FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
BOURNE — In a pitcher-dominated season, Bourne’s 6-6 southpaw Grayson Garvin (Vanderbilt) stood above all others, winning the BFC Whitehouse Top Pitcher Award in the Cape Cod Baseball League for his outstanding season on the mound.
Garvin’s perfect 5-0 record, along with his league-leading 0.74 ERA in 36.2 innings pitched, was enough to earn the award over other pitching notables, such as Brewster’s Boston Red Sox-bound Anthony Ranaudo (LSU) and Cotuit’s Tampa Bay draftee Austin Wood(St. Petersburg).
“He was pleasantly surprised,” said Bourne general manager Mike Carrier. “I’m guessing he knew he had a shot at it. It basically came down to him and Wood, and as I was doing the stats myself, it was clear by the formula that Grayson was going to win it.”
The award is based on a formula that longtime league statistician and volunteer John Wylde devised, incorporating 10 criteria, from innings to ERA to strikeouts-to-inning ratio.
“When Grayson took the mound you knew a ‘W’ was almost automatic as long as the offense did a little bit,” Carrier said. “He had a lot of confidence in what he was doing. He’s a tough left-hander, spotted the ball very well, and just competed every game.”
Garvin racked up 37 strikeouts, while allowing only 12 walks and 18 hits, and held opponents to a .146 average.
“What was nice about it was the turn-around, well maybe not ‘turn around,’ but the success from what he did in Falmouth last year,” Carrier said. ”I’m still not sure why Falmouth didn’t protect him, but their loss was our gain. I think after he had injuries in college and then coming here and doing what he did exceeded everyone’s expectations —– including his.”
The improvement from 2009 with Falmouth to Bourne this year was one of many contributing factors that landed Garvin on the West Division All-Star squad. Taking his place on the mound at Fenway Park for this year’s game, he pitched a perfect inning, striking out one as the West went on to win.
