Matt Harvey and Fred Lewis Earn MVP Honors

The Buffalo Bisons honored their 2012 Season Award Winners as part of Fan Appreciation Night on Tuesday evening at Coca Cola Field. Players received their awards in a special pre-game ceremony in what has become an annual tradition for the Herd on their final home game of the season.

OF Fred Lewis

Most Valuable Player

Lewis has been a force at the top of the Bisons lineup after being signed as a free agent on April 25. In 104 games, the outfielder has hit a team-best .290 (117-403) with 11 home runs and 39RBI. He also leads the Bisons with 75 runs scored, 25 doubles, 7 triples, 43 extra-base hits, a .469 slugging percentage, a .843 OPS and 24 stolen bases. Lewis is second on the club with his .374 on-base percentage and 117 base hits.

Lewis ranks the International League’s Top 10 in triples (T3rd), runs scored (T3rd) stolen bases (5th), on-base percentage (T6th), OPS (7th) and slugging percentage (10th).

Lewis was the sparkplug that got the Bisons’ offense going all season. The veteran hit .384 (53-138) with 18 extra-base hits and a .448 on-base percentage when leading off an inning. He homered to lead off the game on August 26(2) against Rochester. He also homered in back-to-back games on three separate occasions, May 25-26, July 12-13 (3 total home runs) and August 7-8. He homered twice on June 24 at Durham and July 13 at Pawtucket and was named International League Batter-of-the-Week for the period of July 12-16. With his great speed, Lewis stole 24 bases in 32 attempts. He swiped three bags on June 4 in Toledo.

RHP Matt Harvey

Most Valuable Pitcher

Matt Harvey had an All-Star campaign before moving on to New York in late July for his major league debut. In 20 starts with the Bisons, the 23-year old righty was 7-5 with a 3.68ERA and 112 strikeouts in only 110.0 innings of work. Despite not pitching with the Bisons in a month, he still ranks second on the Bisons and 10th in the IL with his 112 strikeouts.

Harvey struck out 10 batters on three different occasions, including a season-high 11 punchouts in six innings of work in a victory on May 18 vs. Gwinnett. In 13 of his 20 starts with the Bisons, the Mets’ #2 prospect by Baseball America fanned at least five batters.

Harvey’s season took off starting on April 20 when he struck out 10 in a victory in Syracuse. He then went 5-0 with a 3.12ERA in a seven-game stretch, April 20 – May 24. On the season, the righty allowed more than four runs in just two of his 20 starts. The Bisons were 12-8 in games he started.

Harvey also hit .267 (4-15) with a home run and four RBI at the plate. He hit a two-run home run on April 25 in a victory at Lehigh Valley.

Harvey represented the Bisons at the 2012 Triple-A All-Star Game at Coca-Cola Field on July 11. He tossed two shutout innings and was named the IL’s Top Star of the game.

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Other award winners included Comeback Player of the Year Elvin Ramirez, with Inspirational and Community Awards going to Jeff Stevens, Garrett Olson, Matt Tuiasosopo and Justin Hampson.