Cano Can Do!

Robinson Cano takes home the Most Valuable Player hardware in the American Division.


Wickford Walnuts second baseman and offensive juggernaut, won MVP in a tight contest in the American Division. Coming off a disappointing 2008, Cano rebounded with a tremendous season in 2009, supplanting himself as one of the best 2nd basemen in the game. In 2010, he topped those numbers and carried the Walnuts offense on his back for most of the 2nd half. Cano finished with a stat line that many would guess belonged to a corner IF or OF, despite playing at the usually offensively-challenged 4 spot. He hammered 29 long balls and drove in 109 RBI, put up an OPS of .914 and struck out a measly 77 times. In short, he was a one-man wrecking crew for the Nuts in 2010, and for that he was given the award.

Some members of the league have questioned the award, citing that Carlos Gonzalez - who emerged as arguably the top OF in the game - had better numbers and deserved the award more. However, when asked about Cano's MVP caliber season, Nuts owner, Brendan Hart remarked that, "When the Nuts made the finals I think it was clear he deserved the award." He added, "(You might say) Cargo deserved it based on the numbers - Its hard to dispute the beastly season he had - but Pats team also has numerous other top 50 hitters that the Walnuts lack."

Perhaps what surprised many around the NKFBL, even more than Cano's great season, was the fact that he is actually Hispanic...and not African American! Who knew? (I mean he's named after Jackie Robinson. Why not Roberto Clemente?)



Even Hart himself wasn't sure until this season. "I thought he was hispanic, but I really wasn't sure," he said. Cano dispelled any doubts when he spoke with the media in a Sammy Sosa-esque accent at the All Star game this past season.

Lack of publicity for the star 2nd baseman, could be one reason that some people weren't sure. As Hart points out, it is hard to get much attention when you're sharing the infield with Jeter, Rodriguez and Texeira. Though he is hopeful that 2010 will change that.

Cano likes to spend his off-season in the Dominican Republic where he is from, and wasn't available for comment at the award presentation. However, he did pass along some quotes through Nuts ownership. He was very pleased with the award, and hopes to continue the offensive tear in 2011. He also expressed a great deal of excitement about new double-play mate, Jose Reyes, who was recently acquired by the Walnuts. "He is the most heavily pursued player by the Nuts since me, and I think it's gonna be great," he said (though it took many minutes to decipher the audio recording). "We should be great for the next 5 or 6 years here." (Did he say years? This couldn't be clarified at the time of publication.)

Cano also offered up some commentary on the "rivalry" between the Nuts and the Rampage. "It's hard to get worried about a team who has only seen the playoffs one time in nine seasons. This year the only week highlighted on the schedule is week 8."

The Wickford Walnuts will face the New England Bombers week 8, in a rematch of the 2010 championship game.