RCBL 2024 Season Awards
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Most Valuable Player - Chris Huffman
Pitcher of the Year - Chris Huffman Rookie of the Year - Seth Moomaw Manager of the Year - Tim Nicely |
Please read reports below
By Nolan Potts |
Most Valuable Player - Chris Huffman, Bridgewater Reds
In sports, the word “valuable” elicits different thoughts and responses. Some people think the most valuable player is someone who has the most impressive stats, regardless of team performance. Others might think it’s the best player on the first-place team, while others could argue it’s someone who provides tremendous leadership both on and off the field in a way that makes everyone around them better.
Chris Huffman of the Bridgewater Reds qualifies in all three of those schools of thought listed above, and because of that, he has been selected as the 2024 Rockingham County Baseball League’s Most Valuable Player.
“He brings his best every single game, unwilling to accept defeat,” said Reds’ teammate and longtime friend Corbin Lucas, who graduated high school with Huffman. “When he's on the mound, he strives for perfection with every pitch. While at the plate he competes fiercely, grinding through each plate appearance.”
“He is truly the most valuable player in the RCBL.”
Over the last fifteen years, he has had success at all levels of baseball. First in high school as a 2011 graduate of Fort Defiance High School, and then collegiately at James Madison University. He was then a 14th-round draft pick in the 2014 Major League Baseball draft by the San Diego Padres and reached as high as Triple-A in 2018 while accumulating exactly 500 innings on the mound in his minor league career.
But, since he joined the RCBL in 2020, he has had a tremendous impact with the bat, as well.
Heading into this season, Huffman was a .354 career hitter in the RCBL over the last three seasons with 115 hits, 71 RBI, 16 doubles, 9 home runs, and more walks (30) than strikeouts (28).
In 2024, he picked it up a notch as he hit .388 with a .429 on-base percentage and .500 slugging percentage. He finished tied for 1st in the league in hits (38), 2nd in RBI (27), 2nd in runs scored (28), 3rd in batting average, tied for 3rd in doubles (8), and 8th in slugging percentage. He also only struck out four times and had a ridiculous contact percentage of 95.9% in 98 at-bats.
But the way he goes about his business has also proved to be invaluable to the league’s best team during the regular season.
“His passion for the game and commitment to excellence are clear,” Lucas said. “It’s a great combination when your best player also has the most games played.”
As the Reds look to get back to the RCBL Finals after winning the championship in seven games in 2022 and falling in six games in 2023, Lucas says that if the Reds get there for the third year in a row, it’ll be due in large part to Huffman’s contributions both with his play and with his attitude and approach towards the game.
“He sets a high standard with his hard work and determination, inspiring everyone around him to step up. He is the engine that keeps our team heading towards another championship.”
Chris Huffman of the Bridgewater Reds qualifies in all three of those schools of thought listed above, and because of that, he has been selected as the 2024 Rockingham County Baseball League’s Most Valuable Player.
“He brings his best every single game, unwilling to accept defeat,” said Reds’ teammate and longtime friend Corbin Lucas, who graduated high school with Huffman. “When he's on the mound, he strives for perfection with every pitch. While at the plate he competes fiercely, grinding through each plate appearance.”
“He is truly the most valuable player in the RCBL.”
Over the last fifteen years, he has had success at all levels of baseball. First in high school as a 2011 graduate of Fort Defiance High School, and then collegiately at James Madison University. He was then a 14th-round draft pick in the 2014 Major League Baseball draft by the San Diego Padres and reached as high as Triple-A in 2018 while accumulating exactly 500 innings on the mound in his minor league career.
But, since he joined the RCBL in 2020, he has had a tremendous impact with the bat, as well.
Heading into this season, Huffman was a .354 career hitter in the RCBL over the last three seasons with 115 hits, 71 RBI, 16 doubles, 9 home runs, and more walks (30) than strikeouts (28).
