Ladner’s James Paxton is the 2018 recipient of the Best of B.C. Award.
The Seattle Mariners pitcher will be honoured at Sport B.C.’s 52nd Annual Athlete of the Year awards next Wednesday at the Westin Bayshore Vancouver Hotel.
The award, sponsored by the Province of British Columbia, is presented to the individual or team thought to have best represented B.C., nationally or internationally, in either a professional or amateur sport.
The 29-year-old southpaw is coming off an impressive 2017 campaign that earned him Mariners Pitcher of the Year honours from the Seattle chapter of Baseball Writers Association of America. Paxton set career bests in wins (12), starts (24), innings (136.0), strikeouts (156) and ERA (2.98). He was named American League Pitcher of the Month for July, becoming the first Mariners pitcher to record six wins in a single month. He also recorded his 300th career strikeout back in May against Colorado.
The Delta Secondary School graduate thrived with the North Delta Blue Jays at the B.C. Premier level, recording a 7-1 record with a 1.70 ERA and 65 strikeouts in his final season. He earned a full-ride scholarship to the University of Kentucky.
He was selected by the Mariners in the fourth round of the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft and made his Seattle debut in 2014 against Tampa Bay.
