Shadowfax and Gwaihir Awards handed out
The winners of the two league awards that are based purely upon stats were acknowledged in a press briefing by SGCBL officials today.
The Shadowfax Award for stolen bases was presented to Bree's Kobur Hammermaker and to Anson Banks of Grey Havens. This is the 3rd season in a row that Hammermaker has won the award in the Shire Conference. His 79 steals were down from his record-setting 101 of last season, but he still bested the 2nd place finisher, Peromer "Pee-Rod" Moraman of Old Forest, by 18. Banks, 27, just made it past the all-time Mordor leader in steals, Dagorlad's Marus Alu. Anson stole 76, while Alu swiped 73. This is Banks' first Shadowfax Award and just the 2nd for Grey Havens, the first since Begrin Starsley won it in 2006.
The Gwaihir Reliever Award is presented to the best relief pitcher based on a combination of saves, wins, losses and blown saves. This season's winners are no strangers to the title. Bywater's Amon Thoirney won it in the Shire for the 2nd year in a row. His 45 saves, combined with a 4-2 record and 2.25 ERA made him the most feared closer in the league. In 50 save opportunities, he only had 3 blown saves for a 93.8% ratio. Faraborn Elrum of Dol Guldur won his 3rd Gwaihir in the face of stiff competition from Lothlorien's Gundin Diamondlegs, Rohan's Solonor Solis, and Camelia Mugworts of Isengard, among others. Elrum's 37 saves were just 1 better than Diamondlegs and Solis, but Faraborn's 6-6 record and just 6 blown saves were better than either of them (Diamondlegs went 3-6 with 6 blown saves, and Solis was 9-10 with 15 blown opportunities.)