Alex Real named VHCBB's First-Half MVP

The bloggers at the Victoria HarbourCats Baseball Blog (VHCBB) are pleased to announce that Alex Real has been selected as VHCBB’s First-Half MVP.

Real, not surprisingly, was the unanimous choice amongst our bloggers. Not only does Real lead the team in just about every offensive category -- batting average (.392), hits (47), homers (4), RBI (22), slugging percentage (.583) and OPS (1.027) -- but he is also tied for the team lead in runs (18), doubles (9) and triples (1). Although he is a long shot to win the WCL Triple Crown, Real still has an excellent chance of winning the batting title, as he currently sits tied for second place with British Columbia native Alex Calbick of the Bellingham Bells. Numbers aside, Real has also impressed with his base running, consistent hustle and overall approach to the game.

Bryan Conant finished second in the voting. Conant “The Barbarian” has emerged of late as the ace of the ‘Cats pitching staff, leading the team's starters with a 2.38 ERA – the eighth-best mark in the WCL. Conant’s four wins ties him with Ty Provencher (and six others) for the second-highest number of victories in the league. He has also posted an outstanding 1.08 WHIP and has held opponents to a paltry .208 batting average.

Alex DeGoti finished in third spot. DeGoti has been an offensive sparkplug all season long in the HarbourCats batting order and his .879 OPS is second on the team, trailing only Alex Real. Austin Russell finished fourth in the voting due to his solid .320 batting average. Chris Lewis, a key run producer on the squad, finished fifth. He's currently second on the team in RBI with 17.

Here are the details on the voting (first-place votes in parentheses):

• Alex Real – 12 points (4) 
• Bryan Conant – 6 points (0) 
• Alex DeGoti – 3 points (0) 
• Austin Russell – 2 points (0)
• Chris Lewis – 1 point (0)

HarbourCatNip

• The HarbourCats announced last week that they are attempting to break the West Coast League’s single-game attendance at tomorrow’s All-Star Game. The record (4,156) was set by the Klamath Falls Gems on July 22, 2011.
• Victoria will easily smash the league record for attendance at an All-Star Game – 2,517. The current mark was set in 2011 in Corvallis.
• Those who don’t already have tickets to the All-Star Game will very likely be sitting in the football grandstand, and I’d advise getting to the ballpark as early as possible to minimize any long lineups to purchase those tickets. Gates open at 4 PM and the All-Star Fan Fest runs from 4 to 7 PM. You won’t want to miss the Home Run Derby either – it starts at 5 PM and will feature Alex Real going up against representatives from the ten other teams in the WCL.
• For full details on the All-Star game, check out the HarbourCats’ official site.