Thursday, September 29, 2011

The MLB Regular Season Is Over - Awards Time!

Now that every game in every team's season is completed and while we all anxiously await the playoffs, it seems like a good time to reflect on what we all experienced and to proudly cast this site's official ballot for the Baseball Bloggers Alliance annual baseball awards. Doing so is one of this writer's favorite parts about being a member of said organization.

The awards considered are the Connie Mack Awards, given each year to the league's best manager, The Willie Mays Award which goes to the top rookie, the Goose Gossage Award to the best reliever in each league, the Walter Johnson Award which goes to the top pitcher and the Stan Musual Award which goes to the majors best overall player. First you'll get the picks and then a few comments for each. Here we go!

The Connie Mack Award - Top Manager

American League
1. Joe Girardi
2. Jim Leyland
3. Joe Maddon
Comments: What Maddon did to get the Rays into the playoffs was spectacular. But which team won more games? And think back to before the season started. Did anyone think the Yankees had a prayer with that rotation? Leyland did a masterful job smashing the rest of a weak division. Honorable Mentions: Ken Macha, Buck Showalter, John Farrell.

National League
1. Kirk Gibson
2. Ron Roenicke
3. Don Mattingly
Comments: The Diamondbacks are the story of the year and Kirk Gibson has to be smack dab in the middle of that conversation. Ron Roenicke did a masterful job making his rebuilt team into a powerhouse. The third place vote for Mattingly is an admiration of the Dodgers winning 82 games despite the awful state of the Dodgers as a franchise. Honorable mentions: Tony LaRussa (though his mismanaged his bullpen terribly) and Davey Johnson whose Nationals finished the season with much promise.

The Willie Mays Award - Top Rookie

American League
1. Eric Hosmer
2. Ivan Nova
3. Michael Pineda
Comments: Hosmer's overall stats suffer from his defensive metrics. But the young player gave Royals fans hope for years to come. Nova became a lifesaver for the team that had the most wins in the American League. The last choice was tough between Pineda and Ogando. Honorable mentions: Dustin Ackley, Jeremy Hellickson, Zach Britton.

National League
1. Brandon Beachy
2. Vance Worley
3. Wilson Ramos
Comments: Beachy gave the Braves a fighting chance for the playoffs. Without him, there would not have been the heartbreak. Worley made everyone forget who Joe Blanton is. And Wilson Ramos's work went largely unnoticed. Honorable Mentions: Craig Kimbrel, Danny Espinosa, Josh Collmenter and Cory Luebke.

As mentioned in an earlier post, going by WAR only for rookies leads us down to a wobbly results.

The Goose Gossage Award - Top Reliever

National League
1. Craig Kimbrel
2. Sean Marshall
3. Joel Hanrahan
Comments: Went by fWAR for this one. And see? Kimbrel got his award. Great seasons by J.J. Putz, John Axford and Ryan Madson were not overlooked.

American League
1. Jonathan Papelbon
2. David Robertson
3. Mariano Rivera
Comments: Going by WAR kind of sucks because you can't say enough about the season Jose Valverde had. But he's way down on the list in overall stats. Papelbon had a great season so you can't let his last two games affect the vote.

Walter Johnson Award - Top Pitcher

American League
1. Justin Verlander
2. C.C. Sabathia
3. James Shields
4. C.J. Wilson
5. Doug Fister
Comments: Fangraphs has Sabathia ahead of Verlander, but this Fan just doesn't see it that way. Shields was a rock for the Rays all season and so was Wilson for the Rangers. Fister ranks in the top ten in WAR among AL pitchers and solidified the Tigers as they put away their division.

National League
1. Roy Halladay
2. Clayton Kershaw
3. Cliff Lee
4. Madison Bumgarner
5. Ian Kennedy
Comments: The heart really wanted to put Ian Kennedy on top, but the head prevailed.

Stan Musual Award - Baseball's Best Player

National League
1. Matt Kemp
2. Ryan Braun
3. Roy Halladay
4. Joey Votto
5. Cliff Lee
6. Clayton Kershaw
7. Justin Upton
8. Jose Reyes
9. Prince Fielder
10. Brandon Phillips

American League
1.  Jacoby Ellsbury
2. Jose Bautista
3. Dustin Pedroia
4. Ian Kinsler
5. Miguel Cabrera
6. Justin Verlander
7. C.C. Sabathia
8. Alex Gordon
9. Curtis Granderson
10. Ben Zobrist

There you have it. Now you can let the Fan have it. Enjoy the post season.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

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Anonymous said...

your AL Best Player votes are pretty nutty. Robinson Cano, perhaps you've heard of him? Curtis Granderson led the league in RBI, runs, hit a zillion home runs, plays a great center field, and it seems that every hit was huge. Miguel Cabrera is also a monster. Bautista had a huge first half, but Cabrera, Cano, and Granderson are in the top 4.

Anonymous said...

With all due respect, I have no idea how Papelbon could possibly be a better reliever than Robertson and Rivera. Just my opinion. Robertson finished the season with a 1.08 and 100 K's. Papelbon, as a CLOSER, couldn't even dream of having a 2011 like that.

William J. Tasker said...

Miles and Anon,

Fair enough. Thanks for the comments.