2014 American Association Player of the Year Returns to Wichita
August 26, 2015 - American Association (AA)
Wichita Wingnuts News Release
WICHITA, KS (August 26, 2015) - The Wichita Wingnuts have continued to add veteran players to the roster in the final month of the regular season to aid with their playoff push. With the club closing in on a fifth straight trip to the postseason, they welcomed back one of the most productive players in franchise history on Wednesday. Brent Clevlen, the 2014 American Association Player of the Year, has signed with the Wingnuts after finishing the Mexican League season.
After signing with the Pericos de Puebla this winter, Clevlen played in 108 games. He finished with a .301 batting average and ripped 19 home runs, while driving in 73. He also doubled in 22 at bats and tripled on a pair of occasions.
The 31-year old has his name etched among the Wingnuts career leaders in many offensive categories. He is the all-time franchise leader in total bases and is in the top five in doubles, home runs, RBI, walks, runs, hits, and triples. He is two doubles from passing Jake Kahaulelio for the top spot and just five home runs and RBI away from becoming the leader in those categories.
In 2014, Clevlen became the third straight Wingnuts' hitter to take home the American Association batting title with a .372 average during the regular season. That number left him just one point shy of manager Kevin Hooper's franchise record average of .373 in 2008. He finished among the top five players in the league in such offensive categories as extra-base-hits, total bases, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, RBI, and home runs and also broke the Wingnuts' single-season record for doubles with 33. The 14-year professional baseball veteran displayed great power with his 20 home runs and 80 RBI, while also hitting safely in 70 of 94 games.
Last year was the first full season that Clevlen, an Austin, Texas native, spent in Wichita after playing portions of both the 2011 and 2013 seasons with the organization. In 2013, he hit .322 with 14 home runs and 51 RBI in 70 games after joining the team in mid-June. Clevlen spent the first part of the season in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization with Double-A Mobile and Triple-A Reno. He has been a post-season all-star outfielder in each of the last two seasons.
Clevlen batted .310 with 15 doubles, 10 home runs, and 32 RBI in 46 games for the Wingnuts in 2011. On June 27th of that season versus El Paso, he hit the first inside-the-park home run in team history. His contract was purchased by the Philadelphia Phillies' organization in August of 2011 and he went on to hit .336 with six homers and 20 RBI in 32 games for the Double-A Reading Phillies.
He was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the second round in 2002 out of Westwood High School in Austin. He first reached the Majors with Detroit in 2006 where he teamed with Wingnuts' manager Kevin Hooper and co-owner Nate Robertson. He spent parts of the next two seasons with the Tigers and also saw time with the Atlanta Braves in 2010.
Clevlen will be in uniform when the Wingnuts host the St. Paul Saints in the finale of their three-game series on Wednesday night at 7:05 p.m. For information on season tickets, group outings, and party packages, call the Wingnuts' main office at (316) 264-NUTS, or visit the Wingnuts' official website at www.wichitawingnuts.com.
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