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.
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