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Subscribe to our NewsletterVikings Release All-Time Leaders Page
2021 Players Ready To Make Their Mark In Upcoming Season
Tuesday September 22nd, 2020
The Vaughan Vikings recently released their all time list from three previous teams managed by Manager Mark Cotgrave. One team was managed from 2001-2004, the second team from 2007-2010 a third from 2011-2014 and a fourth team from the Vaughan Vikings dating from 2016-2019. All of these teams were run for four seasons from the minor peewee age to the bantam age. When all was said and done some of the players to come out of those programs were some of the strongest players to come out of the OBA. So why did the Vikings release this information? The Vaughan Viking Reporter contacted the Vikings media department for comment; "we want players to have personal goals. We want them to try to strive to be the best player they can be. Everyone on this edition of the Vikings are truly talented and thus if you want to compare against some of the best seasons ever - here is one way to do it."
Vikings management apparently are challenging the players on the team to look at their game and decide where can they exceed. "If your a power pitcher how many strikeouts are you going to have? If your a guy that gets on base, look at some of the best batting averages held." said Vikings Management.
Certainly these comparisons are not the determining factor as to whether a player has a great season. "If the player is happy with his performance and feels he is better than he was in the previous year - than we've had a success." said Manager Mark Cotgrave. "However, if you look at some of the numbers in the minor peewee division alone one has to realize the level of play."
Take for example John Bethune who played with Cotgrave during the 2001 season and continues to coach today for the Seneca Sting. Bethune lead all players in the minor peewee division with 70 RBIs. He also saw his name mentioned in multiple categories for the minor peewee age bracket, "it's an awesome feeling to know that my name made the list(s). I'm especially happy with that RBI total." said now a much older John Bethune. "It's also an awesome feeling to know that my name is also on the all-time batting list. I was known as a Bulldog type player who practiced hard and played even harder. It really goes to show you what hard work can do. I owe many thanks to coach Mark Cotgrave for his hard work and dedication throughout the years for coaching me. He's a valuable coach, that will have huge positive impact on this team for years to come."
On the other side of the diamond the measuring stick that Vikings management keep a keen eye on are the number of wins by a pitcher. "Players love to look at the major leagues and try to extrapolate their numbers to what it would be in the majors. In MLB the magic number for the amount of wins for a pitcher is 20. Anyone who wins 20 games is Cy young award material. At our level the magic number is 10. If you can reach 10 wins your having an outstanding season." When you look at the numbers in the All-time leaders there are only 3 players that were able to reach the magical 10 win mark. Interestingly, none of which could maintain that pace throughout their entire 4 seasons from minor peewee to major bantam. If you look at Andrew Ledger he had the most win totals in minor peewee reaching 12 wins (a 24 win season in MLB comparison). Yet, his total over his four seasons was 31 wins. A total that lead all players over the four year span. Still, an average of 7.75 wins per season. When asked about Ledger Manager Mark Cotgrave was all praise, "Andrew was one of the best we have ever seen. He was finesse left hander with sneaky speed that got better and better. But the challenge of winning 40 games is tremendous. Anyone would happily take the career that Ledger put together regardless of 40 wins or not." Yet, it just goes to show how tough it is to meet that level of consistency.
On the other side of the diamond the measuring stick that Vikings management keep a keen eye on are the number of wins by a pitcher. "Players love to look at the major leagues and try to extrapolate their numbers to what it would be in the majors. In MLB the magic number for the amount of wins for a pitcher is 20. Anyone who wins 20 games is Cy young award material. At our level the magic number is 10. If you can reach 10 wins your having an outstanding season." When you look at the numbers in the All-time leaders there are only 3 players that were able to reach the magical 10 win mark. Interestingly, none of which could maintain that pace throughout their entire 4 seasons from minor peewee to major bantam. If you look at Andrew Ledger he had the most win totals in minor peewee reaching 12 wins (a 24 win season in MLB comparison). Yet, his total over his four seasons was 31 wins. A total that lead all players over the four year span. Still, an average of 7.75 wins per season. When asked about Ledger Manager Mark Cotgrave was all praise, "Andrew was one of the best we have ever seen. He was finesse left hander with sneaky speed that got better and better. But the challenge of winning 40 games is tremendous. Anyone would happily take the career that Ledger put together regardless of 40 wins or not." Yet, it just goes to show how tough it is to meet that level of consistency.
When it came to strikeouts there was probably nobody more dominant at the minor peewee level than one Shawn Lee. Well, until Anthony Vavaroutsos arrived in 2011. If you want to be a strikeout leader here is a measuring stick to have on your wall. Shawn Lee struck out a whopping 111 batters in his minor peewee season until Vavaroutsos arrived topping it at 123. "Lee was that pitcher nobody wanted to face during that year." said one Lee fan. However, those that saw Anthony Vavaroutsos argue he's most dominant. The numbers don't lie. Vavaroutsos had a jaw dropping 463 strikeouts over the course of 4 seasons and he wasn't even on the leaderboard in the bantam season.
In the end its not about all-team leaders but how a player develops for himself. Is he having fun and enjoying the game. But still, for some they want a personal challenge. They want a goal to work towards and this all-time leader board provides those types of challenges. "For us, we know that records are made to be broken and that's our hope. That many on this list will fall to the great group of guys coming up for the 2020 season." said Manager Mark Cotgrave
- VV Reporter
