Playoff MVPs: Blake Snell and Ronald Acuña

The 2023 Roger Dorn Baseball League Playoffs offered another wild finish with historic and record-setting performances as the Lake Merced Goutfish held off the Spokane Fightin' Fish and Mission Viejo Maulers for their second League Championship.

Here are the top performers on the pitching and hitting side.

Playoff Pitching MVP: LHP Blake Snell, Lake Merced Goutfish

The Lake Merced Goutfish pitching staff took hold of the RDBL Playoffs and never let go, setting a League Record with a 2.52 ERA led by ace Blake Snell who was awarded the RDBL Pitching Playoff Most Valuable Player Award for 2023 in his club's Championship season.

Snell was elite all season but took things to new heights in the RDBL Playoffs, pacing all pitchers with 170.0 points while registering a 0.47 ERA, the lowest in RDBL History. The left-hander allowed just 15 hits in 38.0 innings, notching a 0.89 WHIP.

Snell's 170.0 points were the 7th most in RDBL Playoff History with Runner-Up Gerrit Cole of the Mission Viejo Maulers finishing with 167.0 points, the 9th most in League History.

Snell joins Alek Manoah (2022), Max Fried (2021), Jack Flaherty (2019), Jacob deGrom (2018), Justin Verlander (2017) and Mark Melancon (2016) as Pitching Playoff MVPs since the RDBL switched to the format seven seasons ago.

Snell will be back to lead the Goutfish rotation in 2024, his final season under team control on a 3/$10 contract that stood out as one of the league's most valuable this year.

Playoff Hitting MVP: OF Ronald Acuña, Lunatic Fringe

For the second time in as many years, the Regular Season Hitter of the Year continued their dominant performance in the RDBL Playoffs to also earn the Playoff Hitting Most Valuable Player. Aaron Judge accomplished the feat in 2022 with Ronald Acuña matching it this season after pacing all hitters with 155.5 points.

Acuña, who also led and set a RDBL Record with 541.0 Regular Season points, slashed .368/.429/.736 over the final five Periods, posting the second most points in Playoff History.

Acuña joins Judge (2022), Bryce Harper (2021), Kyle Schwarber (2019), Tommy Pham (2018), Jose Ramirez (2017) and Yadier Molina (2016) as Playoff Hitting MVPs while becoming the first Fringe player to take home the Award.

The star outfielder is set to return on a 2/$66 deal, the seventh highest contract in League History.

Fish Break Seven of 17 Records Set in Historic 2023 Season

The Roger Dorn Baseball League saw 17 records broken in the 2023 Season, led by the Spokane Fightin' Fish who set or extended seven marks while Hitter of the Year Ronald Acuña set three himself for the Lunatic Fringe in a historic season at the plate.

In total, we tracked 87 Statistical Records with the Fightin' Fish leading all RDBL Franchises with 22 of those marks followed by the Alamo Short Stacks (15), Lunatic Fringe (10) and Mission Viejo Maulers (10).

The Lake Merced Goutfish logged three RDBL Records in 2023, matching the Spokane Fightin' Fish with two League Titles while Blake Snell set the new mark for best ERA in a RDBL Playoff (0.47), leading to the best Team ERA (2.52).

All 87 Records can be sorted by team, season and category which can be found on the far right side of the RDBL Record Book.

It wasn't all positive as four Record lows were set in 2023 after rough Playoff performances from the Mt. Diablo Devils and Idaho Taters who set new lows in pitching and total points.

2023 Roger Dorn Baseball League Records

Most League Championships	Lake Merced Goutfish	2
Tied Spokane Fightin' Fish
Most Regular Season Titles	Spokane Fightin' Fish	2
Tied Alamo Short Stacks
Most Division Titles	Spokane Fightin' Fish	5
Most Cash Winnings in RDBL History	Spokane Fightin' Fish	$4,990
Most All-Time Regular Season Points	Spokane Fightin' Fish	69,831
Most All-Time Playoff Points	Spokane Fightin' Fish	8,620
Most Doubles in a Regular Season	Freddie Freeman, Clovers	50
Most Home Runs in RDBL Playoffs	Spokane Fightin' Fish	74
​Tied Fringe ('19), Fightin' Fish ('21)
Most Singles in a Regular Season	Luiz Arraez, Fish	136
Most Steals in a Regular Season	Ronald Acuna, Fringe	59
Most Total Hitting Points in Full Season	Ronald Acuna, Fringe	696.5
Most Hitting Points in a Regular Season	Ronald Acuna, Fringe	541
Best ERA in RDBL Playoffs	Lake Merced Goutfish	2.52
Best Starter ERA in RDBL Playoffs	Blake Snell, Goutfish	0.47
Most Steals in a Regular Season	Meinert Hops	179
Most Steals in RDBL Playoffs	Mission Viejo Maulers	49
Most Walks in a Regular Season	Juan Soto, Taters	109

2023 Roger Dorn Baseball League Record Lows

Lowest Pitching Total in RDBL Playoffs	Idaho Taters	401.0
Highest ERA in RDBL Playoffs	Mt. Diablo Devils	4.83
Highest WHIP in RDBL Playoffs	Mt. Diablo Devils	1.38
Lowest Total Points in RDBL Playoffs	Mt. Diablo Devils	1,201.5

Pitcher of the Year: Gerrit Cole, Maulers

The 2023 Season was expected to be a rebuilding year for the Mission Viejo Maulers and General Manager Chris Ferraro. In March, the Maulers dealt away Justin Verlander and Aaron Judge, 2022's American League Cy Young and Most Valuable Player, to the Spokane Fightin' Fish to enter the season with a reloaded Farm System and blank slate on the Active Roster.

Carrying over just six players for $10, Ferraro cashed in $120 combined on Gerrit Cole and Luis Castillo to lead their rotation. Five months later, the duo finished the 2023 RDBL Regular Season as the top two pitchers in scoring with Cole edging out the Mariners ace for the Roger Dorn Baseball League Pitcher of the Year Award.

Cole was spectacular from start to finish, posting a league-best 474.0 points over 27 starts, logging 168.0 innings. He allowed just 132 hits with an elite 2.95 ERA and 1.04 WHIP. While the RDBL Award is handed out for the RDBL Regular Season timeframe, Cole hardly stopped producing for Ferraro and the Maulers in the Playoffs, ranking second in pitcher scoring while posting a 1.32 ERA and 0.73 WHIP over 41.0 dominant frames.

It's Cole's first RDBL Pitcher of the Year Award as he joins Justin Verlander (2019) as the second Mauler hurler to take home the honor. Cole joins Sandy Alcantara (2022), Walker Buehler (2021), Verlander (2019), Max Scherzer (2018, 2017), Madison Bumgarner (2016), Jake Arrieta (2015), Felix Hernandez (2014) and Clayton Kershaw (2013) as Pitcher of the Year winners.

The right-hander is expected to be back atop the Maulers rotation under his 2/$70 contract with Castillo (2/$50) right behind him to open 2024.

Honorable Mention for the Award included Castillo, Zac Gallen (Hops), Logan Webb (Hops) and Framber Valdez (Goutfish).