Minneapolis Mutiny

2018 World Series MVP: Minneapolis v. Memphis

The 2018 Stroh's World Series MVP Award goes to....

1B ROBERT LEE, MIN. Round of Applause!!

Many baseball pundits have been referring to 2018 as the year of the small markets. Minneapolis and Memphis World Series included two of the smallest markets in baseball. Include Indy and Montreal's success combined with the lack of success in New York, Chicago, Brooklyn, Dallas, and others and you can see that there is a renaissance among the smaller market teams. Make no mistake though, the small market tag does not mean less potent. Real baseball fans saw this matchup as one for the ages, both teams came on strong after weak starts and both teams looked amazingly potent in the playoffs. The series was legendary and for the 2nd time in the playoffs Minneapolis won 3 straight to overcome a 3-1 series deficit. Leading the charge was star player Robert Lee. Lee compiled a .536/.567/.929 line with 3 HRs and 8 RBI and was a force to be reckoned with in all 7 games. ALDS Stroh's MVP Kealaalohi Nerida had perhaps the most dramatic moment with his pinch hit 3 run HR in the top of the 9th. Also, Tanner Frazier closed the last 3 games out with out allowing a single hit. Congrats to Robert Lee and the Mutiny on a job well done!

2018 NLCS MVP: Memphis v. Indianapolis

The 2018 Stroh's NLCS MVP Award goes to....

1B ERIC WILSON, MEM. Round of Applause!!

Wow. It's not often that you have a player win two Stroh's Awards in one year, or even a lifetime for that matter, but Eric Wilson definitely earned his. Memphis again swept another foe, this time the NL win leaders, the Black Jacks. Wilson hit a HR in every game of the series. He totaled .467/.529/1.333 with 4 HR, 9 RBI, and 5 runs. Wilson cemented himself in EWB postseason history as well. Who is Eric Wilson? He was a 7th round pick by Memphis in 2011 and by 2016 he was considered the #46 prospect in baseball. However, playing 1b is no easy road to EWB as it's often blocked by talented veterans. In this case Howard Frazier had solidified himself as the starting 1B in Memphis. Frazier, though, was injured in 2018 allowing Wilson a roster spot and a shot at playing DH, especially after Durante Love was traded to El Paso. Wilson struggled through most of the season, hitting .227/13/54 in 124 games but has really found his groove in the postseason. Here's to your future, a toast of Stroh's for Mr. Wilson.

2018 ALCS MVP: Minneapolis v. Washington

The 2018 Stroh's ALCS MVP Award goes to....

SP JACOB GILLIAM, MIN. Round of Applause!!

Washington had defied all the odds coming into this series: the injuries, the play in game/race to wildcard, the wildcard round, and knocking out Montreal in round 1. Yet their storybook run would come to the end at the hands of the Mutiny in a short 5 game series. Jacob Gilliam would play a large role in the defeat of the Admirals. Gilliam is a 32 yr old pitcher who has traveled around his fair share. Initially drafted by SF he was traded to Boston for Woody Allen. A typical 4th or 5th guy in the rotation, Gilliam was able to shut out the Admirals twice in the series. In Game 2 with Minneapolis up 1-0 in the series, Gilliam went out to face Clint Miller and pitched 8 scoreless innings to earn the Mutiny 1-0 win and himself the Player of the Game. Then in Game 5 Gilliam faced the Randall Hutchinson and again held the Admirals scoreless to earn the W and the Player of the Game. Gilliam finished the series with 14.1 scoreless innings and only 2 BB with 9 hits allowed and 10 K's. Bravo Mr. Gilliam, bravo, enjoy a nice cold Stroh's.

2018 NLDS MVP: Indianapolis v. Detroit

The 2018 Stroh's NLDS MVP Award goes to....

CF VINCENT GRIFFIN, IND. Round of Applause!!

Griffin was an absolute spark plug in the leadoff spot for the Indianapolis Black Jacks in their series against Detroit. In every single game of the series Griffin got at least one hit and usually multiple hits. He was Player of the Game in Game 1 with a 3-6 performance and 2 runs. His leadoff HR in the 1st AB of the decisive Game 6 set the tone for Indy to win 10-0. Griffin put up a .464/.500/.750 line with 2 HR, 2 RBI, and 9 runs. Griffin's series against Detroit defined why he is regarded as one of EWB's top talents, and that's without even recognizing his defensive prowess.

2018 NLDS MVP: Memphis v. San Francisco

The 2018 Stroh's NLDS MVP Award goes to....

1B ERIC WILSON, MEM. Round of Applause!!!!

