Fukuda wins Barnstormers most outstanding player award

The Chatham-Kent Barnstormers recently announced their award winners for the 2025 season. Mitsuki Fukuda, Mizuki Akatsuka and Evan Morrison took home the honours.

The Ed Pinnance Award for the most outstanding player of the year went to catcher Mitsuki Fukuda.

Fukada, who was in his second year with the Barnstormers, had a .333 batting average, while finishing fourth in the Intercounty Baseball League with 26 walks.
Defensively, Fukuda shined, as he led the IBL in catcher assists (30), caught stealing (20), and in caught stealing percentage (37.7%).

Ed Pinnance, nicknamed “Peanuts”, was a Canadian First Nations Major League Baseball pitcher. He played for the Philadelphia Athletics during the 1903 season. Pinnance, from the Walpole Island (Bkejwanong Territory), was the first person of indigenous ancestry to play in a regular season game in the majors.

Mizuki Akatsuka was named the Harry Muir Award for the most outstanding pitcher of the year.

Akatsuka, led the IBL in games started (15), complete games (one), innings pitched (101.1).

He was third in wins (six), and fifth in strikeouts (87).

The award is named after Barnstormers manager Harry Muir.

The Boomer Harding Award for the most outstanding offensive player of the year is Evan Morrison.

Morrison led the IBL in batting average, hitting .422, which was the highest average in the IBL since 2021.

He finished in the top five in the IBL in total bases, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS.

Boomer Harding, joined, as a teenager, the Chatham Coloured All-Stars in 1933, and is one of the most talented players to come from Chatham.