David Melo Named RL's Best Player
At the age of 16, <David Melo:player#2728> of the <Long Beach HS Terriers:team#170> could very well have his best years ahead of him.

It's a startling thought when you consider the year he had in 2057 was good enough to win the second baseman the Republic League Outstanding Hitter Award.

"See the ball, hit the ball," he said. "That's my basic approach."

The top hitter put up a .426 batting average this year, as well as a .528 on-base percentage. He played 29 games and racked up 49 hits, 11 doubles, 1 triple, 15 home runs, 60 RBIs and 35 runs scored. 

He received 32 first place votes out of a possible 40. <Mike Dunfee:player#4946> of the <Calgary HS Flames:team#174> finished second in voting with 2 first place votes, while <Luis Romero:player#10105> of the <Wasco HS War Lords:team#151> finished third.

<Player - Team - First Place - Total Points:value_bold#0>
<David Melo:player#2728> - <Long Beach HS Terriers:team#170> - 32 - 504
<Mike Dunfee:player#4946> - <Calgary HS Flames:team#174> - 2 - 336
<Luis Romero:player#10105> - <Wasco HS War Lords:team#151> - 0 - 236
<Maresuke Kosaka:player#10657> - <Markham HS Coyotes:team#144> - 0 - 225
<Bobby Montes:player#5571> - <Wasco HS War Lords:team#151> - 0 - 225
<Richard Alvarado:player#7970> - <Houston HS Hornets:team#155> - 0 - 217
<Matt Rossell:player#7954> - <Nashville HS Predators:team#169> - 6 - 149
<Gabe Creech:player#3891> - <Saskatoon HS Moose:team#148> - 0 - 105
<Jerry Whisler:player#6606> - <Kirbyville HS Drillers:team#143> - 0 - 57
<Lee Stueber:player#8717> - <Ft. Worth HS Falcons:team#156> - 0 - 47
<Santiago Gutierrez:player#2967> - <Long Beach HS Terriers:team#170> - 0 - 46
<Travis Harris:player#8255> - <Ft. Worth HS Falcons:team#156> - 0 - 38
<Phil West:player#4944> - <Calgary HS Flames:team#174> - 0 - 28
<Joe Marcus:player#5228> - <Nashville HS Predators:team#169> - 0 - 23
<Jacob Godwin:player#4940> - <St. Louis HS Blues:team#168> - 0 - 20
<Matt French:player#6303> - <Milwaukee HS Saints:team#161> - 0 - 18
<Ryan Causey:player#10542> - <Boston HS Mulleteers:team#162> - 0 - 17
<Jeff Robert:player#9768> - <Long Beach HS Terriers:team#170> - 0 - 17
<Jake Schaefers:player#5027> - <Calgary HS Flames:team#174> - 0 - 15
<Rich Rocha:player#6760> - <Markham HS Coyotes:team#144> - 0 - 12
<Juan Salazar:player#6171> - <Milwaukee HS Saints:team#161> - 0 - 9
<Don MacBeth:player#7924> - <Long Beach HS Terriers:team#170> - 0 - 4
<Justin French:player#3245> - <Dallas HS Hammerheads:team#163> - 0 - 3
<Mario Naranjo:player#8057> - <Sierra Vista Southeast HS Cedars:team#149> - 0 - 3
<Jason Shank:player#2881> - <Long Beach HS Terriers:team#170> - 0 - 3
<Yi-lin Ren:player#5631> - <Wasco HS War Lords:team#151> - 0 - 2
<Jeremy McCullough:player#10568> - <Ft. Worth HS Falcons:team#156> - 0 - 1
