Baseball does so many things perfectly. The pace; the nuance; the romance of the game is unparalleled. Magical numbers don't need explanations to true baseball fans. 56. 714. 755. 3,000. 61*.
One thing baseball does really poorly, however, is the way they trickle out like molasses their postseason awards. After the World Series ends, into November, one at a time, one calendar turn after the next, we get one award per day; ostensibly to draw out sportscasters continually being forced to talk about baseball long after the champagne has dried in the World Series Champions clubhouse.
Nonsense; it need not be this way. Let's do this in two days, shall we? We'll do the American League today; the National League tomorrow.
Before we start, at least as far as the official vote is concerned, since I am not a member of the ultra-exclusive Baseball Writers Association of America (since I work for a – gasp – website) I don't have a vote (someday I'll soapbox about that; less for me and more for the game broadcasters and MLB.com beat writers that live and breathe with these guys every day for seven months, but I digress), but if I did, here is who would get them.
For reference:
OPS = On base plus slugging percentage (the higher the better)
WHIP = Walks plus hits, divided by innings pitched (the lower the better)
American League Cy Young Award
The candidates: Detroit's Josh Verlander and Los Angeles' Jered Weaver.
Verlander: 24-5, 2.40 ERA, 251 IP, 0.92 WHIP
Weaver: 18-8, 2.41 ERA, 235.2 IP, 1.01 WHIP
This one isn't a tough call, even though Weaver deserved better for the incredible year he had. Verlander also gets points (at least from me) for pitching well in games that mattered down the stretch. Even though the Angels hung around in the AL-West, they never really made a strong push. Verlander was dominant throughout, even no-hitting Toronto on May 7. Verlander led the American League in innings pitched, strikeouts, ERA, wins, batting average against, and WHIP. Weaver was spectacular, but Verlander was just flat-out better.
My vote: Verlander
American League MVP
The candidates: Toronto's Jose Bautista, New York's Curtis Granderson, Detroit's Miguel Cabrera, Boston's Adrian Gonzalez, Boston's Jacoby Ellsbury, and New York's Robinson Cano.
Bautista: .302, 1.056 OPS, 43 HR, 103 RBI, .608 SLG
Granderson: .262, .916 OPS, 41 HR, 119 RBI, .552 SLG, plus 25 stolen bases
Cabrera: .344, 1.033 OPS, 30 HR, 105 RBI, .586 SLG
Gonzalez: .338, .957 OPS, 27 HR, 117 RBI, .548 SLG
Ellsbury: .321, .928 OPS, 32 HR, 105 RBI, .552 SLG, plus 39 stolen bases
Cano: .302, .882 OPS, 28 HR, 118 RBI, .533 SLG
There are no shortages of candidates. Bautista is probably the most outstanding player; but that's not the award. Toronto was never a contender, and unless your season statistics are significantly so much better than everyone else's, you're not going to get my vote.
Cabrera hit a staggering .429 in September, and while batting average certainly isn't everything, always getting on base and driving in runs in the heat of a pennant race and playing into October should count for something.
My vote: Cabrera
American League Rookie of the Year
The candidates: Los Angeles' Mark Trumbo, Kansas City's Eric Hosmer, and Tampa Bay's Jeremy Hellickson
Trumbo: .254, .768 OPS, 29 HR, 87 RBI, 539 AB
Hosmer: .293, .799 OPS, 19 HR, 78 RBI, 523 AB
Hellickson: 13-10, 2.95 ERA, 29 games started, 189 IP
As evidence of batting average not meaning as much as it once did, Trumbo's season with the Angels turned so many heads this season (in what was supposed to be just a fill-in stint for first baseman Kendry Morales) that his teammates voted him the team's Most Valuable Player. Trumbo, an Anaheim native, solidified the position for manager Mike Scioscia to the point that Morales, when he returns from injury, may be on the trading block.
Hosmer has been the crown jewel of the much ballyhooed Kansas City farm system for some time now and did not disappoint when he was finally called up to the majors on May 5.
Much like Hosmer, Hellickson was someone that was expected to do great things once he got to the Major Leagues. In September, playing in critical games during an ultimately successful playoff push, Hellickson was spectacular, registering a 2.67 ERA in the season's final month. Hellickson also had four of his five games considered "quality starts" (6 innings pitches while surrendering 3 or fewer earned runs) and only missed a clean sweep by one out on Sept. 15, giving up just 1 earned run in 5.2 innings pitched vs. Boston.
