EASTERN LEAGUE AWARDS ANNOUNCED

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September 30, 2004 - The Eastern League of Professional Baseball in association with the Chase Bank today announced the winners of the 2004 Eastern League/Chase MVP Awards. All of the winners were selected by Eastern League sports writers, radio broadcasters and field personnel. While no Baysox players won awards, Baysox fans had the opportunity to see many of the award winners live at the 3-A-Day of Dairy Eastern League All-Star Game hosted by Bowie at Prince George's Stadium in July. Now in its eighth season, the Chase Awards Program recognizes the monthly achievements and yearly accomplishments of Eastern League players with the selection of the Chase Player of the Month, Chase Most Valuable Player, Chase Pitcher of the Year, Chase Rookie of the Year, and Chase Manager of the Year awards. This year’s winners are: Chase Most Valuable Player: Ryan Howard, Reading Phillies Chase Pitcher of the Year: Gustavo Chacin, New Hampshire Fisher Cats Chase Manager of the Year: Mike Basso, New Hampshire Fisher Cats Chase Rookie of the Year: Ryan Howard, Reading Phillies Eastern League/Chase Most Valuable Player Ryan Howard, First Baseman, Reading Phillies (.297-BA, 111-H, 73-R, 37-HR, 102-RBI) Ryan Howard of the Reading Phillies is the Eastern League/Chase Most Valuable Player for the 2004 season. Despite being promoted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in late July, the 24-year old slugger led the Eastern League in RBI (102) and slugging percentage (.647) and was also ranked among the league leaders in home runs (37-2nd), extra-base hits (56-7th) and on-base percentage (.386-7th). The 6’4”, 230 lb. slugger blasted another nine homers following his promotion to Triple-A and was named the winner of the Minor League Baseball Round Tripper contest after leading all of Minor League Baseball, with 46 home runs this season. Howard was the Chase Player of the Month for the month of June and was also selected as the Eastern League Player of the Week for the weeks ending June 13th and June 27th. Ryan, who was selected by Baseball America as the “Best Power Prospect” in the Eastern League, was named to the Southern Division squad for the 2004 Eastern League All-Star Game in Bowie, Maryland and was also selected as the first baseman for the 2004 Eastern League All-Star Team. Runner Up: Mike Cervenak, Norwich Navigators Third Place: Curtis Granderson, Erie SeaWolves Eastern League/Chase Pitcher of the Year Gustavo Chacin, Left-Handed Starting Pitcher, New Hampshire Fisher Cats (16-2, 141.2-IP, 113-H, 49-BB, 109-K, 2.92-ERA) Left-handed starting pitcher, Gustavo Chacin of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats has been selected as the Eastern League/Chase Pitcher of the Year for the 2004 season. Chacin led the Eastern League in wins (16) and was also among the league leaders in ERA (2.92-3rd), strikeouts (109-10th) and innings pitched (141.2-10th). In a pair of starts during the playoffs the 23-year old had a record of 1-0 with 18 strikeouts and a 2.25 ERA while leading the Fisher Cats to the Eastern League Championship. The 5’11”, 190 lb. southpaw was named the Chase Player of the Month for the month of July after going 5-0 with a 0.98 ERA in six starts during the month. Gustavo, who was also named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week for the week ending July 25th, was chosen as the Left-Handed Starting Pitcher for the 2004 Eastern League All-Star Team. Runner Up: Wilfredo Ledezma, Erie SeaWolves Third Place: Ian Snell, Altoona Curve Eastern League/Chase Manager of the Year Mike Basso, New Hampshire Fisher Cats (84-57) First Place Eastern League Northern Division 2004 Eastern League Champions Mike Basso, the first year manager of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, has been selected as the Eastern League/Chase Manager of the Year for the 2004 season. Basso, the 2003 Florida State League Manager of the Year, led the Fisher Cats to a first place finish in the Northern Division with a record of 84-57 and also guided the club to the 2004 Eastern League Championship. Runner Up: Tony Beasley, Altoona Curve Third Place: Ken Oberkfell, Binghamton Mets Eastern League/Chase Rookie of the Year Ryan Howard, First Base, Reading Phillies (.297-BA, 111-H, 73-R, 37-HR, 102-RBI) Reading Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard has been named the Eastern League/Chase Rookie of the Year for the 2004 season. After batting .304 with 23 home runs, 82 RBI and 67 runs scored in 130 games with Class-A Clearwater and being named the Florida State League Most Valuable Player last season, Howard continued to impress in his Double-A debut. The 24-year old batted .297, blasted 37 home runs (2nd in E.L.) and drove in an Eastern League-best 102 runs while leading the Reading Phillies in runs scored (73), total bases (242) and slugging percentage (.647). The 6’4”, 230 lb. native of Wildwood, Missouri was also named the 2004 Eastern League Chase Most Valuable Player. Runner Up: Curtis Granderson, Erie SeaWolves Third Place: Jeff Keppinger, Altoona Curve/Binghamton Mets

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