Dominant duo on the diamond
Jason Hill, Sean Cleary were big, big winners as St. John’s senior fastpitch league announces 2018 awards
Well over 100 players competed in Molson St. John’s senior fastpitch league play this past season, but in large part, when the circuit’s season-end award-winners were revealed this week, it came down to just two, Jason Hill and Sean Cleary.
Hill of the league champion 3 Cheers Pub Light Dodgers was named the 2018 St. John’s senior most valuable player, in addition to being the league’s leader in batting average (.434) and runs batted in (23). What’s more, Hill came just a single home run away from taking the triple crown in hitting. He had six long bombs on the season, just behind teammate Kyle Ezekiel, who led everyone with seven.
Hill can find some consolation in his golden glove award as the top fielder (one error in 61 fielding plays) and of course, the league title, which completed a team triple crown for the Dodgers, who also won the senior provincial championship and the crown in the annual St. John’s Day tournament.
It was the eighth time in league history that one club won the three major senior fastpitch titles/tournaments up for grabs in a single year.
The others were Green Sleeves (1988 and 1989), Gators (1995), Fog City Brewers (2001), Conception Bay Central Senior Canadians
(2008), Bull & Finch Bar and Grill (2012) and the Bulldogs, who turned the trick last season.
The only thing the Dodgers couldn’t claim in 2018 was a first-place finish in the regular season, which went to the NTV Hitmen, the team they defeated in the league final.
Cleary of the Kelly’s Pub Molson Bulldogs took the triple crown of pitching, topping the senior league with 11 wins, 189 strikeouts and a 1.50 earnedrun average
Cleary has earned the pitching triple crown three times in his career (the other occasions were 2013 and 2017) and is only the second player to do it multiple times, the other being Ward Gosse, who also did it three times (2000, 2004, 2005), in three different uniforms — Fog City, Big Ben’s and Roebtohan Mckay Marshall.
Others with the achievement are Harvey Auger (Volts, 1967), Ross Crocker (Stokes Angels, 1973), Ron Power (Stockwood’s, 1977), Blair Ezekiel (North Atlantic Marine, 2007) and Hill (3 Cheers Pub Bud Light, 2012).
Other 2018 senior league award winners were Stephen Strapp of the Bulldogs (sportsmanship and ability), Colin Walsh of the Dodgers (MVP of the playoffs), Chris Murphy of the Hitmen (top batter of the playoffs) and pitcher Lee Cose of the Hitmen (comeback player of the year).
In 2017, Cose had gone 5-5 from the mound, with a 4.18 ERA. A year later, he had eight wins in 10 decisions and an ERA of 2.59.
Hill and Cleary — both longtime members of the Canadian senior men’s team — obviously slotted into two of the berths on the league’s all-star team, with the others going to Mark Lewis of the Bulldogs at catcher; Strapp, along with Justin Gill and Jeremy O’reilly, both of the Hitmen, joining Hill as allstar infielders; Brad Ezekiel and Danny Mullins of the Hitmen, as well as Jon Kelly of the Bulldogs in the outfield; and Walsh the choice as utility player.
By the way, if you are looking for all the statistical background for the awards and all-star selections, go to the league’s website (nlfastpitch. ca/ news details. aspx?nw_ news_ id=2957). Nobody does a better job of chronicling their sport’s history or compiling numbers than the senior league’s duo of Bill Barron and Gerald Gosse.