The Altoona Curve announced their 2012 Team Awards today, giving out honors for the Most Valuable Player, Pitcher of the Year, Fireman of the Year, and the Unsung Hero.
Brock Holt took home the top award, being named the team’s MVP. Holt was promoted to Indianapolis earlier this month, and in that time he led the Eastern League with a .322 average. He still leads the league and has enough plate appearances to qualify for the award if the lead holds. Last year Holt was named the Iron Man Award winner, playing in 132 games.
Phil Irwin was named the Pitcher of the Year, putting up a 2.93 ERA in 104.1 innings over 18 appearances. Irwin joined the team late, playing his first game on May 11th, and was promoted to Indianapolis earlier this month. But during his time with Altoona he put up impressive numbers, which are even more impressive when you consider that he had a 5.05 ERA in his first nine appearances at the level. In his next nine appearances he had a 1.24 ERA in 58 innings, with three complete games during that stretch.
Vic Black was named the Fireman of the Year, putting up a 1.74 ERA in 57 innings, with an amazing 83:28 K/BB ratio. He’s converted 10 of 13 save opportunities, and has a .193 BAA. His 13.11 K/9 ratio is the best in the Eastern League, and his BAA is third among relievers in the league.
Matt Curry was named the team’s unsung hero. He’s hit for a .283/.351/.477 line in 392 at-bats this year, with 11 homers and 33 doubles. Curry had a great first half, hitting for a .320/.376/.533 line in 244 at-bats prior to the All-Star break. Since the break he’s slumped, with a .223/.310/.385 line in 148 at-bats.
Tim started Pirates Prospects in 2009 from his home in Virginia, which was 40 minutes from where Pedro Alvarez made his pro debut in Lynchburg. That year, the Lynchburg Hillcats won the Carolina League championship, and Pirates Prospects was born from Tim's reporting along the way. The site has grown over the years to include many more writers, and Tim has gone on to become a credentialed MLB reporter, producing Pirates Prospects each year, and will publish his 11th Prospect Guide this offseason. He has also served as the Pittsburgh Pirates correspondent for Baseball America since 2019. Behind the scenes, Tim is an avid music lover, and most of the money he gets paid to run this site goes to vinyl records.
We need to start the “Free Brock Holt” theme, anyone that can hit .440 in AAA can box oranges at SS or 2nd Base as far as I am concerned. We have Pedro and we live with his 20 errors, we can surely live with a few from Holt.