Two Wild Things, O-R receive Frontier League honors
First baseman Kane Sweeney, who has set one Wild Things single-season record, was named Thursday to the Frontier League’s all-star team when the league released its postseason awards.
Sweeney is batting .289 and is second on the Wild Things with 15 home runs. He is tied for the team lead with 59 runs and is second on the club with 57 RBI. Sweeney set the franchise record with a league-leading 85 walks. He leads the Frontier League with a .455 on-base percentage and has been stellar defensively, committing only two errors. His .998 fielding percentage is tops among all Frontier League first basemen.
Washington center fielder Rashad Brown was voted the winner of the league’s top off-the-field award. Brown won the Fran Riordan Award, which is given annually to a player for his good citizenship and work in the community.
Brown was nominated by Washington general manager Steve Zavacky, who said, “Rashad participates in every single event the Wild Things host. If there’s a youth camp, he volunteers; if there’s an appearance at McDonalds, he volunteers; if there’s a visit to a youth team or classroom, we count on Rashad.”
Brown is the first Washington player to win the award since pitcher Gary Lee in 2012. Catcher Randy McGarvey won the award in 2005.
The Observer-Reporter was named the Newspaper of the Year for the fourth time in five years and sports editor Chris Dugan was voted Writer of the Year.
Schaumburg outfielder Davis Harris won the Morgan Burkhart Award (Most Valuable Player) and Max Duval, who played for Evansville before having his contract purchased by the Arizona Diamondbacks, won the Brian Tollberg Award (Most Valuable Pitcher). Harris is batting .347 with 13 home runs and is a big reason why Schaumburg has clinched the East Division title. Duval had a 8-2 record, 2.28 ERA and 113 strikeouts in 87 innings.
Evansville relief pitcher Kyano Cummings won the Jason Simontacchi Rookie of the Year award. Cummings has a 1.78 and seven saves.
Schaumburg’s Jamie Bennett was named the Roger Hanners Manager of the Year for the second time.