Conner Brown has been named the first-ever Project COBB Postseason MVP, recognising a five-game run at the plate that carried the London Mets through the playoffs and on to a tenth consecutive National Baseball League championship.
Brown took 88 of a possible 96 points in the voting, including six first-place votes, finishing ahead of fellow nominees Joe Cosgrove (64) and Julio Figuereo (40). Project COBB Chair Gabriel Fidler called it “one of the most incredible postseason performances in British baseball history.”
The numbers
Across the semi-final and the Final, Brown went 8-for-14 with four home runs, two doubles, eight RBI, eight runs scored and five walks. He led every hitter in the postseason in home runs, total bases (22), RBI and walks.
| G | AB | H | 2B | HR | R | RBI | BB | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 14 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 5 | .571 | .684 | 1.571 |
It followed a huge regular season in which he hit .443/.558/1.076 with 14 home runs in 26 games.
Semi-final: a home run in every game
Against the Manchester A’s, Brown went deep in all three games. His three-run homer in Game 1 helped open up an early lead in a 14–4 win. In Game 2 he cleared the left-field fence again, but the A’s edged a 6–5 game to force a decider. He answered in the bottom of the first inning of Game 3 with his third home run in as many games, and the Mets went on to win 16–1.
The Final: setting the tone
At Finals Weekend on 12–13 September, Brown picked up where he left off. His three-run homer in the first inning of Game 1 put the Mets in control of an 11–3 win over the Essex Arrows, and London closed out the series 5–2 the next day to make it ten titles in a row.
Postseason results
Semi-final v Manchester A’s: W 14–4 · L 5–6 · W 16–1
NBL Final v Essex Arrows: W 11–3 · W 5–2
Congratulations to Conner on a well-deserved award, and thanks to Project COBB for recognising postseason performance in British baseball. Ten in a row doesn’t happen without moments like these.
Statistics: Project COBB. Results: British Baseball Federation.