| Most Valuable Player | ||
| This award is selected by a vote of the players, who cast their choices for first, second, and third place on each ballot. The votes are then counted on a 5-3-1 basis. Conventional theory deems that a player is "Most Valuable" when he leads his team, by deed or example, to victory. While hard numbers determine statistical leaders, the MVP is completely subjective. In addition to gaudy offensive stats, one could factor in the impact of a defensive player, or the excellence of a pitcher. Throw in even more ambiguous factors as leadership, clutch play, or who buys the beer after the game, and it's easy to see why even the most astute followers of the game can differ in their opinions. That's why we leave it up to the players to decide. | ||
 Slugger Greg Brown has eight team MVP crowns, proving that power hitters get all the glory. |
1975- Earl Yagi 1976- Tony Franklin 1977- Tony Franklin 1978- Tom Sukup 1979- Joe Sammut 1980- Joe Sammut 1981- Greg Brown 1982- Greg Brown & Joe Sammut 1983- Gary Matsushita 1984- Brian Christie 1985- Greg Brown 1986- Brian Christie 1987- Greg Brown |
1988- Greg Brown 1989- Brian Christie 1990- Brian Christie 1991- Mike Applegate 1992- Bruce Christie 1993- Greg Brown 1994- Tom Sukup 1995- Brian Christie 1996- Bruce Christie 1997- Greg Brown 1998- Greg Brown 1999- Fred Forster 2000- Fred Forster |
| Batting Champion | ||
| Hitting the softball is the most basic skill in the game, and the batting average is the one figure by which all players can be equally compared. But the race to the batting crown can also be the most controversial. Official scorers are reviled, bloop hits are ridiculed, and line drives that are caught are like punishment from the gods. But while one may catch "lightning in a bottle" over a short time, sustaining the consistency that it takes to win a batting crown is very difficult. | ||
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1975- Tony Franklin (.500) 1976- Tony Franklin (.600) 1977- Mike Applegate (.491) 1978- Tom Sukup (.512) 1979- Gary Matsushita (.463) 1980- Neil Christie (.522) 1981- Steve Barrett (.500) 1982- Joe Sammut (.556) 1983- Joe Sammut (.515) 1984- Brian Christie (.559) 1985- Brian Christie (.620) 1986- Brian Christie (.609) 1987- John Koeplin (.575) |
1988- Brian Christie (.598) 1989- Brian Christie (.680) 1990- Al Brown (.730) 1991- Brian Christie (.610) 1992- Bruce Christie (.675) 1993- Greg Brown (.619) 1994- Brian Christie (.604) 1995- Brian Christie (.747) 1996- Bruce Christie (.623) 1997- Bruce Christie (.656) 1998- Greg Brown (.653) 1999- Tom Sukup (.672) 2000- Fred Forster (.686) |  Brian Christie practically claimed this award as his own, winning nine team batting crowns. |
| Gold Glove Award | ||
| The Gold Glove Award is determined solely by the Coach, and as always, his verdict is final. This award differs from the others in that statistics only play a minor role in who gets recognized. Tom Sukup may have been an easy choice in 1984 when he went the entire year without making a single error. But then Bruce Christie also won it in 1987, a year in which he made a team-record 31 errors. The errors aside, Bruce's play at shortstop that year was spectacular. And sometimes it's just a matter of style, as so many of these players have demonstrated. Getting dirty and still making the play certainly counts for something. | ||
 The key to AWA's success through the years was the interior defense provided by Bruce Christie and Gary Matsushita. Together they garnered 11 team Gold Gloves. |
