The coaches have made their nominations for the league's Most Valuable Player, and for the second straight year, Dayton Rangers centerfielder Clint Wolf came out on top collecting the most votes. Posting similar offensive numbers as during his 2006 MVP season, Clint beat out Royals 3B/P Jason Griffith and Indians SS Joey Herren to be the first repeat winner in league history.
Royals ace Jason Griffith ran away with the league voting for the MVABL's Top Pitcher award. With a league-best 68 strikeouts in a little over 53 innings of work, Griff overpowered many of his opponents this season. But nothing was more dominant than his championship performance, striking out 13 in a 1-hit shutout of the Dayton Astros to earn the Royals their first team championship. Beavercreek Sox righty Zach Hile, the Rangers' Jacob Robinson, and the Astros' Brian Girard were the other pitchers who received multiple nominations for this award.
ROY goes to Astros' Nakamura
2007 number one draft pick, Taylor Nakamura, beat out Astros teammate PJ Dobbins for the 2007 Rookie of the Year honor. Taylor was one of many key contributors in the Astros run to the league championship game. Sox second baseman Seth Cosby, the league's batting champion, finished a close third.
Astros' Rob Johnson is Top Coach
A year removed from a 7th place finish and a 5-17 record, Astros skipper Rob Johnson rallied his troops to a 4th place regular season finish and a spot in the league championship game. Rob took full advantage of a great scouting department and bolstered his offense with rookies like Taylor Nakamura, Adam Stewart, and PJ Dobbins. After alternating losses at the beginning of the season, the Astros reeled of 5 wins from July 1 to August 1 to prepare for a late playoff run.
