Steldt Snares 4th MVP; Martin Wins Golden A at Athletic Club Awards Banquet
Posted: January 24, 2022
HAIR-REE! HAIR-REE! HAIR-REE!
The chant that rings out at Wildwood Park whenever Harry Steldt strides up to the plate rang out at the Elks Club Saturday, January 8, when the Sheboygan A’s slugger was called to the podium to accept the 2021 Most Valuable Player Award at the Sheboygan Athletic Club’s Annual Awards Dinner.
He led the club in hitting with a .338 average and also led in games played, 63 (all of them); plate appearances and at-bats, runs scored, hits, runs batted in, home runs, and total bases. It was the 11-year veteran’s 4th MVP. He won it in 2012, 2018 and shared it with Josh Moses in 2017.
The batting title was also his fourth (.347 in 2013, .385 in 2017, and .356 in 2018). Steldt’s 11-year career batting average is now .320.
Others to crack the .300 barrier for the A’s this season were Colin Butkiewicz .364 (4 games), T.J. Roberts .354 (15 games), Jacoby Andreas .316 (39 games), and Ross Krist, .300 (60 games).
Jared Reklaitis stood atop strong A’s pitching staff and was voted Most Valuable Pitcher. He went 5-2 with a 1.04 earned run average. Reklaitis fanned 77 in 52 innings. Other top pitching performances were turned in by Joey Pettit, 5-2, 2.20, saves, and Eric Schmitz, 4-1, 2.21. Workhorse Brad Rindfleisch won three games, saved three, and struck out 99 in 72 innings. Davis Wilson, Noah Imrie, Bryce Lovisa, and Mac Doherty combined for 12 more wins.
The diving catches and .991 fielding percentage of centerfielder TD Walker earned him the Most Valuable Defensive Player award for the second straight year and Joey Pettit, who hit .274, fielded .949 from the demanding shortstop position and went 5-2, 2.20 on the mound was named Rooke of the Year.
Bennet Becker was given skipper Tim Moyer’s Manager’s Award and Rindfleisch took General Manager Denny Moyer’s Sine Qua Non Award.
The Athletic Club’s top Award, the Golden A, went to Mike Martin. Martin, who has been involved with local baseball since serving as a batboy for the Kingsbury Brewers, was an A’s player, umpire, umpire coordinator, club officer and currently does the play-by-play announcing on the live stream.
Other awards went to: Heidenreiter Bus Service, Sponsor of the Year; Mike and Mary LeRoy, Fan of the Year, and the club seamstress Annette Krepsky, Special Award.
The Sheboygan A's are members of the Wisconsin State League and Northeastern Wisconsin Baseball League. The A's have helped develop more than 43 players that have reached professional baseball, including 2002 World Series Champion Jarrod Washburn (Anaheim Angels). All Sheboygan A's home games are played at Wildwood Baseball Park in Sheboygan. Connect with the A's on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