1975- Gary Matsushita 1976- Tony Franklin 1977- Tom Sukup 1978- Dave Jackson 1979- Neil Christie 1980- Gary Matsushita & Brian Christie 1981- Gary Matsushita 1982- Brian Christie 1983- Gary Matsushita 1984- Tom Sukup 1985- Bruce Christie 1986- Gary Matsushita 1987- Bruce Christie |
1988- Bruce Christie 1989- Bruce Christie 1990- Steve Sammut 1991- Al Brown 1992- Bruce Christie 1993- Al Brown 1994- Tom Sukup 1995- Brian Christie 1996- Bruce Christie 1997- Jody Fuller 1998- Randy Carter 1999- Fred Forster 2000- Fred Forster |
| Silver Bat Award | ||
| The Silver Bat goes annually to the team's most prolific offensive player. Gloves are not required here. Hitting stats are everything -- a combination of average, power, and run production. Hey, you need runs to win, don't you? Well, these are the guys who can give it to you. | ||
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1975- Steve Barrett 1976- Tony Franklin 1977- Tony Franklin 1978- Tom Sukup 1979- Steve Barrett 1980- Joe Sammut 1981- Greg Brown 1982- Greg Brown 1983- Joe Sammut 1984- Greg Brown 1985- Greg Brown 1986- Brian Christie 1987- Greg Brown |
1988- Greg Brown 1989- Brian Christie 1990- Greg Brown 1991- Brian Christie 1992- Brian Christie 1993- Greg Brown 1994- Greg Brown 1995- Brian Christie 1996- Greg Brown 1997- Greg Brown 1998- Greg Brown 1999- Tom Sukup 2000- Maytheni Allen |  Tom Sukup won Silver Bats 21 years apart! |
| Home Run Champion | ||
| Home run hitters drive Cadillacs, while singles' hitters drive Fords. That's how the old saying goes, explaining the importance and popularity of the home run hitter. The weak and the wimpy need not apply. No warning track power here. This is the domain of the slugger -- those big, strong Cadillac-drivin' dudes who can change a game dramatically with one swing of the bat. | ||
 Greg Brown practically stole the key to the trophy case after joining the team in 1981, reeling off 16 home run crowns in a 20-year career. |
1975- Steve Barrett 1976- Steve Barrett 1977- Tony Franklin 1978- Joe Sammut 1979- Steve Barrett 1980- Steve Barrett & Joe Sammut 1981- Greg Brown 1982- Greg Brown 1983- Greg Brown 1984- Greg Brown 1985- Greg Brown 1986- Greg Brown 1987- Greg Brown |
1988- Greg Brown 1989- Greg Brown 1990- Greg Brown 1991- Greg Brown 1992- Brian Christie 1993- Greg Brown 1994- Tom Sukup 1995- Brian Christie & Joe Sammut 1996- Greg Brown 1997- Greg Brown 1998- Greg Brown 1999- Greg Brown 2000- Maytheni Allen |
| Runs Batted In Leader | ||
| It takes a different mindset to hit with "ducks on the pond", and some hitters are just not equipped to handle that kind of pressure consistently, while others thrive in that situation. While this is usually the domain of the power hitter, there is not much better than someone delivering a two-out two-run single in a tight game. The numbers provided by the RBI guy are usually the difference between victory and defeat. | ||
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1975- Steve Barrett 1976- Mike Applegate 1977- Tony Franklin 1978- Tom Sukup 1979- Steve Barrett & Joe Sammut 1980- Joe Sammut 1981- Greg Brown 1982- Greg Brown 1983- Greg Brown 1984- Greg Brown 1985- Greg Brown 1986- Brian Christie 1987- Greg Brown |
1988- Greg Brown 1989- Greg Brown 1990- Greg Brown 1991- Brian Christie 1992- Greg Brown 1993- Greg Brown 1994- Tom Sukup 1995- Brian Christie 1996- Greg Brown 1997- Greg Brown 1998- Greg Brown 1999- Tom Sukup 2000- Jody Fuller |  Greg Brown cleared the bases plenty of times in his AWA career, winning 14 team RBI crowns. |
| Scoring Leader | ||
| Awarded annually to the guy who crosses home plate more than anyone else. Of course, it helps if you bat first or second in the order with all those big bats behind you. | ||
 Gary Matsushita spent his entire career hitting in front of all those AWA boppers. That translated into seven team scoring crowns. |
1975- Tom Sukup 1976- Tony Franklin 1977- Tony Franklin 1978- Tom Sukup 1979- John Koeplin 1980- Steve Sammut 1981- Tom Sukup 1982- Brian Christie 1983- Gary Matsushita 1984- Brian Christie 1985- Brian Christie 1986- Gary Matsushita & Bruce Christie 1987- Bruce Christie |
1988- Gary Matsushita 1989- Brian Christie 1990- Brian Christie 1991- Gary Matsushita 1992- Gary Matsushita 1993- Gary Matsushita 1994- Gary Matsushita 1995- Brian Christie 1996- Greg Brown 1997- Greg Brown 1998- Randy Carter 1999- Fred Forster 2000- Fred Forster |
| Pitcher of the Year | ||
| This award was more generally known as the "Earl Yagi Award", named for AWA's great left-hander. Cited often as the key element whenever the team won a league or tournament championship, Earl proved that softball is not just an offensive game, and that pitching is every bit as important, even in a game that sees scores in double digits. | ||
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1975- Earl Yagi 1976- Earl Yagi 1977- Earl Yagi 1978- Earl Yagi 1979- Earl Yagi 1980- Earl Yagi 1981- Earl Yagi 1982- Earl Yagi 1983- Earl Yagi 1984- Earl Yagi 1985- Earl Yagi 1986- Joe Sammut 1987- Joe Sammut |
1988- Earl Yagi 1989- Joe Sammut 1990- Joe Sammut 1991- Joe Sammut 1992- Joe Sammut 1993- Joe Sammut 1994- Joe Sammut 1995- Mike Applegate 1996- Steve Wilson 1997- Steve Wilson 1998- Joe Sammut 1999- Joe Sammut 2000- Joe Sammut |  AWA was dominated by southpaws. Mike Applegate was the first right-hander in 21 years to win Pitcher of the Year. |
| Earned Run Average Champion | ||
| The figures may not be impressive, but then slow pitch earned run averages aren't supposed to be. To qualify for this award, you must have at least one inning pitched for each game the team played that year. | ||
 Pitcher Earl Yagi was about as unhittable as a slow pitch pitcher could be. |
1975- Earl Yagi 1976- Earl Yagi 1977- Earl Yagi 1978- Jeff Applegate 1979- Earl Yagi 1980- Earl Yagi 1981- Earl Yagi 1982- Joe Sammut 1983- Earl Yagi 1984- Earl Yagi 1985- Earl Yagi 1986- Joe Sammut 1987- Steve Wilson |
1988- Earl Yagi 1989- Steve Wilson 1990- Mike Applegate 1991- Mike Applegate 1992- Joe Sammut 1993- Mike Applegate 1994- Mike Applegate 1995- Mike Applegate 1996- Joe Sammut 1997- Joe Sammut 1998- Joe Sammut 1999- Joe Sammut 2000- Joe Sammut |
| Sharpshooter Award | ||
| Oh, how outfielders love to show off their howitzers. More than running down a drive in the alley, more than making a diving catch, these grass monkeys have no greater thrill than gunning down a runner on the basepaths. So here they're recognized, forgetting the times cut-off men were missed, or the number of balls that ended up in the dugout or the parking lot. This is big gun country. Only outfielders need apply. | ||
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1975- Pat Koeplin 1976- Pat Koeplin 1977- Steve Barrett 1978- Tom Sukup 1979- Al Wylie 1980- Tom Sukup 1981- John Koeplin 1982- Tom Sukup 1983- Steve Barrett 1984- Brian Christie 1985- Tom Sukup & Brian Christie 1986- Steve Barrett 1987- Brian Christie & Greg Brown |
