Malek Named Tri-Big Ten Player Of The Year
5/21/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 21, 2002
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State junior outfielder Bob Malek (Canton, Mich.) became the first player in Michigan State baseball history to earn Big Ten Player of the Year honors, when he was named tri-player of the year on Tuesday. Malek also earned a spot on the All-Big Ten First Team, becoming just the fifth Spartan to be a two-time first-team honoree. Malek was joined on the first team by senior designated hitter Kyle Geswein (Dayton, Ohio). Senior outfielder Chris McCuiston (Birmingham, Mich.) and senior pitcher Nick Bates (Blissfield, Mich.) earned all-conference second-team honors.
"This is a great honor for Bob Malek and for Michigan State University," said MSU head coach Ted Mahan. "Bob certainly earned this award and everything else he accomplishes. He has become a better player every year. This year we asked him to be more selective and look for more hitting counts, in hope that he could hit for more power. He has responded with 13 home runs this season. We are very excited that he is the first Michigan State player to earn Player of the Year honors."
Malek finished the regular season with a .394 batting average. He led the Big Ten with 19 doubles, tying the MSU single-season record. He ranked second in the conference in total bases (144), runs (60) and RBI (62) and finished third in hits (80) and tied for fourth in home runs (13). This season, Malek established a new MSU career RBI mark with 162. He currently has 237 hits on his career, one short of the Spartan career record. Minnesota second baseman Luke Appert and Indiana outfielder Kennard Jones share Player of the Year honors with Malek.
"This is a huge honor for me," said Malek. "A lot of the guys on our team are deserving of this honor. I am just happy to have an opportunity to play well. My teammates deserve a lot of credit for this award. Their success allowed me to put up some of the numbers I have this season."
A 2001 All-American, Malek was also a 2001 First-Team All-Big Ten honoree, after earning second-team honors as a freshman in 2000. He joins Charles Matthews (1954-55), Joe Porrevecchio (1962-64), Al Weston (1974, '76-77) and Mark Mulder (1997-98) as the only Spartans to be selected to the all-conference first team on more than one occasion.
For Geswein, it is the first time in his four-year career to earn a spot on an all-conference team. Geswein hit a career-best .325, while ranking in a tie for fourth in the conference with 13 home runs. For his career, he has hit 35 long balls, making him MSU's all-time home run leader. This season, Geswein is third on the team with 45 RBI.
McCuiston earned the first all-conference honors of his career with an amazingly productive offensive season. The senior centerfielder led the Big Ten with 67 RBI and 147 total bases. The 67 RBI also established a new single-season record for the Spartans. McCuiston placed second in the Big Ten in hits (84), doubles (18) and home runs (15), while ranking fifth in runs scored. The 15 home runs rank as the fourth-best single-season total in MSU history. For much of the year, McCuiston ranked among the nation's leaders in home runs and RBI per contest.
Senior righthander Nick Bates was the only member of the Spartan pitching staff to earn all-conference honors. Bates emerged as a force in his final campaign, striking out 94 opposing batters in just 80.0 innings of work, ranking among the nation's leaders in strikeouts per nine innings pitched. The 94 strikeouts rank third in the conference and fourth on the MSU single-season list. He posted a 9-3 record with a 3.04 ERA. Among his other impressive stats are his team-leading seven complete games and the fact that he has allowed just four home runs all season. In fact, opposing hitters are batting just .229 off him and .218 in Big Ten games.
All-Big Ten TeamsPosition First Team Second Team Third TeamFirst Base Brad Carlson, IOWA Andy Schutzenhofer, ILL Travis Tharp, NUSecond Base Luke Appert, MINN Christian Snavely, OSU Mike DeRenzo, PSUShortstop Scott Welch, MINN Brock Koman, MICH Eric Blakeley, INDThird Base Vasili Spanos, IND Ian Mattiace, IOWA Luke Simmons, ILLOutfield Kennard Jones, IND Doug Deeds, OSU Drew Davidson, ILL Bob Malek, MSU Jason Kennedy, MINN Sam Steidl, MINN Nick Swisher, OSU Chris McCuiston, MSU Kyle Thousand, IOWADesignated Hitter Kyle Geswein, MSU Mike Sokol, MICH Ben Pattee, MINNCatcher Patrick Arlis, ILL Joe Wilkins, OSU Jeremy Beaulieu, MINNPitcher Chadd Blasko, PUR Nick Bates, MSU Ryan Bos, NU Andy Dickinson, ILL Rich Hill, MICH Bobby Korecky, MICH Scott Lewis, OSU Josh Newman, OSU Zach Otte, IND Nate Smith, OSU Nick Vitielliss, IND Mike Watson, PSU C.J. Woodrow, MINNRelief Pitcher James (J.A.) Happ, NU Dave Mazurek, ILL Brandon Steen, OSU
Tri-Players of the Year: Bob Malek, MSU; Luke Appert, MINN; Kennard Jones, INDPitcher of the Year: C.J. Woodrow, MINNFreshman of the Year: Scott Lewis, OSUCoach of the Year: John Anderson, MINN