And finally…

Most Improved Player: Jesús Espinoza
Maybe it was the brand new glove, or maybe, just maybe, it was skill and hard work. As the Concord crowd chanted harmoniously, “Hey-shoo, Hey-shoo,” Jesús played solid defense and batted .417.

Top Offensive Player: Andy Orr
There is little doubt to whom the “opie” should go to when you see Andy’s offensive numbers. The East Side captain led the team in RBI and doubles, batted .550, and recorded a hefty .870 RLS and sick .609 TRP.

Top Defensive Player: Brooks Ramsdell
Brooks achieved defensive player of the game honors four times and easily earns the “dopie.” The steadfast West Side captain anchored the defense over the course of a somewhat tumultuous inaugural season.

Most Outstanding Player: Carlo Quinonez
This one was easy. Carlo led the team in triples, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, the RLS and TRP. If there was a triple crown winner, Carlo was it. Carlo also pitched well and became a third middle-infielder, swallowing up several hard hit balls up the middle.

Jesús, Andy, Brooks and Carlo… we salute you.

More awards…

Copper Gloves: Wright Cole, Andy Orr, Carlo Quinonez, Jeff Wisniewski, Craig Wright
Copper Gloves, the Red-Legged Superbas version of the Gold Glove awards, are given to two outfielders, two infielders, and an additional player from any position that exhibited “defensive brilliance” during the course of the season. The Superbas may not have scored many runs, but their defense at times was stellar, thanks to these guys. Infielders Andy and Jeff, outfielders Wright and Craig, and pitcher Carlo did their best to keep the Superbas within striking distance, and it showed. Bravo.

Lifetime Achievement: Ted Bayham
We only know one thing for sure: we could not have done any of this without Ted. (Money, money, money… money.) And, needless to say, he probably has the longest list of better things to do out of all of us…

Wright, Andy, Carlo, Jeff, Craig and Ted… we salute you.

Continuing on…

Clutch Player: Jeff Adams
Jeff hit in 9 consecutive games, a franchise record, and is a fixture among the top four in almost every batting statistic category. Adams batted .529, had 2 triples, and recorded a .743 RLS (fourth-best on the team).

Surprise Player: Kevin Ghalambor
Kevin pitched his way into our hearts but Kevin also led the team in walks and was seventh on the team with a .467 RLS.

Biggest Disappointment: Jason Bariel, Bill Mallchok
This award, nicknamed the “Maximoo Award,” is the most difficult to hand out. But it has to be done (for parity sake). There were really four contenders — Grace with his injury, Bayham with his slump, Bariel with his loyalty complex, and Mallchok with his attendance issues. In order to make the decision… consult the stats. Only one player had fewer plate appearances than Jason’s 14 (Bill’s 13). Jason was the first player to strikeout this season after refusing to take batting practice. (And for that, I salute you…) On the upside, these two guys combined for an almost .600 batting average, a 2/3 on-base percentage, a 1.000 slugging percentage and a 1.000 RLS. On the downside, the two combined for a measly .370 TRP. Jason and Bill managed to only score 7 runs this season, one of which came on Jason’s home run (which, coincidentally, was the first ever in franchise history).

Rutherford B. Hayes Award For Excellence In The Field Of Unadulterated Support: Dom No. 24
First, a little background information on Mr. Hayes. Hayes was born and raised in the state of Ohio before becoming governor and was only one of four U.S. presidents to have won the Oval Office without winning the popular election. (J.Q. Adams, Benjamin Harrison and sitting-president G.W. Bush are the other three.) Hayes promised to only serve one term and that he did. Hayes was also the first sitting president to visit the west coast. But on to Dom. We had one true fan this season, and that was Dom No. 24. (I am unsure of Dom’s last name, so from now on, it is “Dom No. 24.”) Without Dom, would we have won the two games we did? (Hard to tell.)

Jeff, Kevin, Jason, Bill and Dom… we salute you.

Well, here goes…

East Side Player of the Year: Raphael Harper
The east side is all about attitude, and Raphael exhibited a ton of it, highlighted by flashy catches in right field followed by T.O.-style celebrations.

West Side Player of the Year: Brooks Ramsdell
The west side is more subtle and graceful, and no one exemplifies these characteristics more than their captain. Brooks worked his way out of a mid-season slump to finish with a .581 RLS (fifth-best on the team) and was an anchor for the defense.

Comeback Player: Eric Grace
Only one comeback was made this year, so this was pretty much by default. But seriously, Eric came back after his Fairfield-style injury to garner 20 plate appearances (four other players had the same or less). Eric was only 1 plate appearance shy of the cutoff (despite missing more than half the season) and led the team in sacrifice hits.

Ironman: Joe Gray
Joe played in every game this season and was involved in several collisions at the plate. Joe worked hard following a pre-season injury to record the fourth-most plate appearances on the team.

Raphael, Brooks, Eric and Joe… we salute you.

What a year it was for the Superbas. A good start — one win, one loss, and one tie — and then it went downhill, and fast — five consecutive losses, a win, and then three more losses to finish strong. But the team had fun, and even avoided a mutiny here and there along the way. (Not bad for an inaugural season.)

Over the next few days, the end-of-season awards will be announced. Each recipient will receive a $100 Buy.com gift card (not really, but play along) available for the purchase of select fitness-related items.

On to the awards. There are eighteen awards (for a 15-man team and a 12-game season; yes, eighteen). The awards will be presented in clusters and in no particular order. If you have any issues with an award’s recipient, consult with your captain, and then go fuck yourself. Until tomorrow…