Flat Rock's Mark Richards and Mishawaka's Anthony Rieff Named 2021 Cy Young Award Winners

Throughout the week, the Old Republic Wiffleball League has been handing out its yearly honors. Today we announce the 2021 American and National League Cy Young Award winners. The Cy Young Award is presented to the top pitcher in each respective league.

Managers voted for their top three in each category for both the American and National League. Players/Managers received 3 points for a 1st place vote, 2 points for a 2nd place vote, and 1 point for a 3rd place vote. At the end of the week once all awards are handed out, the ballots will be made public.

Starting in the American League it was Flat Rock's southpaw Mark Richards who received the most votes with 40 while receiving 12 first place votes. Richards finished as the league's only 20 game winner which is a feat that not many people often accomplish in ORWBL. The crafty hurler was selected as the Starting Pitcher for the American League All Star team at this year's ORWBL All Star Game,.

Richards also led the league with 22 strikeouts as he ended up leading ORWBL in two pitching categories. He was a workhorse on the mound throughout the season as he ended up with 126 1/3 Innings Pitched as his final record sat at 20-1. He also finished with the league's 5th lowest ERA at 7.17.

Richards was a true difference maker on the mound for Flat Rock this season as he handled the bulk of the innings for this team who put together one of the more successful regular season runs that we have seen in quite some time. Unfortunately for Richards and the Cyclones, they were not able to receive enough production from their bats as their season came to a close against the Wildcards in the ALDS.

Regardless of their tough finish to the season, Mark Richards emerged as one of the top threats on the mound this year and there is no doubt that the 20 game winner earned this award.

Moving on to the National League it was Mishawaka's Anthony Rieff who received the most votes with 36 while receiving 10 out of the 16 first place votes.

Prior to signing with the Meatspins, Rieff had not had too much pitching experience as he generally locked down the field. Manager Ryan Warmoth gave him his vote of confidence heading into this season and let his guy ride all year long as the ace of the Meatspins after pitching for them in 2020.

Rieff flourished in his new role as he finished the season with 9 strikeouts in 145 Innings Pitched. He was able to eat a large chunk of the innings for the Meatspins this year and he certainly played a huge role in Mishawaka having the success that they did. Rieff finished the season with a 17-8 record on the mound as the team went 2-3 in the other 5 games that he did not pitch in. Rieff was selected as the Starting Pitcher for the National League All Star team and he made his presence known by picking up the Game 1 win on the mound.

The southpaw finished with the league's 4th lowest ERA at 6.57 as he did a great job of limiting their opponents. The Meatspins continued their success in the National League Division Series as they swept the South Bend Truffle Butter two games to zero.

The National League Cy Young Award winner will now shift his attention to the Granger Panthers as he will look to help the Mishawaka Meatspins try and win their first pennant as they get set for the National League Championship Series.

Tomorrow, awards week comes to a conclusion as we will announce the winners of the 2021 American and National League MVP Awards. Here is the full list of players to have received a vote for the Cy Young Awards. All of the Managers ballots will be made public once all awards are handed out.

American League Cy Young Award: