Hardware Report: 2013 Award Winners Announced

Back in June we took a look at the players who were in contention for taking home some trophies in our Awards Watch 2013 article. The winners were announced July 10th immediately after the 2013 Championship game finished up. Here are the lucky recipients:

 

Cy Wiffle Thelmer Damron (Pink Penguins)

Strikeout King Greg Sowards (Beaver Fever)

Home Run King James Clagg (Maroon $quad)

Golden Slugger Brent Thompson (Holy Balls)

Bronze Slugger James Clagg (Maroon $quad)

All of the awards went to categorical leaders except for Cy Wiffle. The Cy Wiffle award is one of the most prestigious awards a pitcher can receive and has been a long lasting tradition for the league ever since the days way back when the league was still in Hurricane, WV. The winner of the Cy Wiffle is usually the best pitcher in the league but with the sudden growth of the league (and the talent that has revealed itself this season) made the decision quite difficult. In the end, Thelmer Damron was chosen by the commissioner and co-commissioner to receive the award for multiple reasons. He had one of the best win-loss records in the league (7-2) as well as one of the lowest WHIP (Walks or Hits per Inning Pitched) averages at 1.42. He tied with Josh Smith for 2nd place in strikeouts at 38 K's all season and only walked 5 batters. He truly was a spectacle on the mound with curveballs that had a lot of movement and a steady fastball that rarely missed the zone. He continued to improve all season long and pitched a beauty against Maroon $quad in the playoffs but just did not have the offense to back it up. He edged out James Clagg (who had barely pitched the minimum innings pitched to be considered) and Kevin Lawrence (Holy Balls).

Greg Sowards struck out 66 batters all season which not only earned him the Strikeout King award but a new season record - beating Josh Berletich's 2012 record of 37 K's. No one quite knows how he struck out so many batters but it's safe to say that this wiffle veteran of 10 years has got hitting the strike zone down to a science. James Clagg dazzled us all with his amazing swing that kept the Maroon $quad winning all season long. He hit a record setting 34 home runs during the season and brought in 70 RBIs (most in league) which earned him the Bronze Slugger. He won Home Run King with no one even close to catching him, Kevin Lawrence was a distant 2nd with 32 home runs. Clagg also was in contention for batting average leader for most of the season and was always threatening to be the first in the league to win the triple crown.

Brent Thompson got on base over 80% of the time, an impressive accomplishment for a player at any age (let alone from a guy who's in his 40s). Brent showed us that age means absolutely nothing in this sport and schooled everyone on what it means to get on base. If you watch him play for more than two minutes you realize that this guy is a legitimate athlete who is a great all-around player who can get a rally going on offense, play some amazing defense, and throw one hell of a fastball. Other players such as Todd Ritter, Kevin Lawrence, and James Clagg came close to topping Thompson's average but never quite got there. Thompson was on the leader board for most of the entire season in this category and finished strong with an .818 batting average. Thompson has gained even more respect by not caring that there was a typographical error on his award. The award is officially named the 'golden' slugger but there was a misprint and it says 'golen' instead.