Casey Kelly Named 2008 Florida Dairy Farmers Mr. Baseball
Sarasota High School’s Casey Kelly has been named the 2008 Florida Dairy Farmers Mr. Baseball.
Kelly, a senior shortstop/pitcher, finished with a .473 batting average, 13 doubles, one triple, five home runs, 47 runs scored and 31 RBI. In addition, he finished with an 8-1 record, a 1.16 ERA and 77 strikeouts, helping lead his team to a 25-3 record and the Class 6A state regional semi-finals. Kelly was drafted in the first round (30th overall pick) in the 2008 MLB Draft by the Boston Red Sox.
The winner of the 16th annual Mr. Baseball Award, sponsored by Florida Dairy Farmers, Inc. and the Florida Athletic Coaches Association, was determined in voting by a statewide panel of high school baseball coaches and prep media representatives.
Kelly, who was earlier chosen as the Class 6A Player-of the-Year, finished ahead of Class 3A Player-of-the-Year Joey Belviso of Plantation American Heritage, as well as winners in the four other state classifications. Brett DeVall of Niceville, the Class 5A Player-of-the-Year, finished third followed by Dayne Read of Tallahassee North Florida Christian (Class 2A), Ryan McChesney of Fort Myers Riverdale (Class 4A) and Michael Paulk of Merritt Island Christian (Class 1A).
The Florida Dairy Farmers Sports Awards program exemplifies Dairy Farmers Inc.'s commitment to the state's youth. While honoring the state's top athletes and coaches in all 24 FHSAA-sanctioned sports, the program also emphasizes to young people the importance of keeping dairy products a primary part of their diet in their overall nutrition plan.
Florida Dairy Farmers Mr. Baseball Winners
1993 – Alex Rodriguez, Miami Westminster
1994 – Doug Million, Sarasota
1995 – Doug Blosser, Sarasota
1996 – Nick Stocks, Tampa Jesuit
1997 – Geoff Geotz, Tampa Jesuit
1998 – Felipe Lopez, Altamonte Springs Lake Brantley
1999 – Bobby Bradley, Wellington
2000 – Tony Richie, Bishop Kenny
2001 – Casey Kotchman, Seminole
2002 – Edgar Ramirez, Miami Southridge
2003 – James Houser, Sarasota
2004 – Warren McFadden, Davie Nova
2005 – Andrew McCutchen, Fort Meade
2006 – Max Sapp, Orlando Bishop Moore
2007 – Michael Main, Deland
2008 – Casey Kelly, Sarasota
