The Florida Collegiate Summer League officially announced on Monday night that Rich Billings had been earned Manager of the Year honors for the 2021 season. It's the first time that Billings earned the award.
Billings led what many considered the most complete team in the FCSL all season. Despite finishing second in the standings, the pitching staff, which was filled with returners from a success 2020 season, posted an FCSL-best in earned run average (3.24), WHIP (1.26), opposing batting average (.208) and opposing slugging percentage (.283). Offensively, the Leesburg bats woke up over the last three weeks of the season, with every category of the team’s slashing line falling within the top three of the league.
For Billings, the past season was his ninth in Leesburg and seventh in a row, which have all been as the top dog in the dugout. Despite being the winningest coach in Lightning history and having assembled 20-win seasons in all but one, Billings’ teams had been unable to...
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