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.
2017 World Series MVP: Los Angeles v. Cincinnati
The 2017 Stroh's World Series MVP Award goes to....
SS MATT PETERSON, LA. Round of Applause!!
In a rather unexciting World Series, Los Angeles dispatched Cincinnati in such an extraordinarily efficient way that it was hard to believe Cincy won 98 games. The 4-1 was series did have three 1 run victories but LA was never seriously threatened. Star SS Matt Peterson contributed early in the series and heavily in Game 3 where he was 3-4, 2 runs, 3 rbi, 1 double and 2 HRs. Peterson totaled .364/3/8 in the series and played a great SS as well. Here's to the World Series MVP! Drink a Stroh's for LA and one of the great managers, Chang-yong Gong!
2017 NLCS MVP: Cincinnati v. Memphis
The 2017 Stroh's NLCS MVP Award goes to....
OF KENNY DUKES, CIN. Round of Applause!!
The Cincy/Memphis matchup appeared at first glance to be a highly competitive series. Both teams won their division and were 90+ game winners. Cincy with the most potent offense in the NL and Memphis with the best shutdown pitching staff. Cincy jumped to a 3-1 series lead before falling to Memphis in Game 5. Game 6 would prove to be an intense affair with Cincy beating Memphis 6-5 and taking the series 4-2. No player for Cincy was as consistently good throughout the series as Kenny Dukes, the former Memphis Razorback. Dukes hit in all 6 games and totaled a .348 avg/.423 OBP/ .478 SLG. He also put up 1 HR and 3 RBI. Dukes has been the heart and soul of this Cincy team since he joined in 2013. There is no doubt that Cincy's success since 2013 has been on the shoulders of this perennial All Star and former MVP.
2017 ALCS MVP: Los Angeles v. Washington DC
The 2017 Stroh's ALCS MVP Award goes to....
1B MINORU YAMAMOTO, LA. Round of Applause!
The relatively unknown Yamamoto put on quite a performance during the Gargoyles quick but expected 4 game sweep of DC. The 28 yr old has only played one full season in EWB prior to 2017 and only appeared in 75 games in 2017. In addition, he was dismal in the games he played against Chicago in the ALDS. After an 0-2 Game 1, Yamamoto looked like he again would be a non factor. Then after his mentor coach in Japan reached out to give sage advice, Yamamoto erupted in Games 2, 3, 4. He totaled a .467 avg, 4 HR, 12 RBI to lift the Gargoyle offense against what was a dominating pitching staff against Omaha. Enjoy this day and Stroh's acknowledges your Japanese heritage and we love your Japanese culture and we send you many Stroh's!
2017 NLDS MVP: Memphis v. Dallas
The 2017 Stroh's NLDS MVP Award goes to....
SP TOM PARRISH, MEM. Round of Applause!!!
Most fans looked upon the Memphis/Dallas series as perhaps the most intriguing of the first round matchups. Loads of EWB fans were backing the historically bad Razorbacks as the feel good story of the year. Yet Dallas boasted the league's best and likely most popular player in William Walker. Oddsmakers had this matchup as the closest with only a slight edge going to Memphis. Parrish had been the Razorback Ace all year long and led the team to the lowest amount of runs scored against in the NL. Taking the mound in Game 1 Parrish breezed by the Brahmas, pitching 6 innings and giving up only 3 hits with 7 K's. The bullpen finished the game out and Memphis won handily 10-0. Memphis looked like they were about to sweep after going up 3-0 in the series but a comeback win for Dallas in Game 4 prevented the brooms from appearing. That meant that Big Tom was going to come out for Game 5. This time Big Tom was even better, going 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, and 6 K's for his 2nd W of the series and to close out the Dallas Brahmas. Stroh's happily sends a big keg for Parrish to enjoy this offseason. Cheers Big Tom!!!!