Guildford Mavericks Baseball Review – 2012 Season
It rained…….then it rained again…..then it rained some more!
2012 will forever be remembered as the season that was washed out. A record number of games were called off due to the weather and many were never played. Mavericks AA had 6 games unplayed by the season’s end, whilst Mavericks A, although they only had 1 game unplayed had others that ended up being postponed but rearranged.
But weather aside, it was a successful field once the rain relented. Mavericks AA went unbeaten during the regular season for only the second time in club history. Aside from a very close game at Daws Hill where we came back in the last inning to escape with a victory, it was mostly a routine procession to the title with only the Sidewinders giving us a close game, on opening day. With notable additions including John Sparks at 3B, and Tetsuro Shinkawa (SS/P), John Kristensen lead the way in all aspects of the game, including some notably deep home runs and not surprisingly walked off with MVP honours at seasons end. Unfortunately success in the regular season, didn’t lead to success in the play-offs. Despite dispatching Daws Hill somewhat more comfortably than we had in the regular season, the year came to a sudden end at the hands of the Herts Hawks. It was a game the Mavericks should have won. Having given up an early lead, we fought our way back again, only to let it slip through out hands. So again the final prize eluded us.
In the Single-A division it was a story of a lack of baseball. With only 11 games scheduled due to a last minute addition to the league, it meant they was always going to be insufficient baseball for what was a large squad. Lead from the front (or should that be the back – behind the plate) by Ben Stobart the Mavericks A team came up with the first winning season, in 2nd team history. Getting off to a flyer with 3 straight wins, put the Mavericks at the top of the division early on. However it became apparent that Hove Tuesday were the class of the division, and they walked off with the league, although it was good to play again on the rejuvenated facility just outside Brighton. Again a good crop of newcomers contributed to results over the season, with Tristan O’Keefe, Matt Taylor and John Gray most notably making their debuts for the club, with the John also walking off with the Rookie award. Yet again Rob Wheeler put in a sterling effort on the mound, although it was Chris Ward with his defence at 2B, and improved hitting, who took the MVP
The annual awards evening was held at the Boatman pub in Guildford. The winners were as follows:
AA – MVP – John Kristensen
AA – Most Improved – Will Frawley
A – MVP – Chris Ward
A – Most Improved – Jimmy Shaw
Rookie of the Year – John Gray
