NL Awards East Player of the Year
September 3, 2002 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Portland Forest Dragons News Release
DURHAM, N.C. Adirondack designated hitter Lorenzo de la Cruz was voted the Daktronics Northern League East Player of the Year on Tuesday by East managers and media.
Finishing 25 points ahead of Billy Rich of New Jersey, de la Cruz ran away with the Northern League East batting crown with a .367 average. Thats the ninth-highest mark in East history. He also smacked 109 hits, the most this year and tied for the fifth-most ever.
De la Cruz, who turns 31 on Thursday, played in 81 games, scored 58 runs and stole 12 bases. He swatted 17 doubles, one triple and 15 homers while driving in 75 runs, walking 40 times and striking out 57 times. He finished second in the division (behind Rich) with a .445 on-base percentage and second in the East (behind Travis Bailey of New Jersey) with a .582 slugging percentage.
The six-foot-one right-handed hitter hails from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He was signed as a non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican by the Toronto Blue Jays on Sept. 25, 1990, and reached Triple-A Syracuse (N.Y.) in 1997 before being released.
De la Cruz played for the Allentown Ambassadors in 1998 and hit .340 with 17 homers and 85 runs batted in. He played for Puebla of the Mexican League in 2000 and 2001 before signing with the Lincoln Saltdogs for the playoff run last year.
De la Cruz then had a busy off-season in the Northern League. He was traded to Elmira, Gary and then Allentown before being claimed off waivers by Adirondack.
Each East manager and one media vote contributed to the tally to elect de la Cruz. The award broke a string of two straight Allentown players claiming the honor: Francisco Matos (2001) and Scott Samuels (2000).
Daktronics is a nationally known manufacturer of electronic scoring and informational display equipment including LED video replay boards. The Brookings, S.D., company can be reached at daktronics.com.
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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from September 3, 2002
- Warner Named Central's Top Player - Portland Forest Dragons
- NL Awards East Player of the Year - Portland Forest Dragons
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