MLB Award Wrap-Up

It seems like the baseball season has been over forever, yet it has only been a few weeks since the Red Sox won the World Series. We just wrapped up the week of awards, which seemed mostly anticlimactic, but we did learn a lot. Here is my take on each of the major awards given out this week...

Rookie of the Year- AL: Wil Myers was going to win it and everybody knew it, but we had to wait to make sure there was not going to be a major disappointment. Myers had a great year and once again proved that the Rays know what they are doing every time they trade away a veteran. Myers was one of the key pieces the Rays got when they traded James Shields to the Royals last offseason. Jose Iglesias and another Ray Chris Archer finished second and third in the voting respectively. They both had great rookie seasons, but neither could match Myers overall performance at the plate, in the field and in clutch moments. He is going to give the Rays a starting outfielder for years to come; unless of course they trade him in the next few years.

NL- As much as I wanted Yasiel Puig to win the ROY award in the NL, I knew his chances were slim to none. Jose Fernandez had an amazing year. He had a great ERA, so many strikeouts and was dominant all season long. Even though he played for a terrible Marlins team, he still found a way to win games. He got the edge over Puig in large part because of Puig's sharp decline towards the end of the season. Puig had a September to forget, which lowered his batting average greatly. Fernandez was consistent all year long, which made him the top rookie in the National League.

Managers of the year-NL-This was the most obvious of all awards other than NL CY Young. Clint Hurdle led the Pittsburgh Pirates to their first winning season and first playoff appearance in over 20 years. That's about all he had to do to win this award. He did not have the best players in the league either, proving he could win with whatever talent he was given. Having the MVP can't hurt though.

AL-This was the biggest surprise of all the awards. Terry Francona came into Cleveland and took them from bad to playoffs. Like Hurdle, he didn't have the top roster in the league and made the best of what he was given. Francona's win came as a surprise to many though. John Farrell managed the Boston Red Sox to the league's best record and a World Series title so many thought he would be the winner. The voters apparently thought Francona did a better job with what he had.

Cy Young-NL- Clayton Kershaw won his second award in three years because he is simply the best pitcher in the major leagues. He had the lowest ERA for the third straight year and proved he is the best left handed pitcher since Koufax. He is not even 26 yet, and already has two Cy Young awards. Something tells me he will win many more.

AL- Max Scherzer was the most dominant AL pitcher this year and got a much deserved Cy Young. He won his first thirteen decisions of the season, and was the only pitcher in the major leagues to finish with at least 20 wins. His consistency and dominance throughout the season guaranteed this award and the funniest thing is he apparently might be on a different team's roster by Opening Day next year.

MVP AL- Miguel Cabrera is good. Really Good. He might just be the best hitter in the major leagues. He won his second straight MVP award and deserved it. He led the Detroit Tigers to the championship series for the second straight year and is going to continue to dominant as one of the best hitters for years still to come. You got to feel bad for Mike Trout though finishing second in the MVP vote for the second straight year.

NL-Andrew McCutchen had a good season and was  MVP candidate all year long. His win comes more from no other clear candidate, but of all those eligible he was clearly the best. As mentioned earlier, he was the best player on a team that was above .500 for the first time in over 20 years. That was a big reason why he deserved the award. He is a good fielder and a great hitter. The question is if he can continue to be a top player in the league over the next few years.

Now the the baseball season is officially over and its time to focus on real life. More realistically though, basketball and football. Posts in the near future are likely to be about basketball, but the MLB free agency period has already begun! Punto to the Athletics and Soto returning to the Rangers are a couple of the signings so far. Where will Cano go? That will be answered with many others in future posts.