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NEWARK, NJ– The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball announced its post-season awards today with General Manager of the Year going to the Newark Bears’ John Brandt and the Bears’ Victor Rodriguez being voted co-Player of the Year, sharing the honor with Jesse Hoorelbeke of the Bridgeport Bluefish. The Bears also had four players, the most in franchise history, voted to the Atlantic League All-Star team and Corey Smith was selected as the Player of the Month for September.

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Brandt oversaw the Bears complete turnaround in 2007, in which the team won 30 more games than in 2006 and actual attendance increased by ten percent. He has won Atlantic League General Manager of the Year twice, winning the award in 2002 with the Camden Riversharks.

“Being voted on by my peers is always special,” said Brandt. “It is a testament to the staff of the Newark Bears that I was chosen – our off the field and on the field improvements symbolize the work of more than one person. It has been a great season, and if we are able to cap it off with a ring, that would be great for Wayne [Krenchicki], the team, and the staff.”

Rodriguez has now been voted Atlantic League Player of the Year twice in his career, becoming the first player in league history to win the award on more than one occasion. Rodriguez led the league in batting average (.365) and hits (159). He was second in the league in RBI with 98, and slugged 16 home runs and scored 70 runs.

Rodriguez was also voted onto the Atlantic League All-Star team as the designated hitter. Joining him are second baseman Javier Colina, shortstop Ramon Castro, and right-handed pitcher Gary Knotts. Colina hit .309 with 26 home runs, second in the league, and 101 RBI, which led the league. Castro was third in the league in batting with a .343 average and was first in on-base percentage (.448). Knotts went 7-5 with a 2.65 ERA, the best in the league, before being signed by the Philadelphia Phillies organization on July 30.

Smith becomes the second Bears’ position player to win Player of the Month honors this season, joining Rodriguez who won the August award. In 15 games in September, Smith batted .433 with five home runs, 15 RBI, and 17 runs scored. He had a monstrous slugging percentage of .850 and reached base in almost half of his plate appearances with a .493 on-base percentage.