Tropic Times -- Season-in-Review (Vol. XV)

[EchoesIE]

Honolulu, HA -- The Tropics went through a major change in the 1998 season compared to season's past. Hawaii finished 83-79, finishing above .500 for the second time in their history. Hawaii had a few other franchise highs occur this season: More than 3,938,000 fans crossed the turnstiles to watch a Tropics Game, a new franchise record by nearly 500,000 fans. Part of the incredible jump in attendance surely had to do with 1B David Smurf moving into an exclusive club not once but twice. Smurf pounded the ball out of the park for the 400th time on the 6th of April. Smurf then added to his legacy by scoring his 1,000th career run on July 11.

Team Overview (Numbers in paranthesis indicates finish position in 12 team Johnson League)
+ 42-39 at Home
+ 41-40 on the Road.
+ .273 Team BA (7th)
+ .336 OBP (6th)
+ .447 Slugging (3rd)
+ 796 Runs Scored (6th)
+ 1524 Hits (7th, tied)
+ 545 Extra-Base Hits (2nd)

+ .422 Pitcher ERA (6th)
+ 4.29 Staring Pitcher ERA (5th)
+ 4.06 Bullpen ERA (3rd)
+ 764 Runs Allowed (6th)
+ 1520 Hits Allowed (5th)
+ .696 Defense Efficiency (2)

Team Leaders:
AB - 3B Robb Wells (674)
Hits - SS Tim McGraw (205)
BA - SS Tim McGraw (.345)
RBI - C Robin Larker, and 1B David Smurf (117)
Runs - RF Silas Camarena (105)

Wins - SP Freddy Bilbao, SP Todd Swader (12).
ERA - SP Freddy Bilbao (3.24)
Strikeouts - SP Freddy Bilbao (230)
WHIP (More than 40 innings pitched) - MR Angel Miranda (1.27)

~~~

Offensive Player of the Year:
SS Tim McGraw - McGraw had another fantastic year and proved again why he's the Tropic captain. McGraw finished within the top 3 of nearly every offensive category for the Tropics. McGraw had the 3rd highest average in the Johnson League, 5th in OBP in the JL, and 5th in Hits in the JL. McGraw led the team in Hits, 4th in HR's, 3rd in RBI, 2nd in Total Bases, and had the fewest strikeouts of any player with more than 500 AB. The Tropics made sure to keep McGraw a staple of the lineup, signing him during the year to a 5 year extension worth a total of $66,300,000.

Pitcher of the Year:
CP Leo Lopez - Lopez was almost a sure thing when it came to closing out ball games. Lopez racked up 34 saves on the year, tied for 6th in the Johnson League. He posted a 3.38 ERA as part of his 7 Blown Saves. Yet Lopez had a WHIP of just 1.28, and an OAVG of just .243.

Defensive Player of the Year:
RF Sila Camarena - The shift outfielder covered nearly the whole field in 1998. Camarena scored a .991 Fielding % on the year. Registered 323 Putouts, and had the 4th most innings played at 1,290 (The most of any Tropics Outfielder.)

Minor League Player of the Year (Offense):
LF Johnny Davis -- The first-round draft pick of this past season put together an excellent start to his career in the Tropic's Rookie League. Davis played in just 61 Games, acquiring 199 AB. Davis scored 49 Hits, 8 Doubles, 5 HR, 22 Doubles and a .246 average. According to every scout in the organization, Davis is primed for big things once he gets on the right track.

Minor League Player of the Year (Pitcher)
P Jose Mijangos - Mijangos didn't have a ton of IP this season, but in the 22.2 innings he did pitch he was lights out. Posting 20 K's, an era of 2.78, and a WHIP of 1.06. Mijangos was also named the #35 prospect in the MBBA.

~~~

Other Notes worth Noting:
June 26 - SS Tim McGraw]SS Tim McGraw[/url] signs a 5 year deal that keeps the 31 year-old shortstop in a Tropics Uniform until 2003. The total contract is worth $66,300,000.

June 21 - RF Sila Camarena goes beserk with a 20 game hitting streak that lasted the entire month of June before going 0-1 in a losing effort against the Baltimore Monarchs.

June 6 -
RF Sila Camarena uses his John Hancock to gurantee himself a Tropics Uniform for 5 years. Camarena signed the 5 year deal worth $35,300,000 during the start of his hit-streak, cementing the fact that he's a valuable source of offense for the Tropics.

May 21 - SP Sammy Bodeen was traded to the Tropics for a package of players. The superstar pitcher was injured at the start of the season with a torn back muscle. Bodeen is a 5-star player with potential to be the best pitcher in the league for years to come.

April 06 - 1B David Smurf hit his 400th career homerun against the Vancouver. Smurf went 1-4 in the game, but made his single hit count. Crushing the ball 430 feet while driving in 2 runs. The Tropics celebrated a 3-2 victory over the mounties.

[recte44]

Lots to like about the year in Hawaii. Honestly, I hadn't even noticed the crazy attendance swing.

Smurf made a huge difference here, but lost in the shuffle was the re-emergence of Robin Larker as an everyday player.