Terrmel Sledge Named 2003 Trapper of the Year

Published on August 29, 2003 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Edmonton Trappers News Release


EDMONTON, AB - The Edmonton Trapper Baseball Club announced today that outfielder Terrmel Sledge has been named the 2003 Trapper of the Year. To celebrate the accomplishment, the Trappers will honour Sledge with a "Sledgehammer'' poster, which will be given to the first 2000 fans at tonight's game.

Sledge, 26, is batting .324 (158-for-488) with 22 home runs and 92 RBI. The native of Fayetteville, North Carolina leads the Pacific Coast League in both slugging percentage (.547) and runs scored (93). Sledge is also among the league leaders in several other offensive categories. He ranks second in hitting (.324), second in hits (158), third in RBI (92), third in triples (nine), fourth in extra-base hits (56) and fifth in on-base percentage (.398). He leads the Trappers in batting average, home runs, RBI, hits, slugging percentage, runs scored, triples and stolen bases (12). Sledge is currently riding a 13-game hitting streak during which he is 24-for-54 (.444).

"This has been my best year of professional ball,'' said Sledge, "The award is especially nice since we're coming together and hopefully on our way to winning the division. An award like this is extra-special when you're on a good team.''

Earlier this week, Sledge was elected to the 2003 All-PCL team. Members of the team were elected by the League's managers and media representatives. He was also elected to play with the PCL All-Stars that faced the International League All-Stars in the 16th annual Triple-A All-Star Game on July 16th at AutoZone Park in Memphis, Tennessee. Both teams were selected by club field personnel, media representatives and League administrators. Sledge was 1-for-1 with a run scored in the game.

Sledge enjoyed a 20-game hitting streak from May 18 through June 11, tying him for the sixth-longest streak in Trapper history. He was 32-for-75 (.427) with four home runs and 15 RBI during the streak. He was named the Player of the Month for both April and May. In May, Sledge batted .371 (36-for-97) with three home runs and 20 RBI in 25 games, while posting a .429 on-base percentage and a .526 slugging percentage. In April, he batted .295 (26-for-88) with five home runs and 18 RBI in 26 games, while posting a .451 on-base percentage and a .534 slugging percentage.

In 2002, Sledge represented the Harrisburg Senators at the Double-A All-Star Game in Norwich, Connecticut. He was a California League All-Star in 2000, when he led the league in hitting with a .339 batting average (130-for-384) as a member of the Single-A Lancaster JetHawks. Rated by Baseball America as the Montreal Expos' seventeenth-best prospect entering the 2003 season, Sledge split the 2002 season between Double-A Harrisburg, where he hit .301-8-43, and Triple-A Ottawa, where he hit .263-1-11. He ranked fourth in the organization last year with a .294 batting average. His career minor league batting average is .307 (629-for-2048). Selected by Seattle in the eighth round of the 1999 draft, Sledge was traded by the Mariners to Montreal on September 27, 2000, completing the deal in which the Expos sent catcher Chris Widger to the Mariners for two players to be named on August 8, 2000.

The next Trapper home game will be on Friday, August 29, when the club will take on the Portland Beavers. The game will begin at 7:05 PM. Tickets for all regular season home games are on sale and can be purchased through Ticketmaster at 451-8000. For more information call 414-4450.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from August 29, 2003


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