The Gateway Grizzlies are proud to announce that three members of the organization have won postseason awards as voted on by members of the league’s coaching staffs, front office staffs, and members of the local media. Jairus Richards has been named to the Postseason All-Star team in the outfield, while Steve Brook has been named Frontier League Manager of the Year, and Matt Mooney takes home Frontier League Clubhouse Manager of the Year honors.
Jairus Richards has put together a record-setting season for the Grizzlies at the plate. Entering Sunday’s action, the Gig Harbor, Washington native is batting .340 with a .472 on-base percentage, 16 home runs, 56 RBIs, and 82 runs scored in 89 games. He also has set a new Frontier League single-season record with a league-leading 75 stolen bases, a whopping 25 more than the player currently holding second place, and topping the previous mark of 71 which had stood for over a decade. The speedster ranks third among qualifying hitters in the league in batting average and on-base percentage, while placing fifth in runs scored. Also possessing one of the best outfield arms in the circuit, Richards has recorded 10 outfield assists defensively, and since the all-star break has batted leadoff, setting the table for the Grizzlies’ offense.
The author of the Grizzlies incredible turnaround from 47-49 one season ago to a 58-win season and a West Division Championship in 2023, Steve Brook is voted the Roger Hanners Award winner as the Frontier League’s Manager of the Year, the first time in his storied, 12-year managing career that he has won the honor. The longtime Frontier Leaguer as a player, coach, and manager is in his second season with the Grizzlies after a long and successful tenure across town with the River City Rascals, and has skippered the club to its first playoff appearance and division title since 2012 along with their first winning season since 2014 this year. He has also moved into third place all-time in league history in wins by a manager this season, with 647 entering the regular season finale tonight.
One of the most-experienced and hardest-working staff members of any organization across the league, Matt Mooney takes home his third Sam Hartsfield Award this year’s the Frontier League Clubhouse Manager of the Year. He is completing his 16th season in the circuit as a “clubbie” in 2023, having started with the River City Rascals from 2007-12 before spending 2013-21 as the clubhouse manager for the Southern Illinois Miners, with whom he was voted the 2013 and 2017 Clubhouse Manager of the Year. Like Brook, this is his second season in Sauget with the Grizzlies, taking care of both the Grizzlies and their opponents’ needs at Grizzlies Ballpark before and after games while also coordinating the club’s travel schedule and much more.
The West Division Champion Grizzlies conclude their regular season schedule tonight at Grizzlies Ballpark with a rubber contest against the Lake Erie Crushers at 6:05 p.m. CT with the annual Greatest Night in Baseball celebration featuring 27 giveaways for 27 outs that every fan in the ballpark is eligible to win. Parker Johnson will get the start for the Grizzlies on the mound against Lake Erie’s Jonaiker Villalobos before the club enters postseason play for the first time in 11 years this week.
Jason Guerette is the Grizzlies' Director of Broadcasting and Media Relations and the "Voice of the Grizzlies." 2023 will be his second season with the organization, handling lead broadcasting duties on the Grizzlies Media Network as well as being in charge of all team press releases and game-day media materials.
2023 will also be Jason's ninth season in the Frontier League after spending 2014-21 in the same role with the Southern Illinois Miners. Overall, he has broadcasted close to 800 games in the league, including playoffs. During the baseball offseason, he serves as a play-by-play broadcaster for Manhattan College and the New Jersey Institute of Technology, with games being seen on ESPN+ among other platforms.
In addition to broadcasting, Jason works as a public address announcer for Seton Hall University women's basketball as well as Columbia University men's and women's basketball. He also spent nine years working "behind the scenes" as a freelance board operator and highlight editor at Westwood One for their coverage of the NFL, NCAA football, and NCAA basketball.
Jason graduated from Seton Hall in 2012 with B.A. in Communication Studies and a minor in Broadcasting & Visual Media.
