Anderson named 2006 ULB MVP

Published on August 24, 2006 under United League Baseball (ULB)
Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings News Release


San Angelo Colts second baseman John Anderson has been named the Most Valuable Player in United League Baseball for the 2006 season.

Anderson, who broke the professional baseball independent leagues' all-time record with a 31-game hitting streak earlier this season, batted .390 overall in 2006 with the Colts. He had two homers and 47 RBIs. He claimed the overall league batting title.

In other year-end awards announced by the league Thursday, managers Ricky VanAsselberg of Alexandria and Vince Moore of Edinburg were named Co-Managers of the Year. Also, Ryan Harris of Edinburg and Santo Hernandez of Alexandria were named Co-Pitchers of the Year.

A rookie manager, VanAsselberg led his team to a third place finish in the 2006 ULB standings. The Aces, who finished 45-44 overall, will take on San Angelo in a first round playoff series. VanAsselberg was a former player with the Aces in 1998, when the team won the Texas-Louisiana league title. He was also a player-coach for the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings in 2002. VanAsselberg even stepped in on the field to help his own team this year, having to fill in at catcher on an emergency basis at one point.

Moore, a native of Houston, managed the Edinburg Roadrunners in 2005 to a playoff berth before joining the Coyotes and the ULB in 2006. Moore's Coyotes won an unbelievable 17 straight games to start the 2006 season and coasted to a 57-33 overall record, 11 games ahead of runner-up San Angelo. Moore is a 15-year veteran of professional baseball, having been drafted in the fifth round of the 1991 entry draft by the Atlanta Braves organization. He played for Amarillo and Edinburg in the T-L League.

Harris, 32, has played for Edinburg for five years, this year posting a 10-6 record with a 3.86 ERA. He had 108 strikeouts in 131 innings pitched. Hernandez, 22, formerly spent four years in the Colorado Rockies minor league system. He posted an 8-4 record with a 3.94 ERA for the Aces this season. In 121 innings pitched, he struck out 105 batters. Harris finished second in the league in ERA, tied for the most wins, and second in strikeouts, while Hernandez was fourth in ERA and third in strikeouts.

The 2006 ULB playoffs will begin Saturday, Aug. 26. Edinburg will face Laredo in one first-round matchup, while San Angelo will face Alexandria in the other. Each first round series will be best-of-three, followed by the best-of-five championship series that begins Aug. 30.

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