Coby Mayo Named Eastern League Most Valuable Player

BOWIE, MD – Minor League Baseball, the Eastern League, and the Bowie Baysox announced today that Baysox third baseman COBY MAYO has earned the Eastern League’s Most Valuable Player award for the 2023 season. Mayo, the Baltimore Orioles’ number four prospect according to MLB Pipeline, is the fourth Baysox player to win the award in the team’s 30-year history, joining Calvin Pickering (1998), Lou Montanez (2008), and Garabez Rosa (2017).

The 21-year-old was the Opening Day third baseman for the Baysox, going 1-for-3 with two walks and an RBI double in Bowie’s 8-0 win to begin the year. He collected four RBI in the Baysox opening weekend series in Hartford, including his first home run of the season during the second game of the year, a solo shot. Mayo finished the first month of the season with a .265 batting average and three home runs, collecting hits in 14-of-19 games played.

After a brief 0-for-7 start to the month of May, Coby shifted into gear for his award-winning campaign by going 3-for-4 with three RBI, eventually slashing .312/.414/.595 over the remaining 23 games in May. Another four home runs and 16 RBI would push him up to seven homers and 23 RBI on the season total. A 1-for-4 performance on the road in Harrisburg on May 13 began another impressive feat for Mayo, as he would reach base safely in 33-consecutive games to June 20. It was the longest on-base streak for a Baysox batter in 2023 and the second-longest streak in the Eastern League.

June solidified Mayo’s resume for the award. The right-hander was the most feared hitter in the league over a two-week stretch between June 13 and June 25. In a seven-game series with Richmond starting on June 13, Mayo went 10-for-24 at the plate with three home runs and eight RBI. Leaving the yard in three-consecutive games between June 15 and June 17, his most prominent came in the middle game, as Mayo slugged a walk-off solo home run in the ninth inning to deliver Bowie a 3-2 win. As Bowie moved on to a six-game series against the Altoona Curve in Pennsylvania, Mayo continued to dominate opposing pitching. He went 12-for-26 at the plate, smashing another three home runs, and driving in five more runs. The Eastern League honored Mayo its Player of the Week award following both series, the only player in the League to win the award consecutively. Overall, Mayo slashed .340/.467/.711 in June, leading the Eastern League in both on-base percentage and slugging percentage. While he added a league-leading eight home runs, as well as 10 doubles, 18 runs batted in, and 19 runs scored, Mayo was a clear decision to win the League Player of the Month award, the tenth recipient of the award in Baysox history.

Mayo went on to go 10-for-31 at the plate in July with another pair of home runs before earning his promotion to Triple-A Norfolk at the mid-season break. With the Tides, Mayo finished the regular season slashing .267/.393/.512 with 12 home runs and 55 RBI in 62 games.

At the time of his promotion, Mayo led the Eastern League in slugging percentage (.603) and OPS (1.027), while holding the third-highest batting average (.307) and tied for third with 17 home runs. Despite only playing in 78 of Bowie’s 137 games, Mayo’s 30 doubles still led the Eastern League at the end of the year, three more than the second-best mark.

Mayo’s season continues with the Triple-A Norfolk tides on Tuesday night, as the Tides begin the International League Championship Series at Harbor Park in Norfolk. The first pitch of the best-of-three series is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.

The 2024 Baysox season begins April 5 at Prince George’s Stadium against Reading. Single Game Tickets will be available later. For more information on Full and Partial Season Ticket packages and Group Tickets, please call (301) 805-6000 or visit Baysox.com. Fans are welcome to keep up to date with Baysox news during the offseason by visiting baysox.com and by following the Baysox on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.