MABL/MSBL Player of the Week: Brian McGrath, Fresno Men’s Baseball League
By Steve LaMontia, Director of Communications
Below is a recent nomination for MSBL ‘Player of the Week’ from John Neri, manager of the Brewers in the Fresno Baseball League. He would like to recognize his pitcher, Brian McGrath, for his amazing ‘Iron Man’ performance on May 19th.
“My Name is John Neri. I am the manager of the Brewers in the Fresno Men’s Baseball League, 50-over Legends Division. The player I would like to recognize is my teammate, pitcher Brian McGrath.
Due to a rainout earlier in the season, the Brewers were scheduled to play a doubleheader against the Colts on May 19, 2024. Our pitcher Brian McGrath was scheduled to start Game One, in which he pitched a masterful game by throwing a variety of pitches and changing locations and speeds which kept Colt’s hitters off balance. He threw a 98-pitch complete game masterpiece. Brian had three strikeouts, allowed only one hit, and allowed no earned runs in the Brewers 11-2 victory.
In itself this would be worthy of ‘Player of the Week’ honors. However, our starting pitcher for game two was injured in game one and could not pitch in the second game. Brian stepped up and went beyond the call of duty by volunteering to start game two.
Brian not only started game two but kept the Brewers close in a game that would go down to the wire as the temperature climbed to the mid-80s. Overcoming the heat and fatigue, Brian completed the game, throwing another 106 pitches. While the Brewers came up on the short end of a tightly-contested 6-5 decision, Brian McGrath’s dedication, determination, and 204-pitch effort on that day will long be remembered in the annals of the Brewer franchise and is hopefully worthy of a ‘Player of the Week’ honor.”
Our goal at MSBL is to recognize any outstanding efforts nationwide. Our ‘Players of the Week’ stories are not designed to honor just one person per week, but multiple players if warranted. We have plenty of space so keep them coming! Please forward any recommendations to me at [email protected].