My vote: Hellickson
American League Manager of the Year
The candidates: Tampa Bay's Joe Maddon, Texas' Ron Washington, and Detroit's Jim Leyland.
After winning the always-hotly contested AL-East in 2010, many wondered when the magic would run out of Joe Maddon's crew. This April, the Rays got off to a 0-6 start after allowing star leftfielder Carl Crawford to sign a 7-year, $147 million contract with their division rival Boston Red Sox. Some had thought that Maddon finally lost his touch. No such luck for the rest of the division, especially Boston. As the Red Sox collapsed, the Rays surged with players that aren't exactly household names.
No one can minimize the enthusiastic approach that works for Ron Washington in Texas or the tough-as-nails approach that works for Jim Leyland in Detroit. However, they both are winning with payrolls that are more than twice that of the paltry $41 million Maddon has to deal with. While they shouldn't be penalized for that, what Maddon has done is nothing short of miraculous.
My vote: Maddon
American League Executive of the Year
The candidates: Texas' Jon Daniels and Tampa Bay's Andrew Friedman.
Friedman gets the ultimate respect for working within the confines of baseball's second-lowest payroll (again, just a shade over $41 million) and getting the Rays to the playoffs three out of the last four years. After last season, Friedman knew he couldn't re-sign all star leftfielder Carl Crawford, so he plugged the gap with a combination of newly acquired Johnny Damon (.261, 16 HR, 73 RBI), Sam Fuld (.240 in 308 AB), and Desmond Jennings (.259, .356 SLG, 10 HR in 247 AB). Did they alone put the Rays into the playoffs? No, but Freedman's hands were otherwise tied.
After the departure of Carlos Pena (along with his 28 home runs and 84 RBI) to Chicago, Friedman picked up first baseman Casey Kotchman off of the Angels' scrap heap. Kotchman solidified the position by hitting .310 with 10 home runs and 48 RBI in 500 at-bats.
Daniels, albeit working with a payroll more than $50 million more than Friedman, also had a fine season in the front office. His most notable move was to trade for catcher/first baseman Mike Napoli four days after he was dealt from the Angels to the Blue Jays. In acquiring Napoli (.320, 30 HR, 75 RBI in only 369 AB due to injuries), Daniels only gave up reliever Frank Francisco (1-4, 3.55 ERA in 54 games for the Blue Jays).
Also, in June, despite the Rangers ranking fourth in the American League in run production, Daniels fired hitting coach Thad Bosley, a longtime friend of manager Ron Washington. Why shake things up when all seemed to be going well? Because players didn't feel Bosley meshed with their personalities. Not content with the status quo and after only three months (including spring training) on the job, Bosley was out, replaced by Scott Coolbaugh. The Rangers ended the season with the highest batting average in baseball.
Furthermore, Daniels solidified his bullpen by dealing for Baltimore's Koji Uehara, whose pinpoint control was evidenced by the 0.778 WHIP he posted in Texas after the trade.
My vote: A close one, but Daniels gets the nod.
Tomorrow: My votes for the major award winners in the National League
Doug Russell has been covering Milwaukee and Wisconsin sports for over 20 years on radio, television, magazines, and now at OnMilwaukee.com.
Over the course of his career, the Edward R. Murrow Award winner and Emmy nominee has covered the Packers in Super Bowls XXXI, XXXII and XLV, traveled to Pasadena with the Badgers for Rose Bowls, been to the Final Four with Marquette, and saw first-hand the entire Brewers playoff runs in 2008 and 2011. Doug has also covered The Masters, several PGA Championships, MLB All-Star Games, and Kentucky Derbys; the Davis Cup, the U.S. Open, and the Sugar Bowl, along with NCAA football and basketball conference championships, and for that matter just about anything else that involves a field (or court, or rink) of play.
Doug was a sports reporter and host at WTMJ-AM radio from 1996-2000, before taking his radio skills to national syndication at Sporting News Radio from 2000-2007. From 2007-2011, he hosted his own morning radio sports show back here in Milwaukee, before returning to the national scene at Yahoo! Sports Radio last July. Doug's written work has also been featured in The Sporting News, Milwaukee Magazine, Inside Wisconsin Sports, and Brewers GameDay.
Doug and his wife, Erika, split their time between their residences in Pewaukee and Houston, TX.
