The Central Ontario Major Baseball League held it's annual year-end awards banquet and it was once again a rousing success for both the league and the Niagara Metros. With a huge turnout of players, coaches, umpires and league executives in attendance to enjoy a great meal and view the awards ceremonies, Metros players Evan Baglieri, Ricky Ferri and Taylor Anderson came home with trophies and recognition for their superlative 2011 seasons.

Baglieri came away with two major awards...the league Batting title (with a .470 league average), and then the big one, the League's Most Valuable Player Award. "Bags" edged Glanbrook's Tim Sogan, and Mississauga's Jamie Smith in voting done by the league's coaches and managers. Evan's numbers in 2011 were certainly worthy of the award, as (in addition to his .470 average) he collected 9 HR's and 44 RBI's in league play, and finished with a league OBP of .561. The 2nd-year catcher also threw out opposing base-stealers at a 38% rate.

Ferri, for his part, was outstanding as well, and was rewarded with the league's Rookie-of-the-Year award for 2011. Ricky edged out Dusty Roskam of Milton, and James Bynes of Mississauga for the trophy. Ferri was full value for his award, as he compiled a .330 Batting average in 26 league games. He led the league in runs scored, walks and stolen bases out of the lead-off spot in the Metros lineup, and he too posted a fantastic On Base Pct. of .529.

Both Baglieri (at Catcher) and Ferri (as an OF) were named to the Johnson Division Year-end All-Star team, and were joined by the Metros' Taylor Anderson, who was named the starting 2nd baseman on the team. Anderson, who was the Metros' nominee for the league's "Iron Man Award", compiled a .393 average while playing in every league game for the Metros (.407 BA overall). He also led the team in hits (with 59), while drawing 26 walks, and striking out just 7 times all season.

The Metros' other nominee for a major award, Geoff Strong finished 2nd to Chris Cooney of Glanbrook, in the balloting for the League's Top Pitcher award. The other C.O.M.B.L. Year-end award winners were:

Bill Graham "Iron Man" Award - Kevin Lee, Oakville
Sportsman of the Year - John DeWolfe, Erindale
Playoff Most Valuable Player - Sean Mathe, Milton
Executive of the Year - George Moore, Milton
C.O.M.B.L. HR Champion - Chris Novia, Erindale
Andrews Division - Erindale Cardinals
Johnson Division Champions - Milton Red Sox
Overall Regular Season Champions - Erindale Cardinals
Playoff Champions - Milton Red Sox

Here are the C.O.M.B.L. All-Star Teams (as voted on by the league managers and coaches):

Andrews All-Star Team
C Conrad Bach (Oak)
1B Geoff Cullen (Erin)
2B Mark Capone (Eto)
3B Andrew Kotulak (Oak)
SS Jamie Smith (Miss)
OF Ryan Knight (Bra)
OF John DeWolfe (Erin)
OF Vic Speciale (Bra)
DH Chris Novia (Erin)
RHP Andrew Hyde (Eto)
LHP James Byrnes (Miss)
CL Mark Tourangeau (Oak)

Johnson All-Star Team
C Evan Baglieri (Nia)
1B Kevin Cooper (Mil)
2B Taylor Anderson (Nia)
3B Sean Mathe (Mil)
SS Luke Posavad (Bur)
OF Paul Saville (Bur)
OF Corrie Morrison (Gla)
OF Ricki Ferri (Nia)
DH Jon Amendola (Bur)
RHP Tim Sogan (Gla)
RHP Ian Zettle (Mil)
CL Ryan Colling (Gla)

The final event on the agenda was the naming of a number of new entrants to the C.O.M.B.L. Hall-of-Fame, of which there were 5 members from the St. Catharines Metros. We'll announce those 5 players names, and review their careers in next week's update.

We have posted a number of new photos from the C.O.M.B.L. Year-end banquet on the site. Just go to the "Photo Album" and scroll to the bottom of the page to view the new pictures. Once again congratulations to all the winners, and especially the winners and nominees of the Metros. Great job!