The American and National League Most Valuable Players were announced last night by Major League Baseball, and in the NL, it was Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich, who took home the award. Yelich, a former PONY star for Simi Youth Baseball in Simi Valley, California, batted .326 this season and recorded a .598 slugging percentage, which were best in the NL. He launched a career-high 36 home runs and accumulated a career-high 110 RBI and 22 stolen bases, while leading the Brewers to a National League Central Division Championship.
Yelich was also the leader of the 2006 Simi Valley Pony League World Series team that advanced to the championship game. Wearing #42, Yelich batted .462 (six-for-13), with a three-run home run, double, six RBI, seven runs scored, four stolen bases and a walk. In that Pony League World Series, Yelich tied a PLWS record for most runs scored in a game with five. Two others have now tied Yelich and Miguel Pagan of Caguas, Puerto Rico (2005) for the record.
Congratulations, Christian!
Check out this interview with Yelich from 2014 when he was with the Miami Marlins. Yelich discusses his PONY career, the Pony League World Series, which he still remembers to this day fondly and what it meant to him to be in the big leagues.