Custodio Named League Most Valuable Player

Photos by Gar Fitzgerald

Royals manager Dino Roumel had been calling Claudio Custodio the best player in the Intercounty Baseball League all season long.

Friday morning,   the league agreed with his assessment, as Custodio was named the league's most valuable player. Custodio took 23 points from the voters comprised of all 8 teams who could not vote for players from their own teams. 

Custodio's season on the mound was record-breaking as he smashed the 57-year-old single-season strikeout record previously held by Canadian Baseball Hall of Famer Ron Stead in 1967.   Custodio's 206 strikeouts set the new standard and one that might never fall as a pitcher would have to average 15 strikeouts a game to come close. 

He finished the season with a perfect 11-0 record and a 2.18 ERA and one complete game which was a 2-0 shutout of the London Majors. He made 17 starts all of them six innings or more and a total of 128 innings pitched in the regular season.

Custodio often would also swing the bat as he hated not being out of the field for the Royals this summer and finished the regular season with a .404  batting average in 13 games 8 RBI and added 3 stolen bases.    He homered in the postseason against the Hamilton Cardinals in his game three victory.

Custodio was the first Royal to take home the league's top honor since Frankie Hare in 2012.  

The Royals congratulate Claudio on a truly historic season and would like to congratulate the other league MVP nominees on their fantastic performances throughout the 2022 campaign.

The Intercounty will announce its All-Star teams later Friday at 1 pm