Dan Black named Carolina League Most Valuable Player

WINSTON-SALEM, Nc. (WLFI) - Purdue baseball alumnus Dan Black has been a consistent run producer in the middle of the lineup for one of Minor League Baseball’s most successful teams this summer, culminating with his selection as the Carolina League Most Valuable Player Thursday.

In his first season with the Winston-Salem Dash, the Chicago White Sox Class High-A affiliate, Black leads the Carolina League with a .319 batting average, 154 hits, 81 runs scored and 237 total bases. He also ranks among the top five in the league with 17 home runs and 83 RBI.

Black was one of five Winston-Salem players to be selected to the Carolina League Postseason All-Star Team. Manager Tommy Thompson was also recognized. Together they have led the Dash to an 83-50 record. They won the Southern Division first-half title and currently have a 3 ½-game lead in the second-half standings. Winston-Salem’s .624 winning percentage this summer is among the best in all of Minor League Baseball.

Black was also recognized as a 2011 MiLB.com White Sox Organization All-Star after a breakout season for Class A Kannapolis last summer in which he batted .286 with 18 home runs and 98 RBI. He played for Purdue from 2007-09 and was selected in the 14th Round of the 2009 MLB First-Year Player Draft by the White Sox.

Black is one of four Purdue alumni who play for MiLB teams that are likely to qualify for the postseason. Andy Loomis (Bowie Baysox, Double-A Eastern League), Nick Wittgren (Greensboro Grasshoppers, Class A South Atlantic League) and Kevin Plawecki (Brooklyn Cyclones, Class A New York-Penn League) also figure to be part of the MiLB playoffs, which begin the first week of September.

In the Big Leagues, Black’s former teammate Josh Lindblom recently earned his first MLB save while closing out a win for the Philadelphia Phillies. Lindblom retired all five batters he faced, striking out three, in the Phillies’ Aug. 26 victory at National League-leading Washington.