The COBA Major Baseball League is very proud to announce their major individual award winner for the 2019 season. Here are the winners and some info about each of them:

 

Chuck Brown Sportsman of the Year

Jonathan Paul – Niagara Metros

 

Jonathan Paul is the 2019 recipient of the Sportsman of the Year award. Paul originally hails from Perth, Ontario just outside of the Ottawa region. He relocated to the Niagara region in the early 2000s and quickly hooked on with the Niagara Metros club. In his early years, he was a dominant pitcher and knew his way around the infield as well as a 2^nd baseman.

 

“JP” had a good campaign in 2019 in a platoon role on the team. He hit .248 (28-for-113) with four doubles. He also scored 12 runs while collecting 18 RBI. Paul’s intangibles are what has made him such a successful player in the league over the past 15+ years as he is one of the more vocal leaders on a younger Metros roster that saw many changes over the past few seasons.

 

For his stellar career with the Metros, Paul was inducted into the COBA Major Baseball League Hall of Fame as part of the 2019 class.

 

Len Andrews League Batting Champion

Tim Sogan – Burlington Brants

 

Tim Sogan captured the league batting title for the 2019 season. The Stoney Creek native who has 10+ years of service with the Brants and the Glanbrook Grizzlies had a phenomenal season belting out a .430 average based on a 34-for-79 clip at the dish.

 

He had six doubles, two triples, and five home runs on the season. He edged out Cardinale (.422) of the Twins and Ferreira (.416) of the Royals to capture the honor.  

 

Andy Pearce League Home Run Champion

Joe Ferreira – Brampton Royals

 

Joe Ferreira is the winner of the 2019 League Home Run title. “Big Joe” had some solid power numbers this past season has he belted eight home runs in league play to edge out Mike Cardinale of the Mississauga SW Twins who clubbed six round trippers and Tim Sogan of the Burlington Brants and Jay Woodford of the Erindale Cardinals who had five bombs each.

 

Bill Graham Comeback Player of the Year

Mike Asta – Etobicoke Rangers

 

Mike Asta captured the 2019 Comeback Player of the Year award for this season. The Etobicoke native had a rough 2018 season that was marred by injury as he was 0-0 in 12 2/3 innings of work. He allowed 15 runs (all earned) on 21 hits putting together an inflated 10.66 ERA.

 

In 2019, it was a different story as a healthy Asta had a great season. He went 4-1 on the season collecting a save in 36 2/3 innings of work. He allowed 22 runs (15 earned) on 36 hits. He walked only nine batters while striking out 33 in amassing a 3.66 ERA.

 

Todd Perkins Rookie of the Year

Liam Sutherland – Etobicoke Rangers

Nathan Laird – Niagara Metros

 

There was a tie for Rookie of the Year this season with Liam Sutherland of the Etobicoke Rangers and Nathan Laird of the Niagara Metros splitting the honors.

 

Sutherland had a great rookie campaign with the Rangers. The native of Mississauga, Ontario hit .345 (38-for-110) with eight doubles, two triples and a home run. He scored 31 runs while collecting 24 RBIs and had 19 stolen bases. He also had a successful season with the Humber Hawks of the OCAA has they advanced to the National Collegiate semi-finals.

 

Laird had an equally impressive season for the Metros as he hit .312 (30-for-96) with five doubles, a triple and a home run. He plated 18 runs while driving in 12 RBIs. He also played a great deal of innings for the Brock Badgers of the OUA during the fall season.  

 

Jack Roberts Pitcher of the Year

Cam Ryerson – Burlington Brants

 

Cam Ryerson has captured the Pitcher of the Year for the second straight season. The Mississauga, ON native had another solid campaign as the Brants ace as he amassed a 6-1 overall record for the season while also collecting a save. In 72.2 innings of work, he allowed 30 runs (23 earned) on 75 hits good for a 2.85 ERA.

 

He walked 31 batters while striking out 67 batters over the course of the year. His numbers also earned him an all-star nomination for the Johnson Division. The seven-year veteran of the league seems to be hitting his prime over the last couple of seasons as he has established himself as one of the dominant hurlers in Ontario.

 

Sam Leonard Playoff MVP

Troy Lacoste – Oakville A’s

 

Troy Lacoste captured the COBA Major League Playoff MVP honors with a solid run leading the Oakville A’s to their first playoff title since 1991. The Oakville native hit a solid .467 (7-for-15) in the playoffs with seven singles. He also walked three times, scored six runs and drove in four runs.

 

Lacoste also had a successful season with the Guelph Gryphons of the OUA leading them to a regular season title. He also helped the Gryphons capture the inaugural National University Championship title as well.

 

Dick Willis League MVP Award

Joe Ferreira – Brampton Royals

 

Ferreira captured his second major award of the season after a very successful 2019 campaign. The Brampton native, who attended school at Mayville State in North Dakota, ran away with this award winning it unanimously in a vote amongst the league managers. The big P/DH hit .416 (37-for-89) with 11 doubles and eight home runs. He also plated 21 runs while driving in 34 RBI on the year.

 

The league veteran also had a good season on the hill as well as he went 5-1 as well as collecting a save in 44 2/3 innings of work. He allowed 19 runs (11 earned) on 37 hits. He walked 19 batters while striking out 51 batters.