Wild Things Become First Frontier League Team Since 2011 to Sweep MVP and Pitcher of the Year Awards
WASHINGTON, Pa. (Aug. 30) - Today the Frontier League announced its annual postseason awards. Two Wild Things were honored in two ways, as Washington has two postseason All Stars and has become the first team since 2011 to sweep the MVP and Pitcher of the Year Awards for the Frontier League.
Center fielder James Harris was named the league's Most Valuable Player, while Thomas Dorminy was named the league's Pitcher of the Year. Both are members of the Postseason All Star Team at their respective positions too, with Dorminy being the only starting pitcher on the Frontier League's postseason All Star team.
The last time both the Morgan Burkhart Award winner (MVP) and the Brian Tollberg Award Winner (Pitcher of the Year) came from the same team in one season was 2011, when Stephen Holdren and Josh Lowey were the MVP and Pitcher of the Year, respectively, for the River City Rascals.
Harris becomes the second Wild Thing to be named league MVP since the franchise entered the Frontier League in 2002. In 2003, Josh Loggins won the Morgan Burkhart Award after hitting 24 home runs and driving in 72 runs that season, as he became the first Wild Thing to win the honor. He now moves over to make room for Harris in the Wild Things' record books.
This season, Harris is hitting .306 with a .921 OPS. To this point, he has 16 home runs and 64 RBI, which are both top 10 totals in the league. Harris' 46 extra base hits lead the league, while his eight triples do as well. The former first round pick also has 114 hits, which is the second highest total in the league. Those numbers go along with 26 stolen bases, which is a total tied for second in the league in the category.
"We stated back in the off-season that we felt James was the most impactful addition to our 2017 roster. This season was his platform to show his ability to dominate," said assistant general manager of baseball operations Tony Buccilli. "He certainly embraced the challenge of being a leader in Washington and his production has been so consistent. We are extremely proud to have James take home the League MVP award and grateful to have him as part of our Wild Things family."
Harris is the first outfielder on the Postseason All Star team for Washington since 2006, when both Chris Carter and Hall of Famer Chris Sidick were both selections.
Dorminy becomes the third pitcher in franchise history to win the Brian Tollberg Award for Pitcher of the Year, joining the likes of Hall of Famer Aaron Ledbetter, who won the award in 2007, and Jared Howton, who won the award in the Wild Things' inaugural season in 2002.
The left hander and former Padres' farmhand is the first Postseason All Star starting pitcher for Washington since 2016, when Trevor Foss was named to the team.
Dorminy ran away with the award a bit, as he has posted a league-best 2.19 ERA thus far. The next closest, as of this release, is 2.86 for Lake Erie's Alex Romero. Dorminy's nine wins are a top three total in the league, while his 108 strikeouts are tied for third most in the Frontier League this season. His innings total, 131.1, is second behind only Windy City's Zac Westcott, who has tossed 132.1 innings to this point.
"Dorminy was brought in to show he could be an ace in Washington. He asked for a platform to compete, an opportunity to win games and the rest is history," said Buccilli. "We appreciate how much he invests to his starts and his demeanor to simply hunt wins. This has been a very special year for Dorm. He deserves this honor, posting one of best pitching campaigns in Wild Things history."
Outside of Dorminy and Harris being honored in this year's Frontier League Postseason Awards, Wild Things' beat writer for the Washington Observer Reporter, Chris Dugan was selected as the league's Writer of the Year for the 5th time in the last six years. Our congratulations go out to Chris and we thank him for all the hard work he does to cover the team as well as he does.
A full list of all of the selections for the Postseason Awards in 2018 are available at frontierleague.com.
