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Date: 8/27/2015
NORTH ADAMS – After leading Valley's defensive corps all summer long, outfielder Manny De Jesus (Ohio) has been named the 2015 New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) Defensive Player of the Year, as announced by the league.
Patrolling the spacious MacKenzie Stadium outfield depths all summer long, De Jesus ranked fourth on the Blue Sox with 81 put outs and contributed four outfield assists, as well.
His .988 fielding percentage was fourth best on the squad. An NECBL All-Star, De Jesus ranked second in the entire league in outfield putouts.
“One of the best defensive outfielders I have seen in the league in six years,” Valley Blue Sox manager John Raiola said. “He takes a lot of pride in playing defense at a high level. Above-average speed in the outfield to go with an above-average arm, but an outstanding first step off the bat separates him from most guys.”
Valley general manage Hunter Golden added, “We’ve really been fortunate in the past few years to have some really great defensive outfielders and it's important to us because of how our park plays.
“Even for really great defensive outfielders, our center field presents a big challenge due to its size. Manny makes it look easy and does so because he's just such an intelligent player. He's always invested in what's happening, knows hitters' tendencies and gets tremendous reads off the bat. He was a pleasure to have as part of our organization this season,” he continued.
At the plate, De Jesus contributed plenty, hitting .260 with a .308 slugging percentage and a .645 on-base percentage. He finished the regular season with 38 hits, seven doubles, 21 runs, 13 RBIs and 13 stolen bases.
This past year at Ohio, the rising senior batted .311 in 55 games – all starts.
He scored a team-high 56 runs on 69 hits with 27 RBIs and finished the year with seven stolen bases.