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Frontier League MVP McNeely returning to Wild Things

By Chris Dugan 2 min read
article image - Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Washington center fielder Caleb McNeely won the Frontier League Most Valuable Player Award last season and will be returning in 2025.

For the first time in franchise history, a Frontier League Most Valuable Player will be returning to the Wild Things.

Washington announced Monday the signing of center fielder Caleb McNeely, who is coming off a year in which he became the first player in franchise history to have a 20-20 season, with 23 home runs and 28 stolen bases. McNeely batted .298 with 18 doubles, six triples and 74 RBI. He was second in the league in triples, third in home runs and second in RBI, which netted him the Most Valuable Player Award. He became the third player in Wild Things history to win the award.

James Harris won the Frontier League MVP while playing for Washington in 2018 but he played in 2019 for Winnipeg in the independent American Association. Josh Loggins was Washington’s first MVP, back in 2003, but his contract was purchased by the Colorado Rockies in August of that season.

McNeely was a midseason and postseason all-star last year. In the all-star game in Quebec City, McNeely threw out the potential game-tying run at home plate in the East’s 2-1 victory.

This will be McNeely’s third season in Washington. He signed with the Wild Things late in the 2023 season and played in 17 games. He had three home runs and eight stolen bases in those 17 games.

McNeely finished his collegiate baseball career at West Virginia in 2023, helping the Mountaineers to a share of the Big 12 championship and a berth in the NCAA tournament. He batted .296 with 13 home runs and 49 RBI in his final year with WVU.

Extra bases

The Frontier League’s New England Knockouts announced last week that they have been renamed the Brockton Rox and that former Boston Red Sox all-star outfielder Jim Rice has become one of the team’s owners.

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