No player was more responsible for driving  the spike into the chest of the SeaWolves to end their season than Eric Wilson. Memphis was the prohibitive favourite in the series after winning the Sunbelt with 93 wins and they took Game 1 in a one run battle. Yet nobody was ready to count out the SeaWolves by any means and in Game 2 it looked like SF had answered Game 1 when in the 6th inning they were up 5-0. The Razorbacks made a run in the bottom of the 7th and were able to score 4 runs, Eric Wilson contributed a single and a run to that effort. Going into the bottom of the 8th the SeaWolves had a 5-4 lead when Manager Everett Blake brought in acclaimed set up man, Bo Salazar. Salazar got the dangereous duo of George Tate and Howard Frazier to ground out and fly out immediately. But with 2 outs and a 1 run lead Morton Clayton knocked out a single. Blake called on Joseph "Clock" Peck to come in and Peck surrendered a single to Joaquin Castro. That brought Eric Wilson up with 2 men on and 2 outs and Wilson.......CRUSHED a 3 RUN HR! The HR not only won the game for the Razorbacks but it pretty much demoralized SF beyond help. Memphis went on to win the next two games, scoring 12 runs in each. Wilson finished with a .333 avg, 1 HR, 8 RBI. The Mississippi St. grad will have his fair share of Stroh's for the upcoming SEC football season, wooo haaa.

2018 AL Wildcard Round MVP: Washington v. Denver

The honor goes to the Washington Admirals' Tony Rodriguez, who batted .467 with 1 HR and 6 RBI in just 3 games.

In game one, Rodriguez went 2-5 with 2 runs scored. Most notably, he led off the bottom of the 10th with a double, and then scored the winning run two batters later.

But really, Rodriguez earns the award on the strength of the decisive game 3, when he went 5-6 with 4 runs, 6 RBI, a double and a home run. Pretty much all of that offensive explosion was needed too, as the Admirals won 13-10. The 5 hits tied an American League playoff game record.

Oh, and this award is sponsored by King Cobra Malt Liquor.

2018 NL Wildcard Round MVP: Detroit v. Atlanta

The winner of the NL Wild Card Round MVP award is Detroit's LF Bill Dickerson. Dickerson went 0-3 with 3 K's in the 1st game, which admittedly isn't very MVP-worthy. But in the second and final game of the round, he went 3-4 with 3 RBI, powering the Cruisers to an easy 8-2 win.

In addition, he made a great sliding dive with 2 out in the bottom of the 7th to save a run. Yes, it was 8-2 at the time, so the run didn't matter much. But Dickerson injured himself on the play, and is now out for 3 weeks, so probably the rest of the playoffs. So, he gets the award to help make up for that in part.

Here is the t-shirt Dickerson gets, in connection with the award.

2018 ALDS MVP: Minneapolis v. Los Angeles

The 2018 Stroh's ALDS MVP Award goes to....

LF KEALAALOHI NERIDA, MIN. Round of Applause!!!

The most anticipated first round matchup of the 2018 playoffs was undoubtedly between the 96 win Mutiny and the 95 win, defending Champion Gargoyles. The series did not disappoint and Nerida was able to take the Mutiny on his back to win the series in 7 games, winning the last 3 coming back from a 3-1 deficit. Minneapolis jumped off to a quick win in Game 1 but then allowed LA to win 3 in a row, two games by 1 run and one game by 2 runs. Minneapolis looked doomed down 3-1 in the series but Game 5 they managed to hold off the Gargoyles 2-0 with the help of Nerida's 7th inning HR and Pete Sherman's great pitching performance. In Game 6 Nerida went 3-4 and Minneapolis won 5-4 with a dramatic 8th inning HR by Victor Hicks. Nerida helped seal the deal and pour it on the Gargoyles in a 10-1 victory where he went 1-4 with a 3 run HR. Nerida's totals for the series was a .385/.429/.808, 3 HRs, 8 RBI. Stroh's is happy to announce that Nerida will be their new official spokesperson in Samoa. Cheers!

2018 ALDS MVP: Washington v. Montreal

The 2018 Stroh's ALDS MVP Award goes to....

SP CLINT MILLER, WAS. Round of Applause!!

Las Vegas oddsmakers saw no more lopsided matchup in the 2018 playoffs than the Washington Admirals/Montreal Knights series. Montreal had won 99 games, the most in baseball. Meanwhile Washington went .500, won a play in game versus Boston only to face Denver in the Wildcard round. Washington, despite many injuries, defied the odds and beat Denver and now faced the Goliath in Montreal. Washington's big strength was their starting pitching and Clint Miller set the tone in Game 1. Miller was able to come out and pitch 5.2 innings of scoreless ball before he was forced out by a 44 minute rain delay. However, his performance was enough to get Washington a 2-0 win and earn him the Player of the Game. Montreal evened it up in Game 2 but Washington was able to shut out Montreal in Games 3 and 4 to take a 3-1 series lead. Miller would once again step out in Game 5 and pitch wonderful, going 5.1 innings and giving up 1 run before again being shut down by a rain delay. Washington would go on to defeat Montreal in one of the biggest upsets in EWB history. Hey Clint, they don't call you Shark for nothing, here's a Stroh's to relax after you strike fear into the hearts of hitters all over.