The American Association announced that Noah Perio Jr. was named the MVP of the Championship Series for Kansas City in the club’s three games to one series win over the St. Paul Saints Saturday night at T-Bones Stadium in Kansas City, Kansas.
Perio Jr. was named Finals MVP after going 6-for-18 at the plate with three doubles, two home runs and five RBIs in the series.
He helped the club get off to a crucial fast start in the series opener, going 3-for-6 with two home runs, including a two-run shot in the first inning of the T-Bones 11-4 win in game one of the series.
In game three Perio Jr. had two doubles, and he added another double and an RBI in KC’s 5-3 victory over the Saints in the clincher. He hit .297 for the season with KC, with eight home runs and 57 RBIs, tying for the team lead with Keith Curcio.
His work was all part of a late season run that saw the California native finish on a two-week high. He had 18 RBIs in the penultimate week then closed out the final week with 10 RBIs, totaling 28 to close out the last two weeks of the season.
Perio Jr. had seven RBIs in the second to the last home series against Sioux City. Then in the Southern Division series, he worked two big walks and scored in both at bats of a 5-2 game three win over the Explorers.
Perio Jr was acquired by Kansas City via trade on July 8 in a one-for-one deal with St. Paul for fellow infielder Zach Walters.
Perio Jr. had a strong first half of the season with St. Paul. While with the Saints, Perio Jr. batted .311, with 17 RBIs and 57 hits. The California native was drafted in the 39th round in the 2009 June amateur draft by the Florida Marlins.
He spent parts of six seasons with the Marlins organization, reaching AA Jacksonville. He then played 2015 with Sioux City before joining the Dodgers system in 2016, again reaching AA. He would once again wind up with Sioux City in 2016.
In 2017 he spent the entire season at AA San Antonio in the Texas League with the San Diego Padres before returning to “Indy” ball in 2018, signing with St. Paul.
The T-Bones were crowned Champions of the American Association with a 5-3 win over St. Paul on Saturday night at T-Bones Stadium. It was the club’s first title in the league. The franchise won two previous championships as members of the Northern League, the last coming in 2008.
– Story from T-Bones