McAlpine named 2013 Collegiate Baseball Player of Year by SABR Dallas-Fort Worth chapter
DALLAS, Texas (January 14, 2014) — Dallas Baptist’s Duncan McAlpine has been named recipient of the prestigious and 21st annual 2013 Howard Green Metroplex Collegiate Player of the Year Award presented by the Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research.
Elvin Rodriguez, who was first team NAIA All-America and paced Northwood to its initial berth on the 2013 NAIA World Series, has merited the second annual 2013 Carroll Beringer SABR Metroplex Collegiate Division Player of the Year.
Both will be presented their awards at 2014 upcoming baseball events by SABR Chapter President Paul Rogers and awards’ committee members. McAlpine will receive his plaque at the 22nd annual DBU Baseball Banquet on the Dallas Baptist campus while Rodriquez will be presented the Beringer Award during the Northwood-McPherson baseball doubleheader in Cedar Hill, Texas, Saturday, Feb. 8.
In the second year of Division I and collegiate level awards from the SABR Hall-Ruggles Chapter, these kudos honor the memories of chapter founder and original president Green, who was a legend in Texas professional and college baseball circles for over six decades and also served in several elected capacities in Tarrant County; and Fort Worth Cats standout and longtime SABR member Beringer, who pitched in professional baseball for 14 years, was 1959 Texas League Player of the Year with the Fort Worth Cats and served as a coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1961-72) and Philadelphia Phillies (1973-78).
McAlpine and Rodriguez have left their names etched highly in both their schools’ and Metroplex college baseball annals for years to come.
DBU’s McAlpine, who played third base and was a catcher, set a school record with 49 career home runs for one of the area’s most successful programs over the last 30 years. The 5-10, 216-pound senior from North Richland Hills and Birdville HS, also has one of the best showings of any collegian over seven days from May 13-19 as NCBWA National Hitter of the Week. He he starred in four games, including a win at No. 18 Oklahoma, was 11-for-20 (.550 average) with four homers, seven runs, 11 RBI, three doubles, two walks, and a 1.300 slugging percentage.
The first team All-Western Athletic Conference performer and 17th round draft choice of the Detroit Tigers in June, also earned first team Capital One CoSIDA Academic All-District laurels with a 3.80 grade point average (4.0 scale) in Kinesiology. The North Richland Hills resident earned first team ABCA/Rawlings All-America and All-Region 6 laurels for his senior campaign.
He also led the WAC in homers with 17 and was tied for sixth in NCAA Division I while driving in 58 runs. McAlpine led coach Dan Heefner’s ’13 Patriots to within one win of making their possible record fourth NCAA appearance in six years before UTSA downed DBU in the WAC championship finals at Grand Prairie’s QuickTrip Park.
McAlpine was among the WAC Top Five in virtually every batting category in DBU’s first season of conference play with a .333 batting average for 58 games, 72 hits, 18 doubles, 35 walks, a .966 fielding percentage while starting at dual positions, and team-leading slugging percentage at .662 with a DBU-best on-base percentage of .437.
Rodriguez also certified his award with one of top individual seasons in the record-setting season for the senior from Rio Grande, Puerto Rico. The slick-fielding shortstop helped coach Jeremy Kennedy’s squad win he Red River Conference title with a school-wins-record 44-13 mark. Besides making the Avista NAIA World Series field for the first occasion, he helped NU finish a school-highest sixth in the final NAIA rankings.
The second Carroll Beringer Award winner and 6-2, 193-pound standout started all 57 games for the Knights, was 76-for-211 at the plate, paced the team with a .360 batting average, .540 slugging percentage, 50 RBI, 17 doubles, three triples, and five home runs, 114 total bases, and had a .540 slugging percentage. He was 22-of-26 in the stolen base area, struck out just 30 times in 248 total plate appearances, handled 239 total chances afield with a team-most 140 assists, and had a hand in 22 double plays. He also achieved first team All-Red River Conference and All-NAIA Region honors.
They join the likes of previous SABR awardees such as San Francisco Giants’ star Hunter Pence (2012 MLB All-Star) and top prospects such as Michael Choice of UTA, TCU’s Scott Malone and Lance Broadway of the Chicago White Sox as well as DBU’s Drew Holder, Brandon Harper, Evan Bigley, and Jason Krizan, and Boomer Collins, among others.
Previous winners of the Howard Green SABR Metroplex College Baseball Player of the Year have been Scott Malone, TCU, 1993; Jason Parsons, Dallas Baptist, 1994; Johnny Issom, Texas Wesleyan, 1995; Karl Chatman, Dallas Baptist, 1996; Brandon Harper, Dallas Baptist, 1997; Royce Huffman, TCU, 1998; Cody Sundbeck, Dallas Baptist, 1999; (co) Jon Browder, Dallas Baptist; Pat Hannon, Texas Wesleyan, 2000; Mike Hall, Texas Wesleyan, 2001; Terry Trofholz, TCU, 2002; Clayton Jerome, TCU, 2003; Hunter Pence, Texas-Arlington, 2004; Lance Broadway, TCU, 2005; Drew Holder, Dallas Baptist, 2006; Sam Demel, TCU, 2007; Evan Bigley, Dallas Baptist, 2008; Matt Otteman, Texas-Arlington, 2009; (co) Michael Choice, Texas-Arlington; Matt Purke, TCU, 2010; Jason Krizan, Dallas Baptist, 2011; and Boomer Collins, Dallas Baptist, 2012.
2012 Carroll Beringer Award: Chase Brown, UT-Dallas.
For more information, please contact Bo Carter at stcarter@txwes.edu or (214) 418-6132.
Originally published: January 14, 2014. Last Updated: January 14, 2014.