RiverDogs Nominated for MiLB Game of the Year
Minor League BaseballTM announced Monday that the Charleston RiverDogs have nominated for its "Best Game" award in Class-A for the 2010 season.
The game, and performance, that got the RiverDogs noticed came in an 18-4 rout of the Hickory Crawdads on Aug. 13 at L.P. Frans Stadium in Hickory, N.C. in which standout catcher J.R. Murphy went 4-for-6 with a career-best two home runs - a grand slam and a three-run shot in consecutive innings - and nine RBI, finishing one shy of the South Atlantic League (SAL) record.
Murphy clobbered his first career grand slam in the third inning off Crawdads southpaw Miguel De Los Santos, cranked a three-run bomb off the lefty in the fourth, added a RBI groundout in the sixth and contributed a RBI single in the eighth to finish one of the most remarkable offensive outings in team and league history.
A second round pick by the Yankees in 2009, Murphy actually had a chance to break the league record for RBI in one game - set by Asheville's James Barbe in 1978 - but struck out with two men in scoring position in the ninth inning with the issue already well at hand.
Not only was it Murphy's career multi-home run game, the four-run four-bagger in the third inning was Charleston's first since 2008, when outfielder Taylor Holliday accomplished that feat against Columbus. The nine RBIs also marks the most for a RiverDog since the team became a Yankees affiliate in 2005.
RiverDogs fans are encouraged to vote online via this link: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/awards/y2010/game.jsp.
Voting for the award is scheduled to conclude Nov. 1