Emmanuel Rivera: 2017 SAL batting champ

    Lexington Legends third baseman Emmanuel Rivera had two hits in four at bats on the last day of the season to claim the South Atlantic League batting title for 2017.
                A seventh-inning double in Monday's game at Hagerstown gave Rivera a .310 average for the season, one point better than Greensboro's James Nelson, who finished at .309 after going two-for-four in a win over Hickory earlier in the day.
                Rivera needed the second hit. Had he gone 1-for-4, Nelson would've won the title, .3088 to .3081. Nelson had 122 hits in 395 at bats. Rivera, who also led the league in hits, had 144 hits in 464 at bats.
                Rivera becomes the second Legend in the team's 17-year history to claim the batting title. J.D. Martinez, now with the Arizona Diamondbacks, won with a .362 average in 2010.
  A native of Puerto Rico, Rivera, 21, was named to the South Atlantic League post-season All-Star team. He was a 19th-round pick by Kansas City in the June 2015 first-year player draft.
   "What a great season for Emmanuel," said Legends' President/CEO Andy Shea. "He performed consistently all year long, and then came through with the hits when he had to have them in the last game of the season. It's been great to have him with us, and we wish him well as he moves on in the Royals' organization."