August 23rd, 2016.......Baldwin, PA.......Staff Report

The McKeesport Daily News League announced its 2016 All-Star Team at a sold out awards banquet held in Pittsburgh's South Hills area on August 23rd.  The special event, presided over by League Commissioner Nick Donato marked the conclusion of the league's eighty-eighth season in existence. In addition to naming the All Star selections, Donato also provided a review of this past season's highlights while also revealing plans the league has for the upcoming 2017 season.

As Donato pointed out, this may have been the most closely contested season of his twelve years in the role of president.  The final standings ended up with four teams separated by just one game in the win column.  The playoff teams and their seeding were not determined until the final play in the last game of the regular season.

The league plans to build on the success it experienced this past summer. At the event last night, the league's eleven team owners also reviewed bids from four expansion teams that plan to join the league next year. Donato noted that this would put the number of league participants at the highest he has seen in his thirty four years of involvement with the league.

With the application process for new teams now closed and no more being accepted, the current and new teams can now focus during the off season on their plans for what is anticipated to be the biggest season in league history.  The league's plan will be moving into a combination of new locations in the area along with the return of some familiar sites. 

In following the theme of saving the best for last, the featured moment of the night was the parade of All-Stars introduced to the audience.  The walk down the red carpet that concluded the evening was done by fourteen players as they were recognized for their excellent seasons on the field. 

The voting was done by the eleven league managers and the results were just about as close as their win-loss records in the regular season.  Two positions ended in a tie and are indicated by a (T) below.  There were fifty-two players that received votes and no positions were close to being unanimous.  Actually the opposite can said to be true as there were at least four different names listed on the ballots for every position.

Pitcher-----------Kenny Gault.........Twins 
Pitcher-----------Cody Gross.........Quinn Construction
Pitcher-----------Zach Woloszyk.........Plum

Catcher----(T)----Andrew Geisler………GoodFella’s Restaurant 
Catcher----(T)----Anthony Girdano………Quinn Construction

1st Base-----------Ryon Rocco.........GoodFella’s Restaurant

2nd Base-----------Brandon Whitfield………South Hills 

3rd Base----------Tarran Senay………Quinn Construction

Shortstop----(T)----Joe Aul………Gianna Via’s Restaurant 
Shortstop----(T)----Anthony Monaco………South Park

Outfield-----------Ryan Dodson.........South Park 
Outfield-----------Zack Galasso.........Gianna Via’s Restaurant
Outfield-----------Pat McCarthy.........South Hills 

DH-----------Jayson Monroe.........Gianna Via’s Restaurant