January 2002
26 January, 2002
Joo-Ngan Jue has had an outstanding season so far, including an apperance in the All-Star game, he hit 3 home runs back in a game back in November, and less than two weeks ago was part of the team that won the Queenstown Classic. The three game suspension leaves a bit of a black mark against his name.
Stat Watch
50 Home Runs? Bay of Plenty 3B Ciaran MacKay has been electric with his home run production this season with 30 to his name. He's currently projected to get 56.
150 RBIs? Bay of Plenty 3B Ciaran MacKay is also on track here. He's currently on 83 RBIs and projected to get 155.
Batting Triple Crown? Domenic Redelius is on track to win the Triple Crown for the Australian conference. The Canberra Left Fielder is currently projected to average .378, hit 43 home runs, and bat in 146 runs.
20 Wins? Auckland's Rex Uridge currently has a 13-2 record and our experts are currently predicting a 24-4 record to finish it off. There are plenty of others gunning for that 20 wins though. Rex Courcha (Taranaki), Domenic Mackay (Auckland), and Randolph Vankrimpen (Bay of Plenty) are all projected to finish with 19.
January Award Winners
Kiwi Batter of the Month: Rhys Macleod (Canterbury, RF), snubbed for All-Star honours -- Macleod may have taken that a bit too personally as he smashed out a .350 average with 5 home runs, 16 RBIs, and 13 runs scored.
Kiwi Pitcher of the Month: Seb Larnach (Tasman), this rookie is having a fantastic year. He's made the All-Star game and now's been named the best pitcher in New Zealand. He went 3-0 over 3 starts, with 0.87 ERA, striking out 19 over 20.2 innings.
Kiwi Rookie of the Month: Seb Larnach (Tasman)
Kangaroo Batter of the Month: Domenic Redelius (Canberra, LF), a vital member of the Power picks up his second batter of the month award. For January, he averaged .393, 5 home runs, 21 RBIs, and 13 runs scored.
Kangaroo Pitcher of the Month: Domenic Geaner (Illawarra), the 30 year old picked up a 3-0 record over 3 starts. With a 0.44 ERA over 20.1 innings and striking out 18.
Kangaroo Rookie of the Month: Tye Geaner (CF, Queensland), Domenic's brother? I'm going to say yes. Geaner broke Tye Lapthorne's hold on this title with a .323 batting average, 21 hits, 4 home runs, and 13 RBIs.
Bay of Plenty and Adelaide consolidate their hold on the number 1 slot. A tight battle is beginning to form around from the remaining playoff spots though. 7 games may separate 1st and 2nd in New Zealand, but only 5 games separate 2nd from 7th. It's a similar outlook in Australia.