Isotopes Announce 2022 Player Award Winners
September 18, 2022 – Pacific Coast League (PCL) – Albuquerque Isotopes News Release
The Albuquerque Isotopes today announced their annual end-of-season player awards in an on-field ceremony prior to today’s contest.
Wynton Bernard was chosen by his teammates as the unanimous team Most Valuable Player – the first unanimous selection for any award in team history. He became the third player in Isotopes history to complete a 20-20 season Friday after swatting the Isotopes’ MiLB record-breaking 14th grand slam by a club in a single season. As of today, Bernard is first in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) in batting average (.335), slugging (.598) and OPS (.986), second in hits (135), total bases (241) and extra-base hits (58), third in RBI (87) and OBP (.388), tied for fourth in doubles (30), fifth in runs (91) and tied for seventh in stolen bases (29). Bernard was named PCL Player of the Week for April 26-May 1 and PCL Player of the Month for July. He made his MLB debut with the Colorado Rockies on August 12 in his 11th season in professional baseball.
Bernard was also chosen as the Fan Favorite, as voted on by the fans, for a second-straight season.
Pitcher of the Year honors went to right-hander Zach Lee. The Plano, TX, native has tallied 10 saves on the year, which is tied for fifth in the PCL. Lee has faced the minimum number of batters 24 times in an outing this year. His 61 games pitched also leads all of MiLB. This award is voted on by his teammates.
Jonathan Morales has showed his defensive prowess by not only catching 41 games but also slotting in at third base 19 times and first base eight times for the Isotopes to garner Defensive Player of the Year honors. He has a .991 fielding percentage behind the dish and thrown out 32 percent of would-be base stealers. This award is voted on by his teammates.
Carlos Pérez has hit 28 homers – tied for third in the PCL – en route to earning Power Hitter of the Year laurels. In the PCL, he also ranks tied for fourth in extra-base hits (54) and tenth in slugging (.508). His 28 homers are the second-most in a season during his career. This award is voted on by his teammates.
Utility infielder Coco Montes was selected as the Mr. Hustle award winner. Montes has played 35 games at second, 32 at short and 34 at third base to go along with his .284/.362/.519 slashline. He ranks seventh in the PCL in slugging (.519), ninth in OPS (.881) and total bases (203) and tied for ninth in extra-base hits (50). Additionally, he has hit 19 homers – a career-high. This award is voted on by his teammates.
Manager Warren Schaeffer was honored as the Jennifer Riordan Most-Community Minded Person. Schaeffer became the second manager in Isotopes history to earn the award (Dean Treanor, 2008). This award is chosen by Isotopes Director of Community Relations Michelle Montoya.
• Discuss this story on the Pacific Coast League message board…
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
