and the offensive leaders are in...

Season 12 ended yesterday, and while much excitement took place with the clinching of the final playoff spots, it is time to recognize the individual leaders...

Notable: Salem's Rookie outfielder (And Rule 5 selection)
Alfredo Mateo swiped 101 bases. This total ranks second all time to the single-season record of 104 set by Carlos Rincon in season 8.

Batting Average
The big story was that New Orleans' C
Ricardo Alomar finished the season with a .409 batting average, which becomes the new single season batting average record. The runner up to Alomar in the NL batting race, Parker McIntyre, trailed by 50 points. The previous record (.407) had been set by another catcher, Horacio Vallarta, in season 8. Vallarta won the AL batting crown this year with a .383 AVG.

NL Leaders - Batting Average
Ricardo Alomar, New Orleans .409
Parker McIntyre, Buffalo .349
Brad Green, Colorado .348
JT Stowers, Louisville .339
Ariel Santos, Saint Louis .338

The 24 yr old Santos made the top 5 despite being traded mid-season from Toronto to St. Louis. He batted .353 for the Toronto Saints but "only" .323 for St. Louis.

AL Leaders - Batting Average
Horacio Vallarta, Charlotte .373
Britt George, Memphis .337
Luis Lee, New Britain .336
Russell Leonard, Charlotte .333
Terrence Reese, Memphis .333

Memphis and Charlotte placed two hitters in the top 5 in batting average. Russell Leonard, who was traded to Charlotte in the offseason, did not skip a beat in maintaining the offensive rhythm that made him one of the AL's most feared hitters in his tenure with Trenton.

Home Runs
Parker McIntyre's 78 home runs rank 3rd all time in the single season home run totals. (Buster Byrdak hit 83 and McIntyre himself hit 80 in Season 7). Charlotte was the Major League Homerun capital, with a combined 410 homeruns. Buffalo was second, trailing by 126 homers.

NL Leaders - Home Runs
Parker McIntyre, Buffalo 78
Carter Taguchi, Richmond 53
Chris Tobin, Columbus 50
Jeff Trammell, Las Vegas 50
Tommy Ranson, Buffalo 46

22 year old rookie Chris Tobin carried the Columbus offense to the playoffs, while Taguchi set a career high with 53 HRs.

AL Leaders - Home Runs
Russell Leonard, Charlotte 57
Javier Valdez, Charlotte 57
Ricky Gibbs, Chicago 46
Adam Maxwell, Charlotte 46
Larry Dupler, Trenton 45

Although teammates Leonard and Chavez tied for the Homerun crown with 57 a piece, Leonard was also walked 100 times.

NL Leaders - Runs Batted In
Parker McIntyre, Buffalo 188
Brad Green, Colorado 156
Jeff Trammell, Las Vegas 153
Chris Tobin, Columbus 152
Carter Taguchi, Richmond 136

AL Leaders - Runs Batted In
Javier Valdez, Charlotte 148
Larry Dupler, Trenton 148
Russell Leonard, Charlotte 145
Chip Spence, San Antonio 139
Adam Maxwell, Charlotte 138