Ockimey Named 2017 CL Year-End All-Star

SALEM, VA (August 31, 2017) - The Salem Red Sox are pleased to congratulate first baseman Josh Ockimey on being named to the 2017 Carolina League Year-End All-Star Team for his outstanding performance with the Sox this season.
Ockimey, a 21-year-old from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was a crucial contributor for the Sox in the 2017 season, batting .275 with 11 homers and a team-best 63 RBI. Ockimey is second in the Carolina League with a superb .388 on-base percentage, His 66 walks led the Sox and are fourth in the CL as of this announcement, and tie him with Che-Hsuan Lin's 2012 campaign for the second-most in the Red Sox era (Matty Johnson walked 74 times in 2014). Ockimey remains the league leader in intentional walks drawn with nine. His .827 OPS was best among players with 60 or more games played with Salem in 2017.

Ockimey was the first player of 2017 to be named Carolina League Player of the Week for his opening stretch where he batted .447 with 17 hits in his first 38 at bats and drove in 10 runs for the Sox. He was named a starter at first base for the Northern Division All-Stars, and earned a promotion to the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs on August 1. Through his first 27 games in Portland, Ockimey is batting .264 with two homers, seven doubles and nine RBI.

Ockimey spent the entire 2016 season with the low-A Greenville Drive, batting .226 with 62 RBI and 18 homers (fourth-most among Red Sox minor leaguers). His 88 walks drawn led the South Atlantic League. He was named a midseason All-Star in the SAL, and led Greenville in homers, walks, games played (117) and doubles (25).
In 2015, Ockimey was a New York-Penn League midseason All-Star, and tied for fourth in the NYPL with 38 RBI. He led the Lowell Spinners in RBI, and batted .266 with four homers and 13 doubles in 56 games. Ockimey made his professional debut in 2014 for the Gulf Coast League Red Sox, playing in 36 GCL games.
Ockimey attended Ss. Neumann & Goretti Catholic (PA) High School, where his uniform number (30) was retired. As a senior, he hit .411 with 13 HR and 100 RBI in H.S., and led the school to three Catholic League titles. He was named CL Blue Division MVP as a senior, and was committed to play for Indiana University before signing with the Red Sox, who drafted him in the fifth round (164th overall) of the 2014 MLB Amateur Draft.