IL Announces All-Star Team
Published on August 27, 2003 under International League (IL1) News Release
The International League today announced its post-season All-Star Team and Award Winners as selected by the League's managers, coaches, media, and club representatives. The Pawtucket Red Sox, currently in first place in the IL North Division and on pace to set a franchise record for wins, have a pair of Special Award winners in Manager of the Year Buddy Bailey and Most Valuable Pitcher Bronson Arroyo. The PawSox also lead the League with three players selected to the All-Star Team. Bailey, in his sixth season with Pawtucket, won IL managerial honors in 1996 and has his 2003 Red Sox winning at a .577 clip (79-58). The right-handed Arroyo has been consistent all season, but was perfect on August 10 th , tossing just the fourth nine-inning perfect game in IL history. The Columbus Clippers have put together an impressive stretch run (26-8 since July 24 th ) and have moved into playoff contention behind the bat of 2003 Most Valuable Player Fernando Seguignol. The 28-year-old Seguignol is a Triple Crown threat as he currently leads the League with 28 HR and a .343 average and is second with 87 RBI (three behind League leader Andy Abad). The final award winner is Charlotte second baseman Aaron Miles, who has been named Rookie of the Year. Miles was the Double-A Southern League Most Valuable Player in 2002 and has posted a solid Triple-A debut season, leading the IL with 161 hits and ranking sixth with a .309 batting average.
As just the fifth manager to win the IL Manager of the Year Award more than once, Buddy Bailey has his PawSox poised for their first playoff berth since 1997. Pawtucket, which currently leads the IL North by 5.0 games, battled Buffalo for the top spot through much of June & July before seizing outright control on July 28 th . Bailey has led the club to a 35-22 mark since July 1, allowing the Red Sox to approach the franchise record of 82 wins (set in 2000). Buddy, who enters tonight's doubleheader with a 1,091-1,009 career record, also managed the PawSox from 1993-96 before returning to the club last year and ranks second on the franchise's career wins list. Pawtucket leads all IL clubs with eight field managers being named IL Manager of the Year since the award's inception in 1967.
Bailey's job with the PawSox has been made easier by the presence of 2003 Most Valuable Pitcher Bronson Arroyo. The 26-year-old Arroyo joined Boston's staff on August 22 nd after going 12-6 with a 3.43 ERA in 24 starts for the PawSox this season. Bronson's 12 wins are tied for second among all IL pitchers and his career-high 155 strikeouts place second in the loop as well. Arroyo etched his named into IL annals on August 10 th as he tossed a perfect game against Buffalo - only the fourth such gem in the IL's 120 year history. The Key West native allowed four earned runs or fewer in all but three of his starts and has also been selected the Starting Pitcher on the All-Star Team. He is the fifth Pawtucket pitcher to be chosen the IL's Pitcher of the Year and first since Brian Rose in 1997..
Most Valuable Player and All-Star DH Fernando Seguignol has torn up IL pitching this season - when he has been healthy. The native of Panama missed over five weeks of the season (including all of May) with a quadriceps injury, but still comfortably paces the IL with 28 HR and a .343 batting average. Should he catch fellow All-Star Andy Abad in the RBI race (currently three behind), Seguignol would become just the eighth IL player to win the League's Triple Crown (and first since the PawSox' Jim Rice led all three categories in 1974). Fernando has batted .353 with 22 HR and 72 RBI since returning from the injury. The right-hander, who spent last season playing in Japan, is Columbus' ninth Most Valuable Player honoree since 1970, easily the most in the League in that time period.
After seven average seasons in the minor leagues, Aaron Miles had a breakout year in 2002, earning Southern League Most Valuable Player honors after leading the Double-A circuit with 39 doubles and 171 hits. His success carried over to the Triple-A classification in 2003 as the 26-year-old Rookie of the Year has been an offensive catalyst for a Knights' club in playoff contention. Miles paces all IL rookies in batting average (.309) and runs scored (74) in addition to leading the League in hits. Aaron, who was selected to the Triple-A All-Star Game in July, joins Billy McMillon (1995) as Charlotte players chosen the IL's best newcomer.
Pawtucket places the most players on the post-season All-Star Team as outfielders Andy Abad and Lou Collier join Arroyo on the squad. In addition to leading the IL in RBI, Abad ranks among IL leaders with a .311 batting average (T-4 th ), 149 hits (2 nd ), and 75 runs scored (T-3 rd ). Collier has been an offensive sparkplug for the PawSox, batting .294 with 14 HR and 69 RBI. IL North contenders Buffalo and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre have each lost All-Star performers in the past two weeks with the promotions of outfielder Alex Escobar and second baseman Chase Utley to the Major Leagues. Escobar, who joined Cleveland on August 15, returned from a torn ACL that wiped out his 2002 season to hit .251 with 24 HR and 78 RBI for the Bisons. Utley, currently with Philadelphia, leads the League in runs scored (80) after hitting .323 with 18 HR and 77 RBI in his second Triple-A campaign. Four All-Stars hail from the IL South Division led by Durham shortstop Jason Smith and utility player Ryan Jackson. Smith paces the League with 12 triples while Jackson tops the circuit in doubles (44) and is second in extra-base hits (59). Charlotte first baseman Ross Gload was a late spring training acquisition by the White Sox, but has provided immediate dividends, batting .309 with 16 HR and 65 RBI for the Knights. Richmond catcher Johnny Estrada earned All-Star honors last season as a Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Baron, before a December trade sent him to Atlanta. As the first All-Star to repeat since Durham's Scott McClain in 1998-99, Estrada ranks second in the League with a career-high .327 average and has posted 9 HR and 65 RBI. Louisville third baseman Brandon Larson was with the Bats for just half the season (before joining the parent Reds) but his .323 average, 20 HR and 74 RBI in 72 games were more than enough to garner All-Star honors. Toledo reliever Fernando Rodney closes out the team, much as he has closed games for the Mud Hens all season. The right-hander, currently with Detroit, is second in the League with 23 saves and did not allow a run in his final 25 appearances, encompassing 27.2 innings.
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