As part of the New York Boulders’ Bould Decade celebrating the franchise’s first 10 years of play, fans will be voting to fill a position on our All-Decade team each week for eight successive weeks.
The fifth week of voting gives fans the opportunity to select the team’s top shortstop from a field of five, including two who parlayed strong years with the Boulders to contracts with Major League organizations, who shined over the team’s initial decade of play. This week’s voting is sponsored by Beckerle Lumber of Orangeburg.
Fans can cast their vote for their top first baseman from Friday, May 8, through Thursday, May 14, by sliding to www.NYBoulders.com. The first baseman with the most votes will earn a spot on the All-Decade team.
The final results will be announced during a Podcast on the Boulders’ Facebook page on Friday, May 15, at 9:30 a.m., hosted by Seth Cantor, the voice of the Boulders and the Vice-President of Business Development.
Altice cable television in Rockland County will also rebroadcast each week’s All-Decade team announcement the following Thursday morning at 9:30 a.m. on channel 76, except for channel 77 in Ramapo and channel 15 in North Rockland.
Over the first three weeks of voting, fans have selected Marcus Nidiffer as the catcher, along with starting pitchers Richard Salazar and Bo Budkevics, closer Adrian Martin and first baseman XXX to the All-Decade team.
Here is a breakdown of the shortstops on this week’s ballot:
Ray Stokes (2011): In his one season in Rockland, Stokes hit a solid .268 with three HRs and 18 RBI while scoring 40 runs and stealing 23 bases.
Cole Kraft (2011-2012): In 49 games in 2011, Kraft hit .281, following that up with a .240 campaign in 2012 that saw him knock in 36 runs and score 46 times. Over two seasons, he finished with a .253 batting average.
Steve Nyisztor (2014-2015): After a cameo in 2013, Nyisztor was off to a blazing start in 2014 that saw him, in 40 games, hitting .341 with 24 RBI and 30 runs scored, the production earning him a contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks’ organization. He returned to Rockland the next summer to hit .275 with three HRs and 54 RBI.
Junior Arrojo (2014-2016): A member of the 2014 Can-Am League championship team, over three seasons, Arrojo hit .313 while playing a steady shortstop. In 2015 and 2016, the 36 times he was hit by a pitch in each season set Can-Am League marks. He also swiped 43 bases in 2015 and 47 bases in 2016. Following the 2016 campaign, he signed a contract with the Miami Marlins’ organization.
J.C. Rodriguez (2018): A power-hitting shortstop, Rodriguez smacked 14 round-trippers in his lone season in Rockland to go along with a .244 batting average, 39 RBI and 57 runs scored.
Debuting in 1993, the Frontier League is the largest and longest-running of the modern independent leagues and features teams stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River and from the Ohio River to the St. Lawrence Seaway. More information and the complete 2020 schedule can be found at www.frontierleague.com.