2002

The Lyon Man - Does Whatever A Lyon Can

Kerry Lyon

The 2002 season was one of transition as for the first time 'outsiders' were brought in to pay and make the league more competitive. Prior to 2002 the league consisted of long-time friends and their relatives. But when Chris DiCesare became a high school teacher, he began to recruit some new players. He saw that the original crew (now all in their mid-to-late thirties) would not hold on forever, and he wanted the league to survive beyond he and his peers. So the first of many Beaconites were brought in: George 'The Osprey' Spafford; Liam 'Freckles' O'Mara and Mike 'Zeek' Bennett. The move by DiCesare to move beyond the circle of tight knit friends irked some of the originals. But it ultimately proved to be an essential lifeline that would allow the league to grow to as many as 45 players per year, with divisions, World Series games and tournament teams.

Batter of the Year - Chris DiCesare broke his own home run record for the 8th time in nine years by smacking out some 126 bombs. He recorded 300+ RBI for the second consecutive year and narrowly missed setting a new batting mark with an .815 effort. His hitting prowess allowed Bucky to win his third Triple Crown in as many years. Mike Lewis set a new standard with 10 triples on the year, a sign of things to come for the future Commissioner and multiple World Series winner. While Kerry Lyon, in what would be his finest season at the plate, became just the fourth player to break the 80-homer barrier and led the league with 92 walks and 18 grand slams.

Pitcher of the Year - Kerry Lyon (pictured above) gained league immortality by becoming the first - and to this date - only double digit winner in history. Squarehead won a record 11 games, besting Steve Chapin's 1995 mark by two. He led the league in KO's for the second consecutive year, and again tossed over 100 innings ... the first pitcher to do so twice. Steve Chapin would earn his third IRA title in four years, but for the 5th time in his Hall-of-Fame career, he would finish second place in the Cy Young voting.

League Leaders:

Home Runs Chris DiCesare (126)

RBI Chris DiCesare (378)

Average Chris DiCesare (.815)

Wins Kerry Lyon (11)

KO's Kerry Lyon (85)

IRA Steve Chapin (2.53)

Click on Year to View History

1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

In Major League Baseball: The Anaheim Angels defeated the San Francisco Giants

Amazingly (ha ha) - Kerry Lyon had been told he looked like Tobey Maguire for several years. The year Lyon dominated, was the year Maguire gained worldwide fame as the wall-crawler, Spiderman.