Here are the best batting averages put up by Valley League alumni in the major leagues:
2006-2018 | ||||
1 | Dan Murphy | Luray ’04-5 | 2016 | 0.347 |
2 | Dan Murphy | Luray ’04-5 | 2017 | 0.322 |
3 | Jason Kipnis | Covington ’06-7 | 2015 | 0.303 |
4 | Jon Jay | Staunton ’04 | 2011 | 0.297 |
5 | Dan Murphy | Luray ’04-5 | 2012 | 0.291 |
6 | Dan Murphy | Luray ’04-5 | 2014 | 0.289 |
7 | Dan Murphy | Luray ’04-5 | 2013 | 0.286 |
8 | Jason Kipnis | Covington ’06-7 | 2013 | 0.284 |
9 | Dan Murphy | Luray ’04-5 | 2015 | 0.281 |
10 | Jon Jay | Staunton ’04 | 2013 | 0.276 |
11 | Jason Kipnis | Covington ’06-7 | 2016 | 0.275 |
All of these guys have been covered already, so let’s move on to the all-time list….
All-Time | ||||
1 | Dan Murphy | Luray ’05 | 2016 | 0.347 |
2 | Mo Vaughn | Harrisonburg ’87 | 1998 | 0.337 |
3 | Juan Pierre | Harrisonburg ’98 | 2001 | 0.327 |
4 | Mo Vaughn | Harrisonburg ’87 | 1996 | 0.326 |
5 | Juan Pierre | Harrisonburg ’98 | 2004 | 0.326 |
6 | Mike Lowell | Waynesboro ’93 | 2007 | 0.324 |
7 | John Kruk | New Market ’81 | 1992 | 0.323 |
8 | Dan Murphy | Luray ’05 | 2017 | 0.322 |
9 | Larry Sheets | Staunton | 1987 | 0.316 |
John Kruk | New Market ’81 | 1993 | 0.316 | |
11 | Mo Vaughn | Harrisonburg ’87 | 1997 | 0.315 |
12 | John Kruk | New Market ’81 | 1987 | 0.313 |
13 | Aubrey Huff | Staunton ’97 | 2003 | 0.311 |
14 | Chris Hoiles | Harrisonburg | 1993 | 0.310 |
15 | Gene Richards | Harrisonburg | 1978 | 0.308 |
Chad Tracy | Staunton ’99 | 2005 | 0.308 | |
17 | Reggie Sanders | Winchester ’87 | 1995 | 0.306 |
18 | Juan Pierre | Harrisonburg ’98 | 2003 | 0.305 |
19 | Aubrey Huff | Staunton ’97 | 2008 | 0.304 |
20 | Jason Kipnis | Covington ’06-7 | 2015 | 0.303 |
The top 8 have been covered, so we’ll take a quick look at Larry Sheets‘s 1987 season. In his best year, Larry hit 316/358/563 for the Orioles, with 74 runs, 94 RBIs, 23 doubles, 31 home runs, 143 OPS+, and 2.5 WAR. As far as I know, Larry and Erik Kratz are the only EMU (or EMC back in the day) attendees to make the major leagues.