According to ATVL, the 10th best hitter in the 2016 Valley League season is Danton Hyman, from Woodstock and Newberry! (A second Woodstock River Bandit in a row. Hmm.)

Anyway, Danton hit 360/411/414 for the Bandits in 30 games and 111 at-bats. He hit 6 doubles, scored 23 runs, drove in 13, had a 9/13 BB/K ratio, and stole 12 bases in 17 attempts. His batting average was the 2nd best in the league. He was also an all-star selection, and went 0-3 with a stolen base in the big game. His best games were on June 9th, at New Market, when he went 5-6 with 4 RBIs and a stolen base, and July 17, against Waynesboro, when he went 4-6 with 2 runs and an RBI.

Danton’s pitching made him even more valuable, and he was named to the All-Valley League first team as a “utility” player, which means he both played in the field and pitched. On the mound, Danton went 0-2, 4.50 in 32 innings, while allowing 33 hits, 19 walks, and striking out 11. His best outing was on July 24th against Purcellville, when Danton threw 7 innings and allowed 7 hits, 2 unearned runs, 1 walk, and struck out 3. He got the loss, but it wasn’t his fault.

Danton is a current sophomore at Division-II Newberry. As a freshman in 2016, he hit a robust 326/373/395 in 129 at-bats, with 5 doubles, 2 triples, 24 runs, 21 RBIs, a 8/15 BB/K ratio, and 5 stolen bases. He also went 1-4, 7.34, with one save on the mound in 34 1/3 innings.

As an additional point of interest- when I was doing some research on Danton, I found an article from a year ago that discussed the fact that Danton was born deaf, and currently wears hearing aids. This obviously doesn’t keep him from succeeding on the diamond!

Congratulations on your excellent summer, Danton!