Wednesday’s winner is Tommy La Stella; he’ll move on face Juan Pierre in the round of 32.

Thursday’s Match

Here is our first one from the round of 32: It’s Kevin Kouzmanoff (Winchester 2002) against Mo Vaughn (Harrisonburg 1987)!

  • Kevin Kouzmanoff got here by obliterating Pat Kelly in the first round- 85.7% to 14.3%. This is what I wrote for him last time: “Kevin Kouzmanoff played in Winchester in 2002. He was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 6th round in 2003, and spent seven years in the majors, with the Indians, San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers, Oakland A’s, and Colorado Rockies. He led the National League in fielding percentage by a third baseman in 2009, and hit 23 home runs in 2008.” I will add this, because Joe Deck reminded me: On September 2, 2006, Kouz hit a grand slam on the first pitch he saw in his major league career.
  • Mo Vaughn was picked 23rd overall in the 1989 draft by the Boston Red Sox. He made his pro debut at Double-A in ’89, and then spent all of ’90 and part of ’91 in Triple-A before making his major league debut in late June, 1991. Playing mostly first base for the Bosox, Vaughn’s career took off in 1993, when he hit .297/.390/.525 in 633 plate appearances. It was the first of six seasons in a row in which Vaughn was top 25 in MVP voting. He won the MVP in 1995 after pummeling opposing pitchers to the tune of .300/.388/.575 in 550 at-bats, with 28 doubles, 39 home runs, and 126 RBIs. Over his time in Boston, he was an All-Star three times, and won the Silver Slugger once. He spent two years with both the Anaheim Angels and New York Mets in his 30’s. Over his 12 year career, Vaughn hit a total of .293/.383/.523 in over 5,500 at-bats, with 270 doubles, 328 home runs, and 1,064 RBIs. In the Valley League record book, he ranks first in home runs and second in RBIs. He was inducted into the Valley League Hall of Fame in 2019.

Vote by going to twitter.com/JohnATVL to vote! (Closes Friday morning)

And by the way, if you want to read much, much more about the 2019 VBL season, be sure to check out the 2019 Valley League Annual! (Or 2015, too, for that matter.)

Vaughn
Kouzmanoff