Former Ohio State Pitcher Scott Lewis Wins Most Spectacular Pitcher Award – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/14/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Sept. 14, 2006
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Kinston left-hander Scott Lewis, with a 1.48 earned run average, is the winner of Minor League Baseball’s inaugural Most Spectacular Pitcher Award. The award, sponsored by VYTORIN®, goes to the qualifying pitcher with the lowest earned run average for the regular season, among all domestic minor leagues.
Lewis dominated Carolina League hitters all season, allowing just 84 hits and 19 earned runs in 115.2 innings. He exhibited outstanding control, walking a mere 28 batters while striking out 123. Lewis had just a 3-3 record, the result of being on a strict 65-pitch limit. His longest outing of the regular season was 5.2 innings, which he accomplished four times.
The pitch limit was necessary due to the Tommy John surgery Lewis underwent in 2003 when he was at Ohio State University. Despite the surgery, the Cleveland Indians selected Lewis in the third round of the 2004 June Draft. Lewis went a combined 0-3 with a 4.71 ERA in just 21 total innings in 2004 and 2005 for Mahoning Valley in the NY-Penn League.
Lewis will receive a trophy and a check for $7,500. On hand to present the first ever Most Spectacular Pitcher Award, sponsored by VYTORIN, is legendary Hall of Fame pitcher, Rollie Fingers. Both Fingers and Lewis will be in attendance for an award ceremony at the Triple-A Championship game in Oklahoma City on September 19th, just a week before Lewis’ 23rd birthday.
Lewis was a third-round pick out of Ohio State in 2004 after starting just five games at Ohio State in 2004 after undergoing elbow surgery in May 2003. The left-handed pitcher from Washington Court House, Ohio (Washington) was 1-0 with a 3.48 ERA in 20.2 innings his final season. In 2003, a season in which he earned Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and First Team All-American honors, Lewis led the conference with a 1.61 ERA and 127 strikeouts in 83.2 innings and was 9-1 as a sophomore. He was 18-3 as a Buckeye and had a 2.38 career ERA. His college won-loss percentage is tied for second all time behind Steve Arlin, while his ERA ranks third behind Arlin and Dick Boggs.
The pitcher with the best ERA in each basic classification of Minor League Baseball (Triple-A; Double-A; Single-A; Short-Season) receives a $500 cash prize, provided he is not the overall winner. The classification winners are Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s Brian Mazone (2.03 ERA in 128.1 Triple-A innings); Matt Albers (2.17 ERA in 116.0 Double-A innings while with Corpus Christi); and Tri-City ValleyCats hurler Chris Salamida (1.06 ERA in 68.0 Short-Season innings).
To be eligible for the Most Spectacular Pitcher Award, sponsored by VYTORIN, a pitcher must have worked a minimum of 112 innings, which is the standard for ERA titles in leagues playing the usual 140-game Minor League Baseball season. Short-Season league pitchers must have worked a minimum of 45 innings to be eligible for the classification prize.
