A look at Trey Mancini winning Eastern League batting title (plus O's notes)

When the Double-A Eastern League regular season ended, it appeared that Altoona's Adam Frazier, who hit .324, would win the league's batting title. Bowie's Trey Mancini hit .359, but he did not have enough plate appearances to qualify for league leaders, which is 2.7 plate appearances per league games scheduled.

But through Rule 9.22(a), formerly Rule 10.22(a), Mancini won the batting title. The rule states in part that:

* Any player with fewer than the required number of plate appearances whose average would be the highest, if he were charged with the required number of plate appearances shall be awarded the batting, slugging or on-base percentage championship, as the case may be.

Mancini could take an 0-for-29, have enough plate appearances to qualify and still hit .330 to top Frazier. Mancini said when he was told he could win the batting title that way, he was not sure what to think.

"I didn't really know how it all worked," he said. "The timing was a little weird for me, especially with the playoffs starting that day (when he found out) and that is all I was concerned about. They asked me if I wanted to take an 0-for-29. I didn't know if you actually take an 0-for-29 or not.

"Adam Frazier had a great season and he qualified. Frazier, I feel like won it, but the league still ended up giving it up to me. It was cool, but the playoffs are 10 times more important than a batting title."

The way it was explained to me, Mancini's final average will still be .359, but he is the batting champion. The rule also made him tops in the league in slugging percentage, too, and there he moved ahead of teammate Quincy Latimore to finish first.

Between Single-A Frederick and Bowie this year, the 23-year-old Mancini hit a combined .341 with 43 doubles, six triples, 21 home runs and 89 RBIs. He led all Orioles minor leaguers in all three Triple Crown categories. He was also a finalists for USA Today's minor league Player of the Year. He's a shoo-in for the O's minor league Player of the Year honor.

At Bowie, his batting coach this season has been Keith Bodie, a longtime minor league coach and manager, who is in his first season in the Orioles organization.

"I've been around a lot of good and special players, and what he has done this year is very special," Bodie said of Mancini. "He was good when he got here and just continued to get better. How do you hit .360 for almost 300 at-bats?

"He's got power to all fields and he showed the willingness to take a single to right field. He's got bat speed and can hit anyone's fastball."

What is Mancini's biggest strength?

"His biggest strength is you can't defend him," Bodie said. "Because he has power to all fields. You can't teach power. They've shifted on him this year and he'll hit a bullet to right field. When he hits the ball, it stays hit.

"The biggest difference between the minor leagues and the big leagues is defense. Guys hit the ball in the gaps and are used to getting extra-base hits. In the big leagues, those balls are caught. What you see here with Mancini is what you are going to see there. He scolds the baseball. When he hits it, it stays hit."

Tonight Mancini and the Baysox need a win to extend their season to a final day. Bowie lost 9-3 last night at home to Reading and the Baysox trail 2-1 in the best-of-five Eastern League Championship Series. Bowie is in the final for the first time ever and now needs to win tonight and tomorrow night at Prince George's Stadium to take the championship. Game time tonight is 7:05 p.m. at Bowie. Go to Baysox.com for ticket information.

Orioles win again: The Orioles rallied for four runs in the eighth inning to win 4-3 last night at Tampa Bay. It was the O's fourth win in five games and eighth in their last 10 games. They are now 72-74 with 16 games remaining. If they go 10-6 or better, they will have a fourth straight winning season.

At this point, it might even be worth checking in again on the wild card race. Yes, the Orioles are unlikely to make the postseason and it's a long shot, but at least we can say there's a chance. Houston at 77-70 holds the second wild card by 1 1/2 games over Minnesota, by 2 1/2 over Los Angeles, by 4 over Cleveland and by 4 1/2 games over the Orioles. Not only is that a mountain to climb with so few games left, but the Orioles have to pass a few teams on their way up that mountain. But at least there's a chance.

By the way, proving that run differential is not worth much, the O's have the best run differential of the teams chasing Houston at plus-26. Minnesota is minus-7, Los Angeles is minus-16 and Cleveland is plus-2. Again, this proves, well, nothing.