Baseball.it presents 2008 Italian All Stars

Baseball.it has asked the last two weeks and now are the results in. More than a record 500 readers participated in the online voting of the Italian Baseball Website and we now can present you with the ‘Baseball.it Awards’. For the ninth year in a row they determine the All-star team of the Italian Baseball League and honor winners in 18 different categories.

Italian champion T&A SAN MARINO was the most successful team with six awards, followed by vice champion DANESI NETTUNO with five, FORTITUDO BOLOGNA, MONTEPASCHI GROSSETO and TELEMARKET RIMINI each got two. NETTUNO’s Giuseppe Mazzanti picks up the most important category, as he is not only voted as best third baseman of the IBL, but only as the Most Valuable Player.

The trophies will be presented at the ‘Night of the Diamonds’ later this year.

Complete Results:

Third Baseman and MVP

Giuseppe Mazzanti (DANESI NETTUNO): He received 46.8 percent of the votes in the position ranking and 43.2 percent in the MVP voting. Mazzanti batted .392 (OBP .516/SLG .574) with six homeruns, 33 runs scored and 28 RBIs during the regular season.

Pitcher Overall and Foreign Pitcher

Gustavo Martinez (TELEMARKET RIMINI): He got 24.4 percent of all votes in the best pitcher overall voting and 29.7 percent in the foreign category. He appeared in 14 games (6 starts) for RIMINI and posted a 4-4 record with an ERA of 1.17. He struck out 88 in 76.2 innings pitched, while walking 24.

Left Fielder and Utility Player

Martin Vazquez (T&A SAN MARINO): He picked up 48.1 percent of the votes in left field and 40 percent in the voting for the most useful player of the league (‘Roberto Fontano’ award). He led the Italian champion with a .380 (.485/.540) batting average. He hit five homeruns, scored 30 times and drove in 30.

Center Fielder

Richard Austin (FORTITUDO BOLOGNA): He received 38.3 percent of the votes in center field. Numbers wise he probably was the most dangerous player in the IBL with a batting average of .366 (.475/.652) with ten homeruns, 14 doubles, 43 runs scored and 50 RBI.

Right Fielder

Claudio Liverziani (FORTITUDO BOLOGNA): Liverziani gets the trophy in right field, as 40.2 percent of the voters had him on the ballot. He batted .352 (.506/.560) with five homeruns, 34 runs scored and 27 RBIs.

Catcher

Kelly Ramos (MONTEPASCHI GROSSETO): 32.8 percent of the voter said that he was the best catcher in the IBL in 2008. He batted .306 (.373/.438) with three homeruns, 18 runs scored and 19 RBIs. He also threw out seven of 24 potential base stealers.

Shortstop

Seth La Fera (T&A SAN MARINO): The shortstop of the Italian champion hit .291 (.434/.348) with 31 runs scored and 20 RBIs. He received 27.7 percent of the votes.

Second Baseman and Best Young Player

Renato Imperiali (DANESI NETTUNO): 35.4 percent voted him for best second baseman in the Italian Baseball League. 60.4 percent of the voters agreed to give him also the ‘Enzo Masci’ award for the best young player in the league. He batted .304 (.404/.464) with 18 runs scored and 20 RBIs in 35 games.

First Baseman

Dean Rovinelli (T&A SAN MARINO): He got 39.4 percent of the votes in the first baseman category. He had a batting average of .248 (.354/.406) with three homeruns, 21 runs scored and 20 RBIs in 2008.

Designated Hitter

Max Di Biase (T&A SAN MARINO): The Italian national team player batted .294 (.361/.411) with three homeruns, 22 runs scored and 33 RBIs this season. He got 48.5 percent of the votes in the designated hitter category.

Best Italian Pitcher

Carlos Richetti (DANESI NETTUNO): Richetti led NETTUNO with a 9-1 record and an ERA of 2.22 in 14 starts. He struck out 96 (29 walks) in 93 1/3 innings. 38 percent voted for him in the best Italian pitcher category in 2008.

Best Italian Relief Pitcher

Emiliano Ginanneschi (MONTEPASCHI GROSSETO): 44.8 percent of the voters put him in first place in the Italian Relief Pitcher category. He had a 6-1 record with an ERA of 2.60 in eleven games (two starts). He struck out 19 in 45 innings, while walking 13.

Manager of the Year

Doriano Bindi (T&A SAN MARINO): Bindi led SAN MARINO the Italian championship after finishing in fourth place after the regular season. His team beat NETTUNO in seven games during the Italian Series. 51.1 percent voted for him so he can get the ‘Cameron Gigi’ trophy.

Best Umpire

Alessandro Cappuccini: For the first time an umpire also gets an award. Cappucini received 41 percent of the votes to be the inaugural winner.