Johnson and Burman Named Legion Baseball Players of the Year

After helping the Laramie Rangers to their first state title in 27 years, a pair of Ranger players earned some individual awards. Tommy Johnson was named the Wyoming Single 'A' Player of the Year, while Drew Burman was named the co-Pitcher of the Year.

Johnson admitted that to earn the distinction, "It feels good. It was exciting. I couldn't believe it. I didn't play for that at all. I was playing just to play, and it turned out that way."

Johnson was the catalyst for the Rangers. He led Laramie with a .437 average at the plate, 69 total hits, which includes a team-leading 8 triples and 3 home runs, and 64 runs scored. Johnson also stole 53 bases on the season and was second on the squad with 40 RBI's.

Johnson also admitted, "I was surprised. I just won player of the state? It took a while for it to really sink in. I sat there and thought about it. I'm the best player in the state, according to all the coaches. So, it feels good."

Burman was one of Laramie's top pitchers. He has a 5-3 record with three saves in 16 appearances on the mound. He sports a 1.97 earned run average, which is tops among the Rangers regular hurlers. He shared pitcher of the year honors with Kade Lym from Evanston.

Burman's said it was interesting, "I hadn't pitched in a while, and I just kind of came out and threw this year. I had some success. Coach, obviously, did a good job representing me at their meetings, and I was pretty proud."

Both Johnson and Burman were selected to the First Team All-State list for Wyoming 'A' American Legion baseball.

Two other Ranger teammates earned Second Team All-State honors. They are Abel Casas and Alex Jordan. They were also named co-MVP's of the state tournament last weekend in Gillette.

The voting was conducted by the coaches of all 11 'A' level legion baseball teams in the state of Wyoming. For the complete Wyoming 'A' All-State baseball list click here.