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Jankowski named Cape League MVP

08/17/2011 11:29 AM

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BOURNE, Mass. – Travis Jankowski got a late taste of life in the Cape League when he was contacted to play for the Bourne Braves over the final 10 games in the 2010 season.

      This year he was with the Braves from the start of the season and it proved beneficial for both the team and the Stony Brook University product as he was named the Cape Cod Baseball League’s Most Valuable Player

      Bourne General Manager Mike Carrier explained that Jankowski scored a chance on the Cape in 2010 because a former Braves assistant coach was working with Jankowski at Stony Brook. When current field manager, Harvey Shapiro, started calling around looking for good players, he found the 6-2, 190-pound outfielder.

      “Not only is he a great baseball player, but a good person, student, citizen and overall nice person,” Carrier said of the Lancaster, Pa. resident. “Sometimes you don’t see nice people and ballplayers in the same combination.”

      This season Jankowski played well from start to finish.

      The numbers do not lie.

      Jankowski led the league in hits (57), runs scored (31) and triples (seven). He was tied for second in stolen bases (15, was sixth in batting (.329), sixth in RBIs (22) and he finished with an OBP of.444. Defensively he was no slouch either, committing no errors while roaming center field and handling 115 chances for the Braves.

      “I actually like his defense most of all,” Carrier said. “He played right center to left center and just caught everything hit his way - everything.”

      Jankowski credits his speed and defense to his father and his brother chasing him around as a kid.

      “That speed is good but you also need to be able to know how to use it,” said Carrier. “You need to be able to get a jump on balls and be able to track them well too. You can’t teach that. It’s inside you. That is instinct.”

      “Before leaving for the year, the one thing he said to me was he wanted to come back,” Carrier said. “But, in my mind I hope he has another great season at Stony Brook and ends up getting drafted high enough so he doesn’t have to come back. I truly want him to continue on to have a great baseball career."