Denis Phipps Named Frontier League Player of the Week

TROY, NY - The Frontier League of Professional Baseball has named ValleyCats OF/DH Denis Phipps the Frontier League Player of the Week for the week of August 15, 2022. The Tri-City veteran is the third player in franchise history to take home a weekly award from the Frontier League after RHP Josh Hiatt and 1B Brad Zunica took home Pitcher and Player of the Week honors respectively last season. Phipps is the first Tri-City player to win the award this season.

The 37-year-old Phipps helped the ‘Cats slug their way to a 4-1 record this week in divisional matchups against the Ottawa Titans and the Trois-Rivières Aigles. Phipps tallied a .375 AVG, 1.125 SLG, .429 OBP, 4 HR, 5 R, and 11 RBI in 5 games in a rain-shortened week for the ‘Cats. In a multi-HR performance on August 19 in Trois-Rivières, Phipps smashed his 30th and 31st home runs of the season, increasing his league-lead in longballs, and making him the first player in franchise history to hit 30 or more home runs in a single-season. Phipps increased his league-lead in RBI with an 11 RBI week, bringing his season total to 86, the most by a player in a single-season in franchise history.

The veteran OF/DH has been an integral part of the team’s late season playoff push. Phipps and the ValleyCats travel to Ottawa to continue a ten-game road trip. After a four game set with the Titans, including a twin bill on Tuesday, August 23rd, the ‘Cats will head to Pomona, NY to take on the New York Boulders to end the longest, and last, road trip of the regular season. The ‘Cats return home on Tuesday, August 30th, to kickoff a six-game homestand against the Sussex County Miners and Empire State Greys to wrap up the regular season. Get your tickets today at the box office, by calling 518-629-CATS, or by logging on to tcvalleycats.com.