Bears’ best recognized with post-season awards
Nearly four months after their season ended, the Boyertown American Legion Baseball Bears held their post-season awards banquet. Mike Ferreri, member of Boyertown Area Youth Baseball, Ltd., served as master of ceremonies for the event, which was held at the Bally Fire Company on Sunday, October 29.
After greeting those gathered, Ferreri introduced team physician Dr. Garland Fisher to lead the pre-meal prayer, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. He then thanked the many people who make a Bear season possible. After that, he had the 12 members of the 2016 Legion Bears who were present introduce themselves and their guests.
After the meal, Ferreri introduced base coach Chris Mackey, who thanked all of the volunteers and made special mention of the seniors who had played their last season of legion baseball (JT Cooley, Tyler Kreitz, Mike Raineri, Trevor Waldman, and Mike Xanthopoulos). Assistant Head Coach Craig Eddinger then spoke. He acknowledged pitching coach Pete Hiryak (who was not able to attend), and specifically mentioned Trevor Waldman, Justin Wieand, and Xanthopouolos as the pitching anchors, while adding that Kreitz, Raineri, and Cooley were 3-year starters. He also mentioned Cooley’s dedicated rehabilitation from a preseason injury, and humorously added that there were approximately 200 days until the start of the 2018 season.
Head coach Rick Moatz then reiterated his thanks to all of the volunteers and coaches, and reviewed the season. He specifically mentioned the “catching staff” as well as the team’s “unique” characteristic of accepting younger players. Finally, he hoped that the team will keep its “persistence to persevere.”
It was then time to present the post-season awards. First, Kreitz was presented the Jason Benyo/Brandon Mason Scholarship by Ferreri by members of the Benyo and Mason families. Next, Eddinger presented the Raymond “Pidge” Kepner award as the Rookie of the
Year to shortstop Chris Davis, while Mackey (while inviting catcher Cooley to join him) presented the Dick Ludy pitching award to Wieand. Moatz then presented the Specht Memorial Award to Quinn Mason. Finally, the high point of the awards followed when Moatz presented the Melvin “Buck” Rhodes Award as Bears MVP to Xanthopoulos.
Moatz then recognized the team’s representatives on the Berks County AllStar team (Mason, Wieand, and Xanthopoulos), and presented the various college scholarships. He also thanked Ferreri and his son Connor for providing online game commentaries for the season.
Ferreri then referenced several details for the upcoming 2018 season, and also thanked the Legion for providing funding for the Stadium’s new scoreboard, which will make its debut in 2018. After presenting gifts for the seniors and thanking the volunteers and everybody associated with the program one last time, Dr. Garland Fisher offered the final prayer.
SEASON REVIEW » Quinn Mason emerged as the team leader in batting average (.389), slugging average (.444), and on-base percentage (.458). He accomplished these figures despite suffering a mid-season injury in a collision in the outfield. Defensively, Mason played the two most important positions in the infield (shortstop) and outfield (centerfield).
Mason’s double-play partner Mike Raineri had his usual steady season at second base. He led the team in stolen bases (11) and runs scored (22) and was third in plate appearances.
When Mason moved to centerfield after his injury, rookie Chris Davis became the team’s shortstop. Davis finished the season with a .333 batting average, third highest on the team. Davis was one of nine players to be double-rostered with the Boyertown Badgers 16U team. He also picked up one of the team’s 3 saves while on the mound.
At the corners of the infield were two valuable Bears, Tyler Kreitz and Tate Yergey. Kreitz played third base and led the team in triples (2) and hit-by-pitches (8) while finishing second in slugging average (.433) and fourth in on base percentage. Yergey, meanwhile, split time between first base and right field; he led the team in hits (35), rbis (19), and doubles (6) while finishing second in batting average at .337.
Another Bear who overcame an injury was J.T. Cooley. The Bear Senior missed nearly all of the first-half of the season, but still managed to drive in 15 runs while finishing in a tie with mason for the team lead in on-base percentage. He also led the team in batting average with runners in scoring position (.417).
Nick DiCiacco showed his defensive versatility by playing four different positions (catcher, centerfield, rightfield, and pitcher, picking up a save in relief). He improved on his figures in batting average (41 points), slugging average (55 points), and on-base percentage (18 points) from 2016.
The double-rostered Bears made valuable contributions to the team in 2017. In addition to Davis, Sean Sutterby stole 4 bases and played errorless ball in the outfield; he also picked up 3 wins on the mound while limiting opposition batters to a team-low .188 batting avearge. Billy Coleman saw important playing time behind the plate and led the team in home runs with 2 (both in the same game). Mike Martin finished second in on-base percentage while playing left field. Nolan Kline filled in as an infielder while compiling the second best ERA among the team’s pitchers. Shayn Horrocks and Drew Hartman picked up valuable experience in the outfield and on the mound, respectively. And Jared Waldman, younger brother of pitcher Trevor Waldman, tied for the team lead in wins (5) while picking up the third save.
Gavin Mourar served as a valuable utility player, hiking his batting average by 40 points and his slugging average by 49 points. Justin Wieand, meanwhile, made great strides as a pitcher. His 2.45 ERA was third on the team, while his 5 wins tied Jared Waldman for the team lead. Opponents had a .301 on-base percentage against him, the best on the team, and his 31 strikeouts tied for the team lead. Trevor Waldman provided his usual steady, workmanlike pitching for the Bears. He turned in a 2.59 ERA and picked up a key win in a late-season game with Exeter.
And then there was Mike Xanthopoulos. The fiery, emotional “X” not only finished second on the team in at-bats, hits, and rbis, but also emerged as the team’s leading pitcher. His 1.62 ERA was the best on the team by 71 points, while his figures in innings pitched (50 2/3), pitches thrown (753), and strikeouts (31) either led the team or tied for the team lead.
Special mention should be made of Cory Melchior. Melchior missed the entire season due to injury after having a stellar rookie season in 2016. Nevertheless, Melchior’s enthusiasm and dedication were certainly exhibited in 2017, as he participated in many team events and activities during the season. His return in 2018 provides for an additional positive outlook for the team in combination with the positive developments of the other Bears in 2017.