That”s right, I”m talking about Major League Baseball awards season.
And it”s already begun.
Every year since the 1980s, the Baseball Writers Association of America votes for the winners of major awards before the postseason begins.
So far, the BWAA has named the 2010 Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year winners and the National League Cy Young winner. And the American League Cy Young award winner will be announced today.
Let”s start by looking at the three major awards already decided.
The Rookie of the Year awards were pretty straightforward. San Francisco Giants” catcher Buster Posey catapulted his team into the playoffs with his consistent offense and brilliant control of the pitching staff. Posey”s offensive numbers for the year were extraordinary for any rookie, let alone one who made his ML debut in late May.
Texas Rangers closer Neftali Feliz”s 42 saves set the all-time record a rookie, and with no impressive AL starting pitcher or offensive player, Feliz was a rightful shoo-in when the results were announced Monday.
AL Manager of the Year winner Ron Gardenhire led his Minnesota Twins to the third best record in the AL and a sixth AL Central division title in his nine-year tenure, doing so without his team”s two best players (catcher Joe Mauer and first baseman Justin Morneau) for significant portions of the year.
Gardenhire finally got his due this year, winning his first top-manager award.
NL Manager of the Year wasn”t so correctly awarded.
Bud Black, manager for the San Diego Padres, won the award by a single vote over Cincinnati Reds” manager Dusty Baker.
The Padres finished second in the NL West, one game behind the Giants, despite leading the division most of the year. The Padres no doubt had an unexpectedly successful year, and Black should get most of the credit, but this award belonged to Baker.
Baker led the once-storied Reds to their first division title since 1995. The team”s success and overpowering of the St. Louis Cardinals surprised most – and its incredibly consistent pitching staff surprised all.
The 2010 award would have been Baker”s fourth (he earned three with the Giants), which would have put him in elite company, despite never winning a World Series, and might have resulted in the one-point swing in Black”s favor.
NL Cy Young was a no-brainer this year. And apparently the BWAA agreed, by voting unanimously for Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay.
Halladay led the NL in wins, innings and complete games. He also threw the 20th perfect game in ML history in May (the same day Posey was called up by the Giants).
The BWAA”s choice for AL Cy Young today will be interesting.
The race seems to be between Vallejo native CC Sabathia, of the New York Yankees and Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners.
Most stat-heads want Hernandez to win because he led the majors in ERA and finished second in the AL in strikeouts despite playing for the AL”s worst team.
His 13-12 overall record is just too much to overcome. Yes he played on a horrible team that rarely scored for him, but they can”t give the award to a starting pitcher who won so few games.
Sabathia on the other hand led the AL in wins and was in the top 10 with a 3.18 ERA. Not to mention that he carried his team into the playoffs.
Sabathia should win his second Cy Young award, and today, he will win.
AL Most Valuable Player also seems to be a two-man race.
Detroit Tigers” first baseman Miguel Cabrera finished first in the AL in RBIs, second in batting average and third in home runs (the three triple crown offensive categories).
Cabrera”s a beast of a hitter, a home run or RBI threat every time he steps to the plate, but unfortunately not enough of a threat to lead the Tigers to the playoffs.
Texas Rangers” outfielder Josh Hamilton, who led the ML in batting average, did lead his team to a division title. The month-long ribcage injury forced him off the field and hurt his home run and RBI totals.
Hamilton also has recovery on his side. He has battled drug and alcohol addiction for years and only recently got his issues under control enough to excel on the field.
Still, being in the top three of each triple crown category should still be a sure thing.
Cabrera should win, but Hamilton will win.
NL MVP is another matter because there were three players in the top five of triple crown categories: Albert Pujols of the Cardinals, Carlos Gonzalez of the Colorado Rockies and Joey Votto of the Reds.
Pujols had an amazing year, leading the NL in home runs and RBIs, but his team faltered late in the year.
Gonzalez had a breakout year (painting the Oakland A”s a devastatingly painful picture of what could”ve been), leading the NL in batting average, second in RBIs and fourth in home runs.
The Rockies weren”t a factor in the race for a division crown though.
Only Votto led his team to a division title and a playoff berth. He finished second in the NL in batting average and third in home runs and RBIs. The Reds” playoff berth should push the vote in Votto”s favor, even though Gonzalez had an amazing year, almost out of nowhere.
Votto will win, but Gonzalez should win.
Don”t be surprised if Halladay get a small share of first-place votes.
Jeremy Walsh is a staff reporter for Lake County Publishing. He can be reached at 263-5636 ext.37 or jwalsh@record-bee.com.
Jeremy Walsh is a staff reporter for Lake County Publishing. He can be reached at 263-5636 ext.37 or jwalsh@record-bee.com.
