New poll: Which player had the most dominant season?
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- June
- 20
I pose the question to the right because it’s a fun question. Obviously, there were many players who had great seasons, but my question is who had the best.
I’ve listed the credentials next to each player’s name. There are many factors involved: stats, competition, performance in the clutch.
Please vote in the poll, then, if you’d like, tell us here why you voted the way you did.
This entry was posted
on Friday, June 20th, 2008 at 2:49 pm by Josh Thomson.
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Josh Thomson has done some of everything since joining The Journal News in
March 2003. He began working for the Gannett weeklies during the winter of
2002 as a freelance writer. He joined the daily staff soon after and has
since covered various high school and pro sports. Away from sportswriting,
Josh lives in Westchester and spends his free time either with his
fiancee, Sarah, or expertly managing his various championship-winning
fantasy sports teams. He's visited 21 major-league baseball stadiums and
insists that Fenway Park and Wrigley Field are the best by far. Josh
graduated from Carmel High School in 1998, then went to Boston University,
where, in 2002, he received a degree in communications with a minor in
history. 
Jake Thomases has covered baseball, hockey, girls basketball, and girls soccer for the Journal News since arriving in 2003. He previously interned at The Poughkeepsie Journal while attending Vassar College. He is socking money away under his mattress to buy the Knicks, at which time he will trade Jerome James to Cleveland for a ham sandwich.
You know what i believe a kid from a catholic high school should win it, my opinion is that they play in the toughest league in new york state but thats just my opinion. If i would pick the most clutch player it would have to be this kid Muccio every big game that i went to for Stepinac the kid had the big hit. The white plains tournament, when he got the walk off double to win the game, and he single handedly beat iona by getting a basebs clearing double while facing alex adami and using wood bat the whole year. I am not just saying this because my son went to stepinac a few years back and that i follow stepinac, but he was clutch throughout the year.
nick modico from jfk easily took the gaels on his back to a state championship
and the player that stood out to me as a kid who couild beat you with his arm his bat and his speed on the bases and in the field is Dan Zlotnik of Somers. In my opinion the best all around player in Westchester and maybe the section.
Given the stats, and given the league he played in, my vote goes to Adami. Iona didn't have a championship team this year, but this kid was consistently good. Plus, he had an impressive junior yr season and the 2nd highest team batting avg this yr.
There is going to be a great tournament in Port Chester next weekend. All the N.Y. Nine teams, World Yatch Clippers, 2 teams from Stamford, Ny Crush, Long Island Lightning and a few other top teams will be there. It starts on Thursday and ends on Sunday. Go to www.portchesterbaseball.com and click on Battle at the Border for schedules.
Brendan Hourihan. The numbers speak for themselves!
Daniel Sorine is super – talented, spirited, compassionate, a solid team player. Can't speak more highly of this HS champ.
what does this modico kid have to do to get some recognition? the kid was 9-1 1.3 ERA 83 Ks AND a state title with 4 of the teams 7 postseason wins. those stats are a lot better than what i see from the other choices. i believe a little credit is due here
Based on Hourihans pitching AND hitting stats, I guess give it to him, or perhaps Hagan. Hagan has the ring and came up big in the playoffs where it counted and carried Mamk at times. If I had to pick one player to be on my team though… it would be Hagan.
I know Hourihan is a great player, and I am not trying to take that away from him. But I have heard that several coaches have had different stats on Hourihan than the Lakeland coach keeps. A hit here and there when it should be an error, 3 for 3 instead of 2-4, that kinda stuff. Has anyone else heard that?
Michael Rosenfeld Mamaroneck produced 100 runs for his team no one else did that , that is 3 runs per game, 58 rbi's and 42 runs scored, that is a year !!!!!!!!!!!!!
sec 1 fan…With averages – and to a certain extent ERA – I guess all coaches have a little room to fudge. But only the home coach calls in games, so the ability to fudge is only there for 1/2 the games. Also, you can't fudge a home run. You can't fudge a win. And you can't fudge a strikeout. It's impossible.
Over the last four years, people have often suggested to me that certain teams inflate stats, while others don't. It should come as no surprise that one of the targets was Mamaroneck. Well, either Jake or I covered all but one of Mamaroneck's last eight games and kept all the stats. In those eight games they produced at an even higher rate than they had during the regular season. In short, the numbers didn't lie.
Normally, I wouldn't want to delve too deeply into one player's stats, because no one deserves to be the subject of such scrutiny. However, let's take a look, and hopefully dispel a myth.
