It was announced this week that Oklahoma State’s Ruby Meylan and Texas Tech’s NiJaree Canady were Big 12 co-pitchers of the year. But how it went down is not sitting well with Cowgirls coach Kenny Gajewski.
The head coach took four minutes to explain what happened with the announcement. Gajewski said that on Tuesday he received an e-mail from the league that his starter, Ruby Meylan, was selected as the “outright” pitcher of the year. Later that night, Gajewski got an e-mail from his sports information director that Meylan was now sharing the award with Texas Tech’s Nijaree Canady.
Here’s what Gajewski had to say.
He said he asked the league for an explanation and was not thrilled with the explanation. “I got an answer and they said ‘They looked at it holistically,” Gajewski said, without noting who in the Big 12 office he spoke to. “You’re going to have to explain to everybody out there what that means because holistically wasn’t on my voting sheet.”
Make the Votes Public?
One thing Gajewski wants to see is the coaches votes made public. Gajewski said he voted for Canady, because coaches can’t vote for their own players.
“That’s why I said make this public,’ he said. “I have a lot of coaches in this league — and I didn’t have to call them, they called me — and they’re not happy. I’m not happy and it’s not right.”
Gajewski is seemingly alleging he knows how the votes went, and he doesn’t believe that his own player should have shared the award with Canady. If that’s true, the Big 12 undoubtedly has some explaining to do. And then, it’s also fair game to question the motivation behind the league, IF the allegations are true?
Comparison Seasons
Canady and Meylan were both outstanding this season. Canady was 22-4 with a 1.25 ERA in 24 starts and 33 games, with 200 strikeouts and 41 walks. Meylan was 27-6 with a 1.97 ERA in 26 starts and 39 games. She had 204 strikeouts and 54 walks. As for Big 12 play, Canady was 11-2 with a 1.54 ERA with 96 strikeouts and 20 walks. Meylan went 15-2 with a 1.57 ERA with 95 strikeouts and 24 walks.
