Custodio sets IBL single-season strikeout record, named Player of the Month

Guelph Royals right-hander Claudio Custodio has been named the Intercounty Baseball League’s Player of the month for July. Photo: Gar Fitzgerald

August 3, 2022

Official Intercounty Baseball League News Release

The Intercounty Baseball League (IBL) announced on Wednesday that Guelph right-hander Claudio Custodio has been named the League's Player of the month for July.

Custodio capped a dominant July by setting an Intercounty Baseball League single-season strikeout record, which helped him earn the Rawlings Player of the Month award.

Custodio, 31, went 3-0 in five starts. The Dominican righty posted a 2.59 ERA and 0.971 WHIP over 38 1/3 innings. He walked 10 and struck out 64, the last dozen in a win over the Kitchener Panthers on July 30.

It gave Custodio 157 strikeouts for the season, surpassing Ron Stead’s 57-year mark of 156 set in 1965 when he was nearing the end of a nine-year run with the Brantford Red Sox.

About the Intercounty Baseball League (IBL)

The Intercounty Baseball League (IBL) is one of the top-level baseball leagues in Canada, boasting ex-major league professional and elite NCAA college baseball players. The 2022 season will mark the IBL’s 103nd in operation. The IBL is one of the longest continuously operated baseball leagues in the world and serves as a valuable training ground for coaches, umpires, and front office staff. More than 40 IBL players have advanced to Major League Baseball or returned to the IBL following their MLB careers. The league is comprised of teams from Barrie, Brantford, Kitchener, London, Toronto, Guelph, Welland and Hamilton.