MacArthur: ruler on All-East County ’22
- Updated: June 3, 2022
2022 EAST COUNTY PREP BASEBALL
THE ALL-EAST COUNTY TEAM
By Nick Pellegrino
ECS staff writer
EL CAJON — Respect comes to mind when mentioning standout baseball players. This season, some of East County’s best hitters often were handed intentional walks, maybe at a record pace (if such a record were kept).
And no one gained a free pass more often than Granite Hills slugger Grant MacArthur. The Eagles senior not only led the Grossmont Hills League in home runs, he also led in both batting average and slugging percentage.
Now, MacArthur never received a free pass with the bases loaded — in the Majors, it’s occurred just twice since World War II: San Francisco’s Barry Bonds (1998) and Texas’ Josh Hamilton (2017). But when you’re arguably the best player for the top-ranked ballclub in the CIF San Diego Section, Mac Arthur was been named the 2022 All-East County baseball team as the Player of the Year.
MacArthur edged teammate Spencer Davis in consideration for the award, along with Ethan Wright (Santana), Tommy Molina (Steele Canyon) and Barron Zamora (Grossmont).
Also in the mix was Santana’s Koda Alto, was tabbed Pitcher of the Year, sporting a 7-3 overall record, plus a pair of saves, as the Sultans held first place in the Grossmont Hills League until the final two weeks of the season.
In a rare occurrence, a player collected a pair of awards from East County Sports.
The Newcomer/Rookie of the Year award went to Granite Hills freshman Brenden Lewis, who also captured Fireman of the Year after registering more than double the saves (7) than any of his nearest competitors.
When looking at the statistics, one wonders how much higher than .432 would be the batting average of Wright, the Sultans’ top hitter, if not for his efforts to “play the game the right way.” His Old School approach, including his many “intentional” ground balls to get a runner home from third base, may have cost his points on his average, yet his RBI could remain strong.
For Wright’s determination, he was named the Bill Dickens Memorial Inspirational Player Award winner.
Players from the Grossmont Valley League also gained acclaim.
Isaiah Hilke of Monte Vista, who would be a well-known standout from any GHL ballclub, was the Unsung Hero Award honoree. Hilke led East County in triples and was a major part of almost every rally which led to a Monarchs victory this season.
The Most Improved Player was Johnathan Trader, the catcher for Mount Miguel.
It was noticed early by both opposing coaches and a few area scouts that Trader vastly improved his throwing ability. In fact, after giving up (what too many) stolen bases in 2021, he started the season by throwing out seven of the first 10 runners attempting to steal on himself or his pitcher.
Plus, his batting average clicked upwards of 50 points, too.
As tradition follows, ECS.com selects the CIF champion as Coach of the Year. Although no school captured a CIFSDS title, the one who came closest at the highest division was James Davis at Granite Hills,
Davis’ Eagles posted the best overall record in Division I, and advanced to the Open Division title game as the top seed and the No. 1 ranked ballclub in the section, only to fall in the title game in extra innings.
Among the 16 first-team honorees on the first team, five were from Granite Hills. The Eagles also has four players on the second team, and two on the third team, equaling the CS record of 12 honorees.
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