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MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com - Portland , ME — The Eastern League of Professional Baseball is pleased to announce that Bowie Baysox outfielder Lou Montanez has been selected as the 2008 Eastern League Most Valuable Player. Despite not playing for the Baysox since August 4^th following a promotion to Baltimore, Montanez still has a chance to be the first Eastern League player since the 1976 season to win the Triple Crown, as he currently leads the league in batting average (.335), homers (26) and RBI (97). In addition to leading the league in those three categories, the 26-year old also leads the league in runs scored (90), slugging percentage (.601), OPS (.986), total bases (271) and extra-base hits (63) and he is ranked second in the league in hits (151), tied for fourth in doubles (32) and tied for 10^th in on-base percentage (.385). At the time of his promotion to Baltimore , Montanez was riding a 13-game hitting streak, which included a 5-for-6 performance in which he hit for the cycle and drove in eight runs while tying the franchise record for hits and RBI in a game on August 1^st at Altoona . The 6’2”, 200 lb. slugger continues to swing a hot bat with the Orioles, as he hit a home run in his first career Major League at bat on August 6^th and is batting .357 (15-for-42) with three doubles, one homer, nine runs scored and seven RBI in 16 Major League games.

The Bayamon, Puerto Rico native has taken home numerous accolades this season for the Baysox, including twice being named the Bank of America Eastern League Player of the Week for the weeks ending May 26^th and August 4^th, winning the Eastern League Player of the Month Award for the month of July and being chosen as an outfielder on the 2008 Eastern League All-Star Team. Montanez was also selected as a member of the Southern Division Roster for the 2008 Northeast Delta Dental Eastern League All-Star Game, where he reached the finals of the Irving Oil Eastern League Home Run Derby.

Lou’s career in professional baseball started when he was selected by the Chicago Cubs with the third overall pick in the 2000 draft. He spent seven years in the Cubs organization before signing with the Baltimore Orioles as a minor league free agent on November 6, 2006 .

Akron third baseman Wes Hodges finished as the runner up in the voting for the award and Erie outfielder Wilkin Ramirez finished in third place. This award was voted on by Eastern League team managers and coaching staffs, sportswriters, radio and television broadcast personnel and other members of the media.

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