Standing on Top of the Leaderboard!

Portland, Maine - The Portland Sea Dogs entered 2019 without having a league batting champion as a Red Sox affiliate, but that all changed. The Eastern League had not seen an ERA like Daniel McGrath's since 1985. The 2019 season had plenty of highlights for the Portland Sea Dogs

SS C.J. Chatham hit .297 (104-for-350) with three homers, 36 RBI, and led the team with 26 doubles. Chatham did not have the required plate appearances, but based on Rule 9.22, MLB can adjust a player's qualifications. 

Below is a part of the ruling for Chatham
-Notwithstanding the foregoing requirement of minimum appearances at the plate, any player with fewer than the
required number of plate appearances whose average would be the highest, if he were charged with the required number of plate appearances shall be awarded the batting, slugging or on-base
percentage championship, as the case may be.
McGrath became the first Sea Dogs pitcher to win the ERA crown since 2014 when Brian Johnson posted a 1.75 ERA. The lefty's ERA was the lowest in the Eastern League since Albany's Brad Arnsberg's posted a 1.59 ERA in 1985. Also, he set the new career ERA at 2.54 (57 ER/201.2 IP), surpassing Jon Lester's 2.57 mark. McGrath was named Eastern League Player of the Month for July and Pitcher of the Week twice (July 22-28, August 5-11). The lefty had a stretch of not allowing an earned run in 48.0 IP from May 28- July 31. McGrath earned a promotion to Triple-A Pawtucket on September 1.