Baseball
Eastern League announces nominees for Minor League Baseball awards
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Oct 21, 2009 - 3:12 PM

The Eastern League of Professional Baseball is pleased to announce that the league nominees for the Minor League Baseball postseason awards have been selected. These awards include the Rawlings Woman Executive of the Year, the Larry MacPhail Promotional Trophy and the John H. Johnson President’s Trophy. Winners of these awards will be selected by Minor League Baseball and will be honored at the 2009 Baseball Winter Meetings in Indianapolis, Indiana.

For the John H. Johnson President’s Trophy the Eastern League has nominated the New Britain Rock Cats. It is the third consecutive season that the New Britain organization has been nominated for this award, which is given out each season to one club in Minor League Baseball that best exemplifies the complete baseball franchise. The categories which are taken into consideration when selecting a winner for this award include contributions to the baseball industry, contributions to the community, long-term franchise stability, financial success of the operation and promotion of the baseball industry. The Rock Cats have been a part of the Eastern League since 1983, making the club the longest continually running sports franchise in the State of Connecticut and the second longest tenured club in the Eastern League. The 2009 season was the third consecutive year the Rock Cats have broken their single season attendance record, with a total of 366,682 fans passing through the turnstiles at New Britain Stadium this season. The club also set the franchise record for average attendance (5,556) and tied their record for sellouts (22). The Rock Cats also continued their strong charitable efforts in 2009, working to raise thousands of dollars for numerous organizations throughout the State of Connecticut in part through their non-profit organization, the Rock Cats Foundation.

For the second consecutive season the Eastern League has chosen the New Hampshire Fisher Cats as the nominee for the Larry MacPhail Promotional Trophy, which is given annually to one club in Minor League Baseball that did outstanding promotional work during the season. In what has become an annual tradition, the New Hampshire franchise broke their single season attendance record with a total of 386,991 fans coming out to Merchantsauto.com Stadium during the 2009 season. This was one of seven franchise attendance records that were set by the Fisher Cats during the 2009 season. One of the reasons fans continue to come out to Merchantsauto.com Stadium in record numbers is the promotional schedule put together by the New Hampshire staff. In 2009 the Fisher Cats had at least one giveaway or promotion at all of their home games. The club also continues to have a strong presence in their community, raising over 1.5-million dollars for charitable organizations since the 2006 season.

The Rawlings Woman Executive of the Year award is given out annually to one woman who has made an outstanding contribution to her club, league or to baseball. For this award the Eastern League is pleased to nominate Danielle Matteau, who is the New Hampshire Fisher Cats Director of Public Affairs. In her current role as Director of Public Affairs, Danielle manages the team's marketing and community relations efforts. She also works with the Toronto Blue Jays organization to oversee team related issues, sells corporate partnerships and runs the Fisher Cats Internship Program. One of her many responsibilities is the planning of the annual Granite State Baseball Dinner, which has raised over $300,000 over the past three years.

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