2010 American League Cy Young and MVPs to be announced soon!
8/20/2010
 
In his first season Luigi Guarascio has crushed opposing pitchers. He has put up one of the best offensive seasons ever in the HVNABA's 3 year history. So far Luigi has 5 HRs, 3 doubles, 36 RBI, 27 hits, 2o walks and 25 runs scored. His batting average is still at .491, he has a .818 SLG% and a .615 OBP. On June 17th Luigi joined a small group of players when he recorded 5 hits in one game against the Warriors. 2 of those 5 hits were HRs which is also something very few players have done. Also on August 1st, Guarascio became the first player to hit a HR at Dutchess Stadium in the regular season. In the first inning of the game he launched a 2 - 1 fastball from A's starter Alex Forster over the left field fence. Bottom line is if you take Luigi Guarascio off this team it would tremendously affect their lineup and their win loss record.
 
The first place Yankees ace Justin Duchin is another great example of where would the team be without him. Duchin has carried his team on offense and on the mound. Pitching, Duchin was 4 and 2 with 1 save. He also has a 3.79 ERA while striking out 56 batters in 61 innings. Opponents are only batting .226 vs Justin. On offense Duchin is even better, currently batting .439 with a .591 SLG% and a .493 OBP. He also has 11 stolen bases, 1 HR, 2 doubles, 29 hits and 17 runs scored. On August 15th Duchin lit up the Brewers pitching for 4 hits, 1 double, 2 runs scored, 2 RBI and 1 stolen base.
 
Mariners John Barone is putting up the best single season by any player in the past 3 years of the HVNABA. Barone is leading the AL and the NL in just about every single category including hits - 39, triples - 4, HRs - 7, RBI - 45, AVG - .582, SLG% - 1.134, OBP - .654. When 2010 is over Barone will have broken the single season record for all of these categorys as well. To top it off, he has only struck out 3 times the entire season. He is also on pase to become the 2nd Triple Crown winner in the HVNABA after Mariners catcher Steve Aurigemma did it last year. If you look at Barone's 2010 stats you will notice he has at least 2 hits in 16 of the 17 games he played, had 3 hits 5 times and 4 hits once. His biggest game came on July 11th vs the Mets. Barone was 3 - 4 with 2 HRs, 8 RBI, and 2 runs scored. The only way to pitch to Barone is, well just don't pitch to him.
 
Like Duchin from the Yankees, Justin Cox has done it at the plate and on the mound this year. On the mound you could say he has been the most dominate pitcher in the entire league. Justin is a perfect 4 - 0 with an amazing .47 ERA. He also has 52 strikeouts in 38 innings. Opponents only batted .128 against Cox this season. On April 10th Justin gave the Yankees 1 of their 6 losses when he went 6 innings and struck out 12 batters ( 2 per inning!), while scattering just 4 hits. On offense Justin had a big game on May 30 against the Warriors when he was 3 for 3 with 2 walks, an RBI and a run scored.
 
 
Another first year player, lefty Jake Slate came over from the Wappinger Yankees of the Collegiate Baseball League. Slate decided to join the already dominate 2008 and 2009 Champion Mariners team. Slate one of the best pitchers in the CBL has had a very strong 2010 with the Mariners. Slate currently has a 2.68 ERA and is 4 - 0 with 2 saves. In 47 innings Slate has struck out 66 batters. On July 11th Slate pitched 6 innings of just 1 hit ball and struck out 11 Mets for his 2nd win in the HVNABA. After his first season in the league Slate as already established himself as one of the best pitchers in the HVNABA and looks to make a major impact during the Mariners run at their 3rd straight HVNABA Championship this season.
 
Most people dont realize that the Marlins have the 2nd best offense in the entire league behind only the Mariners. Their lineup is strong from 1 - 9. But in the middle is Javier Diaz. Diaz is batting .417 in his first season with the Marlins with 3 HRs, 5 doubles, 20 hits and 14 RBI. He also has a .708 SLG% and a .508 OBP. Recently Diaz helped the Marlins beat the Black Sox by going 2 - 5 with a HR, 3 RBI and 2 runs scored. Javier Diaz is one player who you do not want to face when the game is on the line.
 
*****check back as we add more players to the AL this week
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