As we’ve reached the end of the 2018 season for the Worcester Bravehearts it’s time to hand out some awards. Named for the moniker this blogger uses on several sports message boards, the “210 Awards” officially began in 2009 when the Worcester Sharks were in town. Starting in the 2015 season the award posting was begun for the Bravehearts.
We’ll first take a look at some of the official awards and accomplishments of the Bravehearts, starting with Michael Dellicarri winning the Futures Collegiate Baseball League’s MVP award. He was also named “Player of the Month” in the FCBL for July, won the “Player of the Week” award twice, and three times received “Player of the Night” honors.
Worcester’s other monthly award winner was Makenzie Stills, who was “Pitcher of the Month” for July. He was also a two-time “Pitcher of the Week” award winner, and twice was named “Pitcher of the Night”.
Two other players won FCBL weekly awards, with Cody Laweryson being named “Pitcher of the Week” twice and Mack Cheli winning “Player of the Week” honors once. What’s amazing about Lawyerson’s two awards is he only pitched in three games before leaving the team due to shoulder fatigue.
Seven different Worcester players won the FCBL “Player of the Night” mentions. Along with Dellicarri’s three wins Cheli, Brett Coffel, Dustin Harris, and Chris Rinaldi each were named twice in the nightly awards. Edward Haus and Joseph Pesce had a win a piece.
There were also seven Bravehearts that won the FCBL “Pitcher of the night”. In addition to Stills two mentions Henry Ennen won the award three times, and Patrick Gallagher and Sebastian Gruszecki each won twice. Rob Cerulle, Laweryson, and Joseph Mancini each got a single award.
Several players from Worcester played in the All-Star game at Holman Stadium in Nashua, New Hampshire. The list includes Cheli, Coffel, Dellicarri, Ennen, Harris, Haus, Dakota McFadden, Tyler Patane, Kendall Pomeroy, Rinaldi, and Stills.
Closing out the official regular season awards is head coach J.P. Pyne, who was named FCBL “Manager of the Year”, and Harris, who won the FCBL “Adam Keenan Sportsmanship Award”.
In the playoffs Cerulle and McFadden were named “Pitcher of the Night” once each, while Kirk Sidwell, Paul Gozzo, Coffel, and Harris each won “Player of the Night” once.
As always, the following “210 Awards” are just one man’s opinion. If you think I got one wrong, feel free to leave a comment below. Also, I generally like to limit the number of categories a player can win to spread the mentions around a bit. Take that into account when deciding if my picks are wrong.
Best Freshman
Makenzie Stills is the easy winner here. The incoming Vanderbilt freshman went 4-1 with a 1.42 ERA in seven games, and had no appearance where he allowed more than two earned runs. His 36 strikeouts were fourth on the team, with the three pitchers in front of him all making more appearances.
Best Sophomore
Dustin Harris is another easy pick, finishing third on the Bravehearts in hits with 53, second in doubles with 12, and second in RBI at 42. His RBI total would have been enough to break the previous franchise record. His 46 games played was the most for any infielder.
Best Junior
There were two good selections here, and the choice is Chris Rinaldi for this one. Rinaldi set the FCBL record for consecutive games scoring a run at 17, and set the Bravehearts single season mark for consecutive games reaching base at 22.
Best Senior
In what was a wide open field the pick is Kendall Pomeroy, who would easily win an “unsung hero” award if there was one. In 17 appearances on the mound Pomeroy did not have many bad outings, and manager J.P. Pyne was willing to throw him in any situation. Pomeroy finished the year 2-1 with a save and two unofficial “holds”.
Best Pitcher
In a very tight race Northeastern sophomore Henry Ennen gets the nod. Ennen went 5-0 in seven starts and eight appearances overall, striking out 43 in 42 innings pitched and had an ERA of 2.14.
Best Hitter
This one is Michael Dellicarri in a runaway. Dellicarri set Bravehearts franchise marks in runs (45), hits (65), RBI (45), and tied the mark for total bases (107). His ten games in a row with an RBI set a new franchise record. He also tied for the team lead with seven home runs.
Best Power Hitter
Mack Cheli is the winner here, tying for the team lead in home runs with Dellicarri (7), and led the team in slugging (.581) and OPS (1.01). He averaged a home run every 17.7 at bats, by far the best on the team for an every day player. Cheli also set the Bravehearts single season record for being hit by pitches (12).
Best Single Game Performance
Joseph Pesce wins this one for going 5-5 with a double and scoring three runs on July 24th against North Shore.
Pitcher of the Year
Despite 210Sports not announcing “Pitcher of the week” winners because WooBall Weekly was on “This Week in Worcester”, there was still selections made, and Makenzie Stills wins this for being named the most often.
Batter of the Year
Same as Batter of the Year, the player chosen the most this season as “Batter of the Week” was Chris Rinaldi.
Most Valuable Player
When you win the FCBL MVP Award it’s pretty much a forgone conclusion that you’re your team’s MVP, so it’s no surprise Michael Dellicarri is the pick here.
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210Sports 
Coffel was the family favorite in our household. My son attended the Worcester Bravehearts Baseball camp and he got his autograph. When we got to see Coffel play he did great up at bat and catching.