1988- Tom Sukup 1989- Brian Christie 1990- Tom Sukup 1991- Brian Christie 1992- Brian Christie 1993- Brian Christie & Tom Sukup 1994- Tom Sukup & Greg Brown 1995- Brian Christie 1996- Brian Christie 1997- Mike Wheeler 1998- Mike Wheeler 1999- Maytheni Allen & Greg Brown 2000- Mike Wheeler |  Grass Monkey Mike Wheeler could miss the cut-off man with the best of them. Sometimes he even threw guys out. |
| Tin Mitt Award | ||
| An award based strictly on statistics, this one is given to the full-time player with the lowest fielding average on the team. Outfielder Steve Barrett has eight of these awards, although he still claims that some of those wild throws should have been handled by the infielders. Mike Applegate has seven, but he can't blame those grounders through his legs on anybody. | ||
 Third baseman Mike Applegate sometimes made the hot corner a lot warmer than it needed to be. |
1975- Mike Applegate 1976- John Koeplin 1977- Dennis Hawkins 1978- Steve Barrett 1979- Mike Applegate 1980- Mike Applegate 1981- Steve Barrett 1982- Mike Applegate 1983- Mike Applegate 1984- Mike Applegate 1985- Steve Barrett 1986- Steve Barrett & Bruce Christie 1987- Steve Barrett |
1988- Mike Applegate 1989- Steve Barrett 1990- John Koeplin 1991- John Koeplin 1992- Steve Barrett 1993- Steve Barrett 1994- Mark Christie 1995- Al Brown 1996- Gary Matsushita 1997- Bruce Christie 1998- Jamie Sammut 1999- Maytheni Allen 2000- Maytheni Allen |
| Slump Buster | ||
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Who you gonna call? SLUMP BUSTERS!!! This is the guy who was in the batting chase on Opening Day, but quickly sank to the bottom of the batting chart. The bloops don't drop in, every line drive is caught, and that damn official scorer rules everything an error. Life is hard. | ||
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1975- Ken Morse 1976- Dennis Hawkins 1977- Dennis Hawkins 1978- Sherman Applegate 1979- Neil Christie 1980- Earl Yagi 1981- Sherman Applegate 1982- Sherman Applegate 1983- Mike Simonds 1984- Mike Applegate 1985- Earl Yagi 1986- Sherman Applegate 1987- Neil Christie |
1988- Dave Jackson 1989- John Koeplin 1990- Mike Simonds 1991- Steve Sammut 1992- Ken Morse 1993- Steve Barrett 1994- Mark Christie 1995- Matt Granville 1996- Neil Christie 1997- Mike Wheeler 1998- Dan Degnon 1999- Mike Seabury 2000- Mike Tharenos |  Sherman Applegate captured the dreaded Slump Buster Award four times. Well, someone had to win it. |
| Boomer Hawkins Award | ||
| Named after the legendary Dennis "Boomer" Hawkins, who led the team in strikeouts each of his three years with the club, and who once struck out three times in one game, this is the most revered and most feared of all the AWA awards -- the team leader in strikeouts. While you may get that "K" from foul third strikes or over-the-fence violations, we are not sympathetic. Boomer was special. He earned his three titles the old fashioned way -- he whiffed. | ||
 Buddy Grimm joined this very exclusive club with his team-leading three strikeouts in 2000. |
1975- Dennis Hawkins 1976- Dennis Hawkins 1977- Dennis Hawkins 1978- Joe Sammut 1979- Jeff Applegate 1980- John Koeplin 1981- Greg Brown 1982- Mike Simonds 1983- Mike Simonds 1984- Neil Christie 1985- Greg Brown 1986- Bruce Christie 1987- Mike Applegate |
1988- John Koeplin 1989- Tom Sukup 1990- Greg Brown 1991- Greg Brown 1992- Greg Brown 1993- Gary Matsushita 1994- Greg Brown 1995- Jeff Avila 1996- Tom Sukup 1997- Bruce Christie 1998- Greg Brown 1999- Maytheni Allen 2000- Buddy Grimm |
