Seth Brown Named Tom Racine MVP Winner

BURLINGTON, VT --- Outfielder Seth Brown was named the 2015 Tom Racine Award winner as the Vermont Lake Monsters team MVP as voted on by fans, the New York-Penn League team and the Burlington Free Press announced today prior to the Lake Monsters game against the Hudson Valley Renegades.

A 19th-round pick of the Oakland Athletics in the 2015 draft out of Lewis-Clark College, Brown entered play on Thursday hitting .297 (65-for-219) with 28 runs scored, 18 doubles, 3 homers and 33 RBI in 57 games for Vermont this summer. He is currently tied for sixth in batting and fourth in doubles in the New York-Penn League, while his 18 doubles are also tied for the fourth-most in Lake Monsters history.

One of two Lake Monsters selected to play in the New York-Penn League All-Star Game, Brown went 1-for-2 as the starting centerfielder. He got off to a quick start with Vermont, hitting safely in his first five games including a three-run triple and a three-run double. He also had a grand slam home run at State College on July 28th and has hit safely in 41 of his first 57 games started this season, including eight of the last nine (hitting .389) to raise his overall average from .279 to the current .297.

The Tom Racine MVP award was created by the Burlington Free Press back in 1996 and past winners include current Major Leaguers Derek Norris and Justin Maxwell, along with former Major Leaguers Michael Hinckley, Matt Watson, Talmadge Nunnari and Chris Stowers. The award is named for Tom Racine, who served as the General Manager of the Vermont Expos in 1994 and 1995 before passing away in January of 1996.

The award was presented to Brown by Burlington Free Press President and Publisher Al Getler and longtime Free Press reporter Mike Donoghue