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League News
1/31/1990
Fayetteville Wins It All!
The Fayetteville Farmers are the VBL4 1989 World Champions!
The Farmers bested the Ruth League's Emerald Isle Bucs in an exciting series that went all the way to game 7.
Emerald Isle's Roger Clemens, who was 17-4 in postseason play going into the game, would face Fayetteville's ace Tom Browning, who had been injured much of the postseason. This would be their third meeting; Browning faced Clemens in games one and four and lost both decisions.
While neither Browning nor Clemens got the decision in the deciding 7th game, their performances will not be forgotten. Clemens pitched 8 innings and gave up no runs and just 3 hits while striking out 13, while Browning threw 9 innings, also giving up no runs while allowing 5 hits and striking out 12. Browning's stellar performance neutralized what Clemens did.
Lenny "Nails" Dykstra was named Mr. October, the award given for the VBL4's most outstanding postseason player. Dykstra hit .375 with 4 HR and 12 RBI this postseason. He had 7 doubles, 6 BB, 19 R, and an OPS of 1.102.
Marty Bystrom was also stellar during the postseason, going 4-0 in 5 starts with a 4.46 ERA. Reliever Ricky Wright also posted a 0.90 ERA in 10 innings of work, while closer Rich Bordi was 2-0 with 3 saves and a 1.29 ERA.
1989 Award Winners
After winning the World Championship, the Fayetteville Farmers got some more good news.
Single-season Home run king Barry Bonds was named the 1989 Aaron League Most Valuable Player, while Fayetteville hurler Tom Browning won the Aaron League's Steve Carlton award. Bonds' win of the AL MVP award broke Ryne Sandberg's streak of 4 straight wins.
In the Ruth League, Roger Clemens won an unprecedented 6th straight Steve Carlton award. Clemens has won the award in both leagues, a feat he accomplished last season when he won the Aaron League Carlton award with the Springfield franchise.
The Ruth League's Most Valuable Player for 1989 is Oklahoma's Sam Grubb, a player who has put up MVP numbers many times in his career but has finally won his first MVP award.
EI's Ken Caminiti was the RL Rookie of the Year, while Springfield's Mark Carreon won it in the AL.
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