This past week was the best week of the season for the Brooklyn Cyclones. At the start of the week the Cyclones were trailing in the race for the Wild Card spot in the New York –Penn League playoffs by two games. However, on the strength of their seven straight victories, the Cyclones cut their deficit to a mere half a game thanks in part to their strong pitching, solid hitting and stellar defense.
While quite a few players contributed to the Cyclones success this past week, it was centerfielder Sean Ratliff who really shined. For the week, Ratliff went on a tear hitting in seven straight games and batting .400 with 10 hits in 25 at bats including three doubles, two home runs and eight RBI’s. It was his contributions to the Cyclones victories that earned him “Player of the Week” honors.
For the 2008 season, Ratliff’s seven home runs are tops on the team, and he is also tied for the team lead with 30 runs scored. While his batting average hovers around the .240 mark for the season, his August stats are much closer to the way Ratliff produced while playing for Stanford University.
While playing college ball at Stamford, Ratliff led his team with 22 home runs, was second in RBI with 71 and tied for the team lead with 4 triples. In addition he batted .294 and had a team-leading .645 slugging percentage. For his outstanding year Ratliff was named an All-Pac-10 selection for the second time in his collegiate career. With a season like this, it’s no wonder why the New York Mets drafted him out of Stamford University.
“Sean Ratliff has been one of the big surprises of the year,” says Cyclones manager Edgar Alfonso. “He catches everything hit near him in centerfield, and he has really helped us with his bat the entire month. He comes to play every day and he never disappoints.”
As the New York – Penn League season draws to a close, the Brooklyn Cyclones are going to need a continued strong performance out of Ratliff and the rest of the team if they are to make it into the New York-Penn League playoffs.
