NASBL Tastes Great Award Winners Announced!

The results of the 2008 NASBL Awards Voting are in! Here are your winners in the Tastes Great Conference:


MVP:
David Ortiz, LCC - Known as Big Papi, the portly Lake Champlain slugger dominated most offensive categories. He won the TG Triple Crown with an amazing .360/56/159 line, and only a Prince Fielder (PCM) homerun on the final day of the season kept Papi from winning the NASBL Triple Crown. In addition, Ortiz led the NASBL in walks, OBA, and SLG. Ortiz tallied 12 first place votes, but was left off the other 3 ballots entirely.

Cy Young:
Daisuke Matsuzaka, LVI - Another aptly nicknamed player, particularly for a Strat leaguer, Dice-K led the league in ERA with an amazing 2.60 mark, the 7th best in league history. Matsuzaka's 252.1 innings were 2nd in the league, trailing only IronPig teammate Aaron Harang. Dice-K's 242 k's were good for 5th in the league. Matsuzaka tallied 11 first place votes.

Fireman of the Year:
Joe Nathan, ILL - Joe Nathan, a frequent visitor at the top of the Saves leaderboard (he holds 2nd, 3rd, and 8th on the Single Season Saves honor roll) nailed down his 2nd Fireman of the Year award for a Sherlag. In 2006, Nathan won the award for Doug Sherlag's Springfield Isotopes, while in 2008 he brought the award home for brother Brad's Illinois Chow-Chows. Nathan's 34 saves trailed only OJW's Joakim Soria (35) in the TG, and his 2.76 ERA trailed only LVI's Matt Capps (2.14) among TG closers with double-digit saves. Nathan earned 11 first place votes.

Rookie of the Year:
Daisuke Matsuzaka, LVI - The first ROY/Cy double winner in the NASBL since CCC's John Patterson in 2006, and the first ever in the Tastes Great. Matsuzaka led all Tastes Great rookie pitchers in innings and strikeouts, and trailed only LCC's Rich Hill (18) in wins. Matsuzaka earned 10 first place votes.