In 2024, he picked it up a notch as he hit .388 with a .429 on-base percentage and .500 slugging percentage. He finished tied for 1st in the league in hits (38), 2nd in RBI (27), 2nd in runs scored (28), 3rd in batting average, tied for 3rd in doubles (8), and 8th in slugging percentage. He also only struck out four times and had a ridiculous contact percentage of 95.9% in 98 at-bats.
But the way he goes about his business has also proved to be invaluable to the league’s best team during the regular season.
“His passion for the game and commitment to excellence are clear,” Lucas said. “It’s a great combination when your best player also has the most games played.”
As the Reds look to get back to the RCBL Finals after winning the championship in seven games in 2022 and falling in six games in 2023, Lucas says that if the Reds get there for the third year in a row, it’ll be due in large part to Huffman’s contributions both with his play and with his attitude and approach towards the game.
“He sets a high standard with his hard work and determination, inspiring everyone around him to step up. He is the engine that keeps our team heading towards another championship.”
Pitcher of the Year - Chris Huffman, Bridgewater Reds
From 2020-2023 in the RCBL, Chris Huffman went 15-5 with a 2.07 ERA in 35 appearances (22 starts) in 169.1 innings pitched with 245 strikeouts and only 28 walks. He was named the 2022 RCBL Pitcher of the Year and was the runner-up for the award in 2023.
In 2024, the 31-year-old was even better than in previous seasons, and he has been selected as this season’s Rockingham County Baseball League’s Pitcher of the Year for the second time in three seasons.
Huffman pitched nine games (four starts) in the regular season for Bridgewater and went 4-0 with two saves and a 0.93 ERA over 38.2 innings. He finished the regular season first in the league in wins, saves, strikeouts (55), WHIP (0.724), and was tied for first in fewest walks allowed among qualifying pitchers (4). His ERA was second in the league, as was his Batting Average Against (.166) as he helped lead the Reds to a regular season pennant and a 19-5 record.
He was also named the 2024 RCBL Most Valuable Player. He’s the first player since Jason Griffen in 1997 to win both the MVP and Pitcher of the Year award in the same season.
In 2024, the 31-year-old was even better than in previous seasons, and he has been selected as this season’s Rockingham County Baseball League’s Pitcher of the Year for the second time in three seasons.
Huffman pitched nine games (four starts) in the regular season for Bridgewater and went 4-0 with two saves and a 0.93 ERA over 38.2 innings. He finished the regular season first in the league in wins, saves, strikeouts (55), WHIP (0.724), and was tied for first in fewest walks allowed among qualifying pitchers (4). His ERA was second in the league, as was his Batting Average Against (.166) as he helped lead the Reds to a regular season pennant and a 19-5 record.
He was also named the 2024 RCBL Most Valuable Player. He’s the first player since Jason Griffen in 1997 to win both the MVP and Pitcher of the Year award in the same season.
Rookie of the Year - Seth Moomaw, Broadway Bruins
Young players often have a hard time adjusting to higher-level pitching. In the case of the RCBL, high schoolers are often tasked with having to find a way to get on base against current or former college pitching. For some, that’s a struggle that takes a good bit of time as they attempt to hit against players that are older than them and usually have more velocity and better “stuff” than the pitchers they face during the high school season.
However, in the case of Broadway’s Seth Moomaw, he found a way to consistently be successful in his first season in the RCBL, and he has been named the 2024 Rockingham County Baseball League’s Rookie of the Year.
The 17-year-old Moomaw, who will be entering his senior year at Stonewall Jackson High School next month, put together a strong regular season campaign for the Bruins. He hit .415 with an on-base percentage of .486 and a slugging percentage of .569. He had 27 hits, 7 of which were doubles, to go along with 14 RBI and 14 runs scored while walking 9 times and only striking out 10 times.
“Seth approached me this spring about wanting to play for the Bruins this summer,” said Broadway Bruins head coach Mitchell Wilson, who is also on the coaching staff at Stonewall Jackson. “Having batted .500 this spring for the Generals, I was very interested.”