I covered two Lakeland games (Yorktown and Ardsley, both at Lakeland). In those games, Hourihan went 4 for 7 (.571 avg.) with two RBI at the plate. On the mound he pitched seven innings and allowed one earned run and struck out 13.
So? His rate of production when I was the stat keeper matched or exceeded his production when I wasn't. Although that's a small sample size, that's two fewer home games where his team computed his stats, leaving only 11 games where someone from Lakeland reported Brendan's stats.
For a better comparison, let's look at the road games. Hourihan played 11 road games this year where the opposing coach (or scorekeeper) reported his stats. In these games he was credited with the following stats: 19 for 33 (.576), 26 RBI and eight of his 23 extra-base hits. On the mound he went 3-1 with 48 K's and a 0.78 ERA in 27 innings.
All of those stats are consistent with his stats at home. Some (particularly the pitching stats) are even better.
Hopefully, that splits put to rest any idea that Hourihan's stats were inflated. If you don't believe me, believe the numbers.
Some teams do play in band boxes though, thus making it easier for them to get HR's. Other places a high school kid could not hit a golf ball out of because there is no fence or the fence is like 500 feet away. A college coach or scout would never go strictly by the #'s, they would have to see for themselves before giving a kid anything. H
Has Hourihan received any scholarships yet? Is he a senior?
Sorine is the MAN!
Where would Eastchester be without his effort and spirit?
numbers..
Hourihan is going to Cortlandt
Oh okay, I understand. I wasnt trying to take anything away from him. I just had heard rumors so I was wondering if anyone else had heard the same things.
Sec1Fan,
Hourihan is a solid player. He was the foundation for the Lakeland program and the team was built around his talent. Lay off the kid, he is going to Cortlandt where he will continue his success and have a great career. Regardless of RUMORS saying a few non-existent hits were accounted for in the stat book, what difference does that really make. And as for Modico, he is a great player but Hourihan had the strong arm but also a reliable bat. Hourihan has it all and those are the facts…
Steve Green was the most dominant player in the section, he's basically untouchable and if he didn't get injured his team probably could of made a run for the section title. Stephen Green is the best talent in the state, i dont know why people even talk about Sean Hagen and Steve Green in the same sentence Green is already better and is only a sophomore.
Baseball is a team game !! The names you listed all had great years but when one player is dominant the team is not.
Look at the Lakelands and JJCR who had players have GREAT years, weak schedule and out of the playoffs in a blink of an eye. Same goes for Iona and Mahopac, great years by those pitchers but early exits since the team was not there. The mention of Modico is valid except he was no more dominant then the other pitchers and was a benefator of a very solid team. Hagen was great as was McGovern but they were part of a team. These guys all picked up wins when they didn't have their best days because of the guys behind them. If they were pitching for Kennedy they would have had the same success. If Hourihan was pitching for Mam'k I bet you his record is better then 8-2. If Adami was piching for Kennedy or Mam' he'd have been better then 8-2 and we wouldn't have to vote.
Nice thoughts though.
As far as fixing stats goes. Some of these coaches are like creative accountants with 2 sets of books. The VC one which we see and the one he marches into the coaches meetings with.
I wasnt trying to take away anything from the kid. Even if he had some fudged stats he is still ridiculous. All I wanted to know it the coach had a reputation, or if the rumors were just rumors. Clearly they are, thats all I wanted to know. Every high school sport has the possibility for stats to be fudged because their isnt an official statistician. People have accused Chap in hockey, rightfully so, and some coaches do make players look better than they are. When you see numbers like Hourihans and when I heard from a couple sources that the coach may have altered the stat book I just wanted to ask. When Josh gave me that explanation I understood that even if the coach was doing it, it wouldnt make a difference. Sorry if I offended anyone.
Steve green is not better than sean hagan. He does not pitch against great teams like hagan does and the only decent team green has faced in the past two years is Somers and he lost. Every game Hagan pitches is a big game and he wins them 9/10 times.
As far as who you would want playing for you in a big game, if you had a fantasy draft of all the players in westchester, I'd take Hagan first overall. This kid is a winner in every sport he plays (hockey, baseball) and doesn't crack under pressure at all. Aviles is also in the running, but he got shelled against MHS in the section championship game which hurts him a little in my book.
