The Herts Hawks, the national champions of Single-A, have chosen Louis Hare as their Most Valuable Player of 2016.
Louis is a veteran of the Herts club who has contributed to the success of many teams over the years. And he was instrumental in helping this side to an undefeated season, which ended with dramatic playoff victories at Farnham Park.
According to official BBF statistics, Louis was the joint league leader in Home Runs with 3. He also drove in 22 runs and recorded an impressive batting average of .612, putting him among the team leaders.
He also picked up two wins as a pitcher, with 13 strikeouts in 18 innings of work and an ERA of just 3.50. As you can see from our photo, he also had a nice line in celebratory leaps.
As you can imagine, a season which saw the Hawks win every game and then a national title saw plenty of excellent performances.
For example, joint manager Greg Bochan led Single-A pitchers with 4 wins to his name. He was also on the mound for the playoff win over the Raptors, and both games at Farnham Park.
Other sluggers were available, too. Jon Lewys and Gilberto Medina contributed 2 home runs each during the season, with Gil also adding 5 triples.
In the playoff finals, the Hawks dramatically came from behind against the London Musketeers in the bottom of the eighth to win their semi-final. They had been dominant all year, but it was an important achievement that they fought back and won when they were tested by an excellent side.
The Hawks showed their power again in the final against the Tonbridge Wildcats. They blasted out to an early lead which they would not surrender.
But they also showed off their defensive abilities, turning a flawlessly professional 5-3-6 double play to end a Tonbridge threat. Gilberto Medina, Jon Lewys and MVP Louis Hare were in on that one, and its has now been voted the Herts Play of the Year.
The Hawks will now look with optimism to 2017 and see what the season brings.
