SLB All-Pro team 2019

Catcher
Tony Montana, Kyoto — .273/.315/.563 47 HR, 94 RBI
When did Kyoto turn into Osaka II? Three Bushido bruisers bashed more than 40 home runs, including Montana who spanked 47 out of the park. There is a dearth of decent-hitting catchers in the SLB, but Montana was the best of the bunch in 2019.

First Base
Hee Seop Choi, Paris — .335/.389/.684 58 HR, 152 RBI, 217 hits
Choi has long been one of the most feared, if not most underrated, players in the SLB and he put together a career year in 2019.

Second base
James Ewing, Atlanta — .316/.362/.580 35 HR, 113 RBI, 135 R, 51 SB
It was a strong year at the top for second basemen, and in the end Ewing’s combination of power and speed held of Stu Watwood of Paris and Cap Jackson of Chiang-Mai.

Shortstop
Kiko Brezovan, Halifax — .326/.360/.592 33 HR, 106 RBI, 113 R, 40 SB
The league’s best team had the league’s best shortstop in 2019. Brezovan broke out in a big way, and became the Sailor’s go-to-guy on offense.

Third base
Miguel Cabrera, Savannah — .303/.358/.578 43 HR, 112 RBI, 89 R
After a down year in 2018, Cabrera bounced back but also got stiff competition from Osaka rookie Ben Parker. In the end, Cabrera’s overall effort outweighed Parker’s “Osaka-effect” as the league’s best third baseman.

Left field
Matt Musser, San Juan — .340/.369/.626 31 HR, 23 3B, 110 RBI, 118 R, 232 H, 78 SB
San Juan may not have had the season we’ve all come to expect from them, but Musser didn’t disappoint. He had 232 hits — 110 of which went for extra bases. And when he found himself on first base, he just stole second anyway. He can do it all.

Center field
Darren Lemming, Atlanta — .352/.404/.710 48 HR, 19 3B, 150 RBI, 140 R, 40 SB
This was the most hotly-contested race, as it came down to Lemming and Philadelphia’s Jay Bruce. In the end, their production was basically equal, only Bruce had an extra 51 at bats, giving him essentially 11 extra games to reach his totals. As for Lemming, it’s just more of the same. Tons of hits, tons of power, tons of stolen bases and gold-glove defense. What more can you say?

Right field
Tex Austin, Cleveland — .333/.369/.657 51 HR, 138 RBI, 215 H
Austin flat out mashed the ball in 2019, ripping off 51 home runs and finishing third in the league in slugging percentage.

Starting Pitcher
Justin Verlander, Halifax — 20-4, 1.95 ERA, 201 Ks, 23 BBs
All Verlander did in 2019 was lead the SLB in wins and ERA and help Halifax to the league’s best record. What more could you ask for?
Homer Bailey, Atlanta — 20-3, 2.46 ERA, 229 Ks, 31 BBs
Once again, Bailey was his usual self. He piled up Ks and wins like a packrat and helped mitigate just how bad the rest of his rotation-mates were in 2019.
C.C. Sabathia, Osaka — 18-9, 3.30 ERA, 222 Ks, 37 BBs
It a shock to see Osaka dole out the cash for a pitcher in the offseason, but it paid off. Sure, other pitchers might have had slightly better ERAs, but none of them did it in Osaka. Sabathia’s season was a minor miracle.

Relief pitcher
Cliff Gatsby, Baltimore — 3-1, 2.61 ERA, 35 Ks, .174 opp avg.
Baltimore won a franchise-record 88 games in 2019, and Gatsby’s lockdown pitching at the end of games was a huge reason why.