Wildcards' DJ Hill and Goon Squad's Josh Trim named ORWBL Rookies of the Year.

Throughout the week, the Old Republic Wiffleball League will be handing out its yearly honors. Today we announce the Rookie of the Year award winners from both the American and National League.

Starting in the American League, the 2020 AL Rookie of the Year award goes to Bourissa Hills star DJ Hill after putting together quite a memorable Rookie campaign.

After only playing in a couple of series last year, DJ Hill remained eligible to win the award in 2020 as he did not reach the required amount of at bats last season to qualify for the award.

With that being said, Hill came into this season determined to win that award.  Playing for a Bourissa Hills team that had not experienced a winning season since 2010, Hill hoped that he could be the missing piece that this team had been missing.

The Wildcards started the season 2-10 during a 12 game homestand to start the season.  Their luck shifted entirely in the 2nd half of the season as the Wildcards went 11-1 while doing all of that damage on the road.

Hill became the go to guy in an already loaded lineup as the entire Wildcards offense put together a 2nd half run for the ages.  Despite missing 3 games, Hill finished as the team leader in batting average (.602), Home Runs (32), and RBI’s (71) as he undoubtedly became their top run producer across the board.

He finished near the top of the ORWBL leaderboard in batting average and RBI, finishing 3rd overall and 2nd in the American League in both categories.

On top of that, Hill was voted in as an American League All Star starter as he joined his fellow Wildcards teammate Zach Rehlander in the AL starting lineup. 

Hill had some success in the midsummer classic as well as he provided one of two American League runs in the series opener, belting a solo HR into the New Carlisle sky. He also represented the Wildcards in the ORWBL Home Run Derby, reaching the semifinals.

DJ has quickly become one of the more feared hitters in all of ORWBL as he helped turn around a Bourissa Hills franchise that had not experienced a winning season in a decade.

Overall, the Wildcards have to be proud of how they turned things around this season especially after starting the season the way that they did.  Hill will look to follow up an impressive Rookie campaign in 2021 as he will head into the season as their go to guy.

Meanwhile over on the NL side, it was Union Mills’ first year man Josh Trim who was voted as National League Rookie of the Year.

After going 5-19 in their inaugural ORWBL season, the Goon Squad brought back a very similar squad to what we saw in 2019.  They did however make a couple of free agent signings as they added first year players Josh Trim and Todd Snyder to the team.

Goon Squad's rookie put together a quality season as he fit perfectly into their youthful lineup.  It did not take Trim long to establish himself as a weapon on both sides of the ball as he often showcased his stellar hands on the defensive end.

The addition of Trim really helped the Goon Squad improve their defensive game by leaps and bounds in 2020.  You can tell just by looking at the numbers that this team improved drastically on defense.

Trim provided Union Mills with a lockdown defender as he quickly stepped in as the unquestioned leader of the defense.  

The Goon Squad actually finished the season with the 5th fewest runs against as they did a much better job containing opposing lineups in 2020.There is no doubt that he played a huge role in that as Manager Jake Osburn had nothing but kind words to say about his player.

“He was absolutely our top defender this year and I think he can be a Gold Glove type of guy in the next couple of years.”  That nod of confidence from his Manager shows just how valuable he was to them this season. 

Trim also managed to put together a solid stat line on the offensive end as he finished the season 2nd on the team in HR & RBI while also finishing 3rd in runs scored.  Overall, Trim finished the season with 33 hits, 11 HR, 19 RBI, & 19 runs scored to go along with a .324 batting average.

After gaining some attention for his stellar defensive plays, Trim is starting to become one of the more well known Goon Squad players, even garnering some Gold Glove chatter from members around the league.

All in all, both DJ Hill and Josh Trim were able to make their mark on the league and their respective teams this season as both players will certainly be on opposing teams radar in 2021.

Check back with us tomorrow as we continue announcing the winners of the 2020 regular season awards.  Next up we will announce the Manager of the Year winners on both the American and National League side.