Moomaw carried the success of his high school season into the summer, as he finished 2nd in the league in batting average, 3rd in slugging percentage, 5th in on-base percentage, tied for 5th in doubles, and tied for 8th in hits. His on-base plus slugging (OPS) of 1.056 was 3rd best in the league, and the left-hander found a home in the middle of the Bruins’ lineup.
Wilson said he was impressed with the mature mentality Moomaw displayed from day one with the Bruins.
“It didn’t matter where he was in the lineup,” Wilson said. “He was just eager to play.
“Seth is a very down to earth kid who understands the game of baseball very well.”
Not only does Wilson believe he picked up a talented ballplayer, but also someone who isn’t going to cause him, or his teammates, any headaches.
He’s the kind of player every coach wants on his roster,” Wilson said. “He’s attentive, coachable, and most importantly, an astounding teammate.”
However, in the case of Broadway’s Seth Moomaw, he found a way to consistently be successful in his first season in the RCBL, and he has been named the 2024 Rockingham County Baseball League’s Rookie of the Year.
The 17-year-old Moomaw, who will be entering his senior year at Stonewall Jackson High School next month, put together a strong regular season campaign for the Bruins. He hit .415 with an on-base percentage of .486 and a slugging percentage of .569. He had 27 hits, 7 of which were doubles, to go along with 14 RBI and 14 runs scored while walking 9 times and only striking out 10 times.
“Seth approached me this spring about wanting to play for the Bruins this summer,” said Broadway Bruins head coach Mitchell Wilson, who is also on the coaching staff at Stonewall Jackson. “Having batted .500 this spring for the Generals, I was very interested.”
Moomaw carried the success of his high school season into the summer, as he finished 2nd in the league in batting average, 3rd in slugging percentage, 5th in on-base percentage, tied for 5th in doubles, and tied for 8th in hits. His on-base plus slugging (OPS) of 1.056 was 3rd best in the league, and the left-hander found a home in the middle of the Bruins’ lineup.
Wilson said he was impressed with the mature mentality Moomaw displayed from day one with the Bruins.
“It didn’t matter where he was in the lineup,” Wilson said. “He was just eager to play.
“Seth is a very down to earth kid who understands the game of baseball very well.”
Not only does Wilson believe he picked up a talented ballplayer, but also someone who isn’t going to cause him, or his teammates, any headaches.
He’s the kind of player every coach wants on his roster,” Wilson said. “He’s attentive, coachable, and most importantly, an astounding teammate.”
Manager of the Year - Tim Nicely, Grottoes Cardinals
Tim Nicely grew up around the RCBL, particularly the Grottoes Cardinals. He grew up going to games in Grottoes where he was a foul ball chaser and bat boy for the Cardinals teams his dad, Don Nicely, and stepdad, Doug Shifflett, played for. Tim would later go on to play for the Cardinals himself, and in 2020, he became the manager for his hometown team.
Now, in 2024, Nicely has been selected by the fellow coaches in the league as the 2024 Rockingham County Baseball League’s Coach of the Year.
Nicely led the Cardinals to a second-place finish in the regular season as the team finished with a record of 15-9, and their .625 winning percentage was the best for a Grottoes team since they reentered the league prior to the start of the 2015 season.
The Cardinals, who boast both a group of veteran players – including his son, Austin, and nephews, Dalton and Dylan – and rising local high school players, finished the regular season with a team batting average of .304, as well as a team ERA of 3.84. Defensively, the team had a .949 fielding percentage and committed just 40 errors in 24 games.
Now, in 2024, Nicely has been selected by the fellow coaches in the league as the 2024 Rockingham County Baseball League’s Coach of the Year.
Nicely led the Cardinals to a second-place finish in the regular season as the team finished with a record of 15-9, and their .625 winning percentage was the best for a Grottoes team since they reentered the league prior to the start of the 2015 season.
The Cardinals, who boast both a group of veteran players – including his son, Austin, and nephews, Dalton and Dylan – and rising local high school players, finished the regular season with a team batting average of .304, as well as a team ERA of 3.84. Defensively, the team had a .949 fielding percentage and committed just 40 errors in 24 games.