Two Former NYCBL Players Named Minor League Players of the Year

Hunter Pence named Astros’ Player of the Year; Dallas Braden named A’s Pitcher of the Year

Two former New York Collegiate League players were recently honored for their impressive 2005 seasons in minor league baseball. Former Amsterdam Mohawk (then Schenectady) Hunter Pence was named the Houston Astros’ Minor League Player of the Year while former Hornell Dodger Dallas Braden was named the Minor League Pitcher of the Year for the Oakland A’s.

Pence hit .331 on the season with a whopping 31 home runs playing at the Single A level for the Astros. He was a member of the Mohawks in 2002 and was selected by the Astros in the 2^nd round of the 2004 draft out of the University of Texas-Arlington.

Braden, meanwhile, played for Hornell in 2003 as both a first baseman and a left handed pitcher. He was selected in the 24^th round of the 2004 draft by the A’s while playing college ball at Texas Tech. In 2005, Braden pitched for the A’s Double A affiliate, Midland, where he posted a 15-5 record with 135 strikeouts.

Ironically, in 2002, Pence’s Mohawks lost to Hornell in the finals of the NYCBL Championship and in 2003, Braden’s Dodgers lost to Amsterdam in the finals.