Rochester, Minn. – The Northwoods League announced the 2019 Postseason All-Star Team and award winners on Saturday, August 10. Madison outfielder Justice Bigbie was named the League’s Most Valuable Player and Traverse City’s Andrew Hoffman was named Pitcher of the Year as voted by the League’s coaches and members of the media. Josh Rebandt from Traverse City was named the Manager of the Year and Will Flynt from Wisconsin Rapids won the Coach of the Year Award.
Bigbie, a sophomore at Western Carolina University, was a 2019 mid-season All-Star and was chosen for the Major League Dreams Showcase. In the All-Star Game he was 2 for 4 with two home runs and was selected as the Star of Stars (MVP) of the game. He currently has a .349 average and leads the league in RBI with 70 and is second in the league in home runs with 12. Bigbie is a native of Chesapeake, Virginia.
Andrew Hoffman, a right-handed pitcher from the Traverse City Pit Spitters, was named the Northwoods League Pitcher of the Year. Hoffman, a freshman at Oakland University, has appeared in 12 games and is tied for the league lead with eight wins and has a league low 1.08 ERA. He has 43 strikeouts in 58.1 innings pitched and was also a mid-season All-Star selection. Hoffman is from Plainfield, Illinois.
La Crosse first baseman J.T. Schwartz from UCLA was also selected for the Postseason All-Star Team and is currently leading the league in batting average at .381.
Bigbie, Hoffman and Schwartz are among the 30 players selected to the NWL’s Postseason All-Star team.
The Traverse City Pit Spitters led all teams with five selections while the St. Cloud Rox and the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters each had four players selected.
In his first season in Traverse City, Josh Rebandt of the Pit Spitters is the 2019 Manager of the Year. The Pit Spitters currently have the best overall record in the league at 51-19 and were the First and Second Half Champions in the Great Lakes East Division.
Will Flynt earned the award for 2019 Coach of the Year in the Northwoods League. Flynt is in his first year with the Rafters who currently have a 44–26 overall record.
Jarin Matheny of the Green Bay Booyah and Pete Knutson of the Eau Claire Express were recognized by their peers as Play-by-Play Announcers of the Year.
