Dominican Winter Baseball League MVP and Post Season Awards 2010

The Dominican Winter Baseball League (LIDOM) has finished the regular season and the playoffs are being played right now.  Here is the press release announcing the post season awards.

As the Dominican Baseball Guy predicted, Juan Francisco won the MVP.  The Dominican Baseball Guy also predicted that he would play in the MLB this past season and he did.  Juan won the Rookie of the Year in LIDOM in 2008, the MVP last year, and the MVP this year.  He has had quite a run in his first three years.  This article from the Gigantes del Cibao website sums up his dominance in the LIDOM over the past three years.

This year he was in the top 5 in HR, RBI, Runs, and average.  In just 3 years he has 30 HR, which puts him only 2 behind the Gigantes club leader Nelson Cruz, who took seven years to get to that number.  He is only the third player in LIDOM history to have two 10 HR seasons, and is half way to the career record.  He is also only the 10th player to hit two 400 feet HR in Quisqueya Stadium.  He nearly made the Reds playoff roster this season, and should see more playing time next year after playing in 36 games last season.  Juan is from Bonao, and he is known as "the Diamond of Bonao."

Juan Francisco

The Rookie of the Year went to Eury Perez.  He is in the Nationals system and played last year at single A.  Eury is a speedy center fielder, who had 60 stolen bases during his single A season last year.  He hit .345 and had 21 stolen bases in 37 LIDOM games.  It will be some time before he makes it to a big league club, but he has the potential to be a productive lead off hitter and center fielder.  Eury is from San Luis, DR.

Eury Perez

Another National, Yunesky Maya won the Pitcher of the Year.  He is an established major leaguer who came over to the Nationals last season after pitching for many years in the Cuban National Series, the top Cuban league.  He won the Cuban equivalent of the Cy Young on 2009.  In eight LIDOM starts he was 4-2 with a 1.32 ERA.  He also had 42 K's in 41 innings and just 8 walks.  Maya should fit into the Nationals starting rotation somewhere this year, the only question is where.  Maya is from Pinar del Rio, Cuba.

Yunesky Maya

Here is an article from Federal Baseball Nationals blog that sums up these two and their potential going forward.  Both played for Escogido in the LIDOM this year.

Lastly, Dean Treanor won the Manager of the Year Award.  Treanor managed the Toros to first place in the LIDOM.  He has managed and coached in various minor league teams and organizations since 1988.  He has managed the Toros for the last two years.  Treanor will be managing the Indianapolis Indians of the International League next year (according to this article).  Treanor played baseball at Cal Poly-San Luis Obisbo in the 1970s.

Dean Treanor

Dominican Winter Baseball League (LIDOM) Players of the Week 2010

Here is the list of the players of the week for the Dominican Winter Baseball League (LIDOM) 2010:

October 25-31: Radhames Liz

Nov. 1-7: Matt McBride

Nov. 8-14: Juan Francisco

Nov. 15-21: Juan Francisco

Nov. 22-29: Joel Guzman and P Fabio Castro

Nov. 29-Dec.5: Wilson Betemit and P John Halama

Dec. 6-12: Omar Luna and P Yunesky Maya

Dec 13-19: Alexi Casilla and P Edward Valdez

Apparently the LIDOM started naming both a player and a pitcher of the week for the last four weeks of the season.  Notice, favorite of the Dominican Baseball Guy, Juan Francisco is the only repeat winner.  He also won two Player of the Weeks last season, and repeated as the MVP of the LIDOM this year.  The Dominican Baseball Guy will get up a post about all the post season awards soon.

LIDOM is currently in the playoffs, which starts on December 26 and will be going on through the end of January.  Escogido, Estrellas, Bulls, and Gigantes are the four teams that are competing in the playoffs.

Wilson Betemit, John Halama, Omar Luna, Yunesky Maya Players of Week

For the week of November 29-December 5, Wilson Betemit won the Player of the Week Award in the Dominican Winter Baseball League (LIDOM) and John Halama won the Pitcher of the Week.  Here is the press release.

Betemit won the award one time last year.  He has been an MLB player for six years, splitting time between the minors and majors for most of these.  He has had some good years for the Yankees, White Sox, and most recently the Royals.  He even won the Royals player of the month award last year for July, so not sure he how he started out in the minors for them last year.  He has 24 RBI in 22 games for the Gigantes in the LIDOM this year.  Betemit is from Santo Domingo, DR.

John Halama is from Brooklyn and has been at the AAA level since 2005 with various organizations and AAA teams.  He played in 262 games in the majors with 5 teams from 1998-2006.  Another interesting sight in the LIDOM: a journeyman American pitcher seeing extended playing time.  It is more evidence that teams in the LIDOM are concerned about one thing, winning.  There is no effort to develop players or play local talent, the teams just want to win the league and go to the Caribbean Series.

For December 6-12, Omar Luna and Yunesky Maya won the awards.  Here is the press release.
Luna hit .500 for the week and had a home run and 4 RBI.  He has been in the minors since 2007 and reached AAA last year with the Durham Bulls, the Tampa Bays Rays affiliate.  He is from Monte Cristi, DR.

Maya is a legit major leaguer in the prime of his career.  He was signed by the Nationals last summer, after defecting from Cuba.  He won the Cuban equivalent of the Cy Young for the 2008-2009 season.  He spent just five games in the Nationals minor league system before being called up and starting 5 games last year.  This article from the Federal Baseball blog, tells his story and the story of him signing.  He is from Pinar del Rio, Cuba.  So many good Cubans, sad we can't see them all play in MLB.  They could give Dominicans competition for the most foreign players.