MOST VALUABLE HITTER: While Casey McGehee nearly won a batting title, and while Steven Moya ranked among the IL home run and RBI leaders, Chad Huffman was the Hens offensive MVP because he did both. Huffman finished with a .286 batting average with 17 home runs and a team-high 70 RBIs as well as 11 stolen bases.
MOST VALUABLE PITCHER: When LHP Chad Bell joined the Hens in May, he was an effective starter who went 4-2 with a 3.78 ERA in 10 starts. Then Bell moved to the bullpen, but he continued to thrive, going 6-2 with a 3.58 ERA. His 10 wins led the team, and his 3.70 ERA also was among the team leaders.
SEASON HIGHLIGHT: Detroit called up scheduled starter Matt Boyd before the Hens’ April 23 game against Charlotte. No problem, said emergency starter Warwick Saupold, who combined with Preston Guilmet, Logan Kensing and Bobby Parnell on Toledo’s first no-hitter in 20 years.
SEASON LOWLIGHT: A day after the Hens had scored 11 runs in the ninth inning to win at Louisville, Toledo got a ninth-inning grand slam from Jordany Valdespin to tie Indianapolis on June 3. But the Hens could not close out the victory, instead giving up five runs in the 13th inning of a 16-11 loss.
CRAZY STAT: It was nine or nothing for the Mud Hens this season as Toledo posted a 1-9 record in extra innings in 2016. The only other full-season minor league team with just one extra-inning victory this season was the Tigers’ Lo-A team in West Michigan, which went 1-10.
ATTENDANCE WATCH: The Mud Hens finished with a season’s attendance total of 532,008 in 68 home contests. That mark is the third-worst for the franchise since moving to Fifth Third Field in 2002, a span of 15 seasons.
Contact John Wagner at: jwagner@theblade.com, 419-724-6481 or on Twitter @jwagnerblade.
First Published September 11, 2016, 5:51 a.m.
