DATE: Thursday, August 28, 1997             TAG: 9708280703

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C4   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: RICHMOND                          LENGTH:   27 lines

TIDES' PETAGINE NAMED IL MVP

Roberto Petagine, the Norfolk Tides' power-hitting first baseman, was named International League Most Valuable Player Wednesday, becoming the second Tide in three years to win the award.

Tallies of the voting, taken from field managers, general managers, radio broadcasters and writers who regularly cover the IL, were not released, but sources close to the process said that Petagine won in a landslide.

It is the second MVP award for Petagine, who also won in the Texas League in 1993, giving him MVPs at Double-A and Triple-A.

``Maybe they'll send me to Class A next year so I can win one there,'' Petagine, 26, said.

Petagine leads the league in home runs with 30, is second in RBIs with 96 and was hitting .317 heading into Wednesday night's game in Richmond.

Petagine, who was also named as the IL's All-Star first baseman, was the only Tide to make the postseason team.

Petagine hit .318 with 12 homers and 65 RBIs in just over a half season in 1996 before spending the remainder with the New York Mets. ILLUSTRATION: Roberto Petagine

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