10/31/2007 – All Things Valley League

Written By John Leonard Professor at Eastern Mennonite University and avid VBL Fan If we go with small sample sizes, it looks like a Valley League alum must be World Series MVP! (I have small sample sizes on the brain this week. Last Thursday, a student of mine said that the Redskins would beat the Patriots because, and I quote, "The ‘Skins are the only team that Tom Brady hasn’t beaten." How many games, I asked, has Brady played against them? "One." Oof. I laughed out loud when I saw the score on Sunday…) (And by the way, I didn’t look up that stat, so it may not even be true) In 2006, the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series, 4 games to 1, over the Detroit Tigers. The MVP? David Eckstein, who hit 364/391/500 in 22 at-bats. Eckstein played for the Harrisonburg Turks back in 1995 and 1996. In the World Series that has just ended (mercifully so), Mike Lowell (Waynesboro 93) came away with the hardware. He hit 400/500/800 over 15 at-bats. (Sure, the MVP could have been Papelbon, Ellsbury, or even Beckett and Lester. Of course, none of those players played in the Valley League, so they weren’t eligible.) So… for next year, maybe Juan Pierre? Brandon Inge? Kouz? Adam Everett? Or maybe Lowell again? In all seriousness, Lowell was a huge reason the Sox were as good as they were in 2007. He hit 324/378/501 in 589 at-bats, with 37 doubles, 21 home runs, and 120 RBIs. His BB/K ratio was an excellent 53/71 as well. The Sox were also helped by two other former VBLers: Kyle Snyder (Winchester 97) and Javier Lopez (New Market 96). Both pitched quite well out of the bullpen throughout the season. Be sure to check out Johns’ thorough VBL past and present coverage on his web site at www.allthingsvalleyeague.com