Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Hess named VSBB Player of the Month for August

The bloggers at the Victoria Seals Baseball Blog (VSBB) are pleased to announce that Isaac Hess has been named the VSBB Player of the Month for August. For this first time this season, the voting was unanimous.

Hess was both a pitching and offensive juggernaut is August. Although he was only 2-3 on the month -- proving once again that a pitcher's won-loss record is frequently misleading -- Hess posted a 3.44 ERA and 1.20 WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) in six starts. Isaac also set a new Seals record for strikeouts in a game by fanning 13 in his August 16th start against the Chico Outlaws at Royal Athletic Park. In 39 2/3 innings pitched in the month, he struck out an amazing 50 batters and only walked 12.

But Hess' stellar month wasn't limited to the pitching mound --
he also hit a sizzling .353 in 17 at-bats, laid down three sacrifice bunts and tossed in three pinch hits for good measure:
  • On August 13th against St. George at RAP, he started a come-from-behind rally in the bottom of ninth with a scorching double down the right field line.
  • On August 27th versus Calgary, he doubled in a pair of runs in the 6th inning to give the Seals a 6-4 lead in a must-win game. Sadly, the Seals could not hold the lead and Victoria lost a heart-breaker 7-6.
  • On August 28th he also had a pinch-hit single in a 12-4 loss.
Jino Gonzalez and Wilver Perez, mere mortals compared to Isaac Hess in August, finished tied for second in voting. Gonzalez posted a 3-2 record with a 3.53 ERA and 1.15 WHIP. Not only did he strike out 37 batters, but he exhibited pinpoint control in the month: only 7 walks in 35 2/3 innings. That's more than 5 strikeouts for every walk.

Perez broke the all-time GBL record for stolen bases in a season by swiping his 52nd and 53rd bases at home on August 12th and his bat hasn't cooled off since being named VSBB Player of the Month in July. Wilver hit .326 and scored 26 runs in August, while swatting a pair of home runs and 14 RBIs. He also stole 15 bases to raise his season total to 64.


With one abbreviated month to go in the 2010 season, Wilver Perez has now taken over the lead for VSSB Player of the Year honours. The complete year-to-date standings are as follows:
  • Wilver Perez - 5.5 points
  • Josh Arhart - 5 points
  • Terrence McClain - 4 points
  • Isaac Hess - 3 points
  • Brian Rios - 3 points
  • Jino Gonzalez - 2.5 points
  • Brandon Villafuerte - 1 point