year and Jack Schaffer from Bismarck won the Coach of the Year Award.

Hallquist was also a 2023 mid-season All-Star for the Huskies. For the season, he is hitting .353 with 13 home runs, 18 doubles, three triples and 59 RBI. He is a native of Fargo, North Dakota.

Sanchez, a right-handed pitcher from the Green Bay Rockers, was named the Northwoods League Pitcher of the Year. Sanchez has appeared in 10 games and is 6-2 with a 3.23 ERA. In 61.1 innings he has struck out 73 batters while walking only 10. He also pitched .2 innings in the Great Lakes All-Star game and struck out two.

Wisconsin Rapids outfielder Brendan Bobo was also selected for the Postseason All-Star Team and is currently tied for the league in home runs with Hallquist at 13.

Hallquist, Sanchez and Bobo are among the 30 players selected to the NWL’s Postseason All-Star team.

The Willmar Stingers led all teams with four selections while the Duluth Huskies, Kalamazoo Growlers, Madison Mallards, Mankato MoonDogs, Wausau Woodchucks, and the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters each had three players selected.

In his second season in Willmar as Field Manager, Freddy Smith of the Stingers is the 2023 Manager of the Year. The Stingers currently have the best overall record in the league at 49-16 and are the First Half Champions in the Great Plains West Division.

Jack Schaffer earned the award for 2023 Coach of the Year in the Northwoods League. Schaffer is in his first season with the Bismarck Larks. In 2020, Jack played for the Traverse City Pit Spitters and in 2022 he served as an intern/coach for the Willmar Stingers.

Full 2023 Postseason Roster can be found here: 2023 Postseason Rosters

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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Now in its’ 30th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 24 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, over 330 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (TEX), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2021 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website at watchnwl.com and on ESPN+. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.