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Hank Minix Named Street Kids MVP

Slugger will be honored at this weekend’s banquet

November 20, 2006

Mishawaka –

On the final day of the 2006 season, going into the final two at bats of the season, Hank Minix and Jason Fowler were within percentage points of each other, both trying to win the batting title. Minix went on to win the batting title, and thus the triple crown (leading the team in batting average, home runs and rbi’s) and Fowler would finish second. That would not be Fowler’s only second place finish this season.

Hank Minix was named the Zolman Tire/Street Kids/Tanel Most Valuable Player on Monday, taking a whopping 65.5% of the votes, and beating out second place finisher Fowler, who took 12.7% of the votes. TJ Jorgensen, last years MVP, finished third with 11.3% of the vote and 10.5% of the votes went to the “other” category, with Joe Horvath receiving five write-in votes.

Minix broke several team records this season, most notable the single season home run mark of 55, set by Jorgensen in 1999. Minix finished with 68 homers and a record 229 rbi’s. He also set team records with most hits in a season (215), most at bats in a season (323), most tournament home runs in a season (17) and most tournament walks in a season (21, along with Tony Hardiman). He also set several game and double header records (see team record book for more).

For the season, Minix had 16 doubles and 36 walks, and scored 168 times. He played in 105 games, missing eight games due to a sore upper quad muscle in late August. His injury hut his swing during the last month of the season, and a red hot Jason Fowler caught up to and eventually passed Minix in the batting race. But Minix was able to hold on late and capture his first batting title and triple crown award.

“I’m happy that Hank won this award as he was the core of our offense for so long this season,” said Jorgensen, who will be presenting the award to Minix at this year’s awards banquet on Saturday. “Softball is an offensive game and he was our offense.”

There are some who think Minix is just a home run hitter, but winning the batting title quieted those critics. He showed patience at the plate with his 35 walks (good for third best on the team), and had more hits than any player in Street Kids history. His presence in the lineup, at 6’7” and over 330 pounds, is enough to make any pitcher nervous.

“His sheer size alone makes it hard to pitch against,” said one league pitcher this year. “You never know where he is going to hit the ball when the home runs are gone. As big and strong as he is, you don’t want to leave a pitch over the outside of the plate and have him drill the middle.”

Other critics of Minix feel that a player who is primarily a designated hitter, as Minix is, should not be deserving of such an elite award.

“Tell me how a DH can win that award?” asked one SKS.com reader. “If he only plays one side of the game, he is not the most valuable.”

Jorgensen is quick to defend the comment.

“If we had a player that had numbers even similar to Hank’s and played outstanding defense, then Hank would not be winning this award,” Jorgensen said. “The fact is, we don’t win games 5-3 or 6-4. We win them 23-16 or 20-10. Softball is an offensive sport and although good defense keeps you in the games, you are not going to win much without a powerful offense. And Hank provided that powerful offense.”

Fowler had a great season, also his first with the Street Kids, batting .665 with 32 home runs and 145 rbi’s. He also set the team record with 29 doubles in a season and had 22 walks. He also played good defense, filling in holes when needed in almost every position. He made a diving catch at first base that pretty much won the Tuesday Summer League title. Jorgensen batted .618 this season, helped by a .726 stretch from late July through the end of the season, and hit 37 home runs and drove in 166 runs. His rbi’s were second to Minix and his 37 home runs were third behind Horvath (38). Jorgensen set the single season record with 55 walks, 109 games and scored a record 183 runs.

Horvath’s five write-in votes were definitely warranted. He batted .814 with 38 home runs and 130 rbi’s, all in just 37 games. Unfortunately, the requirement to win the award is 200 at bats and play in both the summer and fall. Horvath had 129 at bats and only played a few summer games and a tournament with the team. Many people feel that Horvath will walk away with this award next year, as he committed to play a full season with the Kids this fall.

For now, it is Hank’s day. This Saturday, he will be awarded his MVP award in front of his teammates, their families, sponsors and other friends of the team at the College Football Hall of Fame. The event begins at 4pm and all readers of the site are welcome. Drinks and appetizers will be served from 4-5pm and the dinner/awards ceremony will begin at 5pm.