Tropic Times -- Season-in-Review 1999

[EchoesIE]

Honolulu, HA -- With the surprising 1998 team just a distant memory in the minds of Tropics fans, the 1999 season promised to be something to remember -- fans will remember it for the entirely wrong reasons. 1999 held a number of new low's for the Hawaii Tropics, including but not limited too a new Franchise record for losses, the lowest fan attendance in Franchise history, and the lowest runs/game in the whole MBBA. For the first time in Franchise history, not a single Tropic hit above .300, posted more than 30 homeruns or batted in 100 or more runs. The 1999 season is something of an attrocity that only the glimmer of next March will keep fans interested in Tropics baseball.

Team Overview (Numbers in paranthesis indicate position in JL)

+ 32-49 at Home
+ 34-47 on the Road.
+ .237 Team BA (12th)
+ .294 OBP (12th)
+ .366 Slugging (12th)
+ 619 Runs Scored (6th)
+ 1306 Hits (12th)
+ 417 Extra-Base Hits (11th)

+ 4.32 Pitcher ERA (8th)
+ 4.00 Staring Pitcher ERA (6th)
+ 5.10 Bullpen ERA (12th)
+ 776 Runs Allowed (8th)
+ 1514 Hits Allowed (7th)
+ .689 Defense Efficiency

Team Leaders:
AB - 3B Robb Wells (634)
Hits - RF Silas Camarena (170)
BA - RF Silas Camarena (.278)
RBI - 1B David Smurf (81)
Runs - RF Silas Camarena (73)

Wins - SP Remington Little (8)
ERA (min 75 IP) - SP Dow Jones (3.14)
Strikeouts - SP Remington Little (118)
WHIP (More than 40 innings pitched) - MR Travis McKinstry (1.20)

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Offensive Player of the Year:
RF Silas Camarena -- Its hard to pick any player on the Tropics roster for this spot. Not because there are so many options, but because no one really deserves it, no one. Camarena however, is the most appropriate player for this award. Camarena led the Tropics in hits, was third in RBI, first in Batting Average, and a couple spots behind all the other major offensive categories. This was the first year for Silas to not hit over .300, but the Tropics star outfielder will hope to get back into the groove in the 2000 season.

Pitcher of the Year:
SP Remington Little -- Another award that didn't have a clear front runner, not at the beginning of the season, the middle of the season and most certainly not the end. Little, like Camarena, is the most deserving of the award under the circumstances. Due to the rotating pitching staff, Little's starts were a little out of whack, all in all -- Little started 20 games, compiled a 8-10 record over year, pitching in 160.1 innings. Little has 12 quality starts, led the team in strikeouts, gave up just 12 homeruns, and had a quality 23.3 VORP.

Defensive Player of the Year:
3B Robb Wells -- Wells played an outrageous 1,424.1 innings. Despite posting 14 errors on the year (1 error every 104 innings, or 11 games), Wells had his best year in Fielding Percentage in 3 years, a zone effeciency rating of +8.4, all said, Wells was the Tropics iron man, playing in all but 10 games the entire year.

Minor League Player of the Year (Offense):
SS Jim Oneill -- The 25 year old was acquired as part of the stupid-huge deal for SP Freddy Bilbao, Oneill didn't disappoint. Oneill registered 301 AB during the whole 1999 season, of those 301 AB, he had 90 hits and 28 BB for a very good .359 OBP. Oneill also drove in 38 RBI and hit 5 HR. Oneill looks to take part in the starting lineup in 2000.

Minor League Player of the Year (Pitcher):
P Rene Moncada -- One of the main players to come over in the Bilbao trade was Moncada, who blossomed into a truly great minor league pitcher for the Tropics. Moncada pitched in 109 innings for AAA Monterey, finishing with a 7-4 record. Moncada also finished with a WHIP of 1.18, a killer K/9 ratio of 7.18, and a VORP north of 23. Moncada is another key piece that the Tropics look for to develop into the 2000 season and beyond.

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Other Notes worth Noting:
September 27 -- Felix pan nearly reaches the pinnacle of his career, pitching a 1-hit shutout against division rival California. The lone hit came in the 7th inning, yet Pan stayed in the game and recorded the W as part of the Tropics 1-0 win.
Friday August 20th 1999 -- C Robin Larker hits his 300th career homerun.
June 01 1999 -- Tropics deal star SP Freddy Bilbao for 6 prospects. 3 of those 6 prospects later make the Hawaii 40-man roster
April 30 1999 - SP Dow Jones is injured for 4 months due to a torn Labrum in his throwing shoulder. Jones effectively misses the whole season.