Is that a serious statement (To:Ron Burgandy) your a full clown Steve Green lost to somers as a freshman and only let up 4 runs and they went to states that year so you need to stop embarrassing yourself on public forum. Sean Hagan is over 2 years older than Steve and is not even close to the raw talent of that kid. Before you post on these blogs actually know what your talking about clown go back to the circus with your mother the hairy goat.
haha stopp ron burgandy…
Ronny baby, Steve is a soph and Sean is a JR they are a year apart. Take off the rubber nose now. Hagen pitched games vs teams that are nationally ranked and teams that were in the states. Get over yourself and get your lips off Steve's butt. Your making it worse for Steve. He's a good kid with a lot of talent. He hasn't accomplised anything and doesn't belong on the list above. He didn't even pitch the last 4 weeks of the season.
Big Apple Circus is in town here in Rockland
when steve green pitches against some nationally ranked teams and get recruited to a division 1 college come talk to me. i think you should know what you are talking about before you embarrass yourself
I've seen him pitch since he was 10. Your way off base Ron. Just because he get recruited by a D1 team makes him just like many many many other section one players. I think your a bit over zealous
i disagree with the previous 2 posts, burgandy is correct. what you all are failing to realize is that steve green is an incredible player, throwing as high as 92 AS A SOPHOMORE. forget about pitching against nationally ranked teams and getting recruited to D1 schools, this kid is punching his ticket to professional baseball straight from John Jay Cross River. dont be jealous of the kid's talent, respect him for the great man he is
finally someone with some common sense i thought i was the only one….those guys are just making themselves look dumb by trying to say Hagen is even close to the talent of Green. Just because these blogs are anonymous doesn't mean you can make fools of yourself
We all know "MB 117" is Sean Hagan he goes on Gears of war and is really bad he lets Matt Mcgovern play for him and he gets alot of kills, but he chainsaws so thats bad.
And JohnnyLovesDiana is Mike Rosenfeld hes not that good hes terrible at the canals.
so gears of war is saying everyone on the state champion mamaroneck tigers is terrible and ron burgandy is saying scouts dont know what they are doing. im not saying steve green sucks, he doesnt hes great but, hes not as good as hagan who pitches against great teams and shuts them down. just because green hits 90 doesnt mean he is better than a guy who hits 86. remember a 90mph fastball goes further than a 86mph fastball. just because steve green throws harder does not make him a better pitcher. and rosenfeld isnt terrible. HE SET THE SCHOOL RECORD FOR RBI's AS A SOPHOMORE.
Gears of war is a complete jerk. If he's saying Hagan, McGovern and Rosenfeld are no good, he's either a jealous father a stupid kid. Hagan is probably the best pitcher in section 1. McGovern will be pro. Rosenfeld has a bat and a half as a sophmore (you will hear a lot more about this kid in the next 2 years). He led the Tigers in batting average last year as a freshman. He missed setting the all-time NY State RBI season record of 59 by 1 (he had 58), and between RBI's and runs scored he totalled 100, something that's never been done before. So before you start bad-mouthing quality players, check the numbers.
If I'm not mistaken i believe he was saying they're no good at gears of war, not baseball. They're all good at baseball no doubt.
Are you kidding there so sick at baseball, i only wish i was half as good as them, im saying they suck at gears of war. Im not ignorant of course their amazing at baseball. Still not as good as Steve Green though
I agree. Steve Greene is awesome.
IF MICHAEL ROSENFELD HAS ONE AND A HALF BATS THATS ILLEGAL NO WONDER HE HITS SO GOOD I DONT KNOW MUCH ABOUT BASEBALL EVEN THOUGH I WAS A WPBA ALLSTAR 3RD BASEMAN BUT I KNOW MORE THAN ONE BAT IS NOT ALLOWED. SHAME ON ROSENFELD.
P.S ODOYLE RULES!!!!!!!
Come on guys, we all know the most dominant player in section 1 is Brett Michaels, hes single handedly pulled the Westchester warriors out of last place and has put them in a title race. Show some love to your boy Brett Michaels, who would be nothing without the support of Alex Whalen. Steve Green reminds me of a young chad stroud in his prime, although he has the social skills of freddy crougar and the thighs of oprah winfrey.
wanna give a shout out to my brother lee fransisco, your my inspiration in life i dont know where'd i be without you, anyway i'll see you thursday at game night make sure you dont forget twister this time i swear im gonna beat you this time you flexible son of a gun.
Matt McGovern is going pro, Steven Green is going pro..Keep up the intelligent comments. You go to love when people who use a name from a cheesey movie think they know what it takes to get drafted. Ron Burgundy..LOL..unbeliveable