American League MVP
Some people will want Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton, but he missed too many games for me.
Others may choose Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers, who was stellar all year and is also worthy.
My choice is Robinson Cano of the New York Yankees.
He has a solid glove and put up excellent numbers with the bat.
When fans rattle off Yankees, he might not even be amongst the first mentioned, but the Yankees would be nowhere this year without him.
National League MVP
Albert Pujols, of the Saint Louis Cardinals, might be the best player in baseball. He certainly made a strong case to win his fourth MVP Award in six years.
The Colorado Rockies have Carlos Gonzales and Troy Tulowitzki to boast with good reason.
Adrian Gonzales of the San Diego Padres also deserves mention.
The Cincinnati Reds were not picked by many to compete for a pennant, much less win their division.
Joey Votto was simply great this year, and consistently kept the Reds on top. He even teased the Triple Crown for awhile. He is my choice.
American League Cy Young
David Price, of the Tampa Bay Rays, deserves big mention.
John Lester, of the Boston Red Sox, deserves some as well.
I see this coming down between two guys.
"King" Felix Hernandez would not upset me if he won, despite a 13-12 record. The man was simply incredible this year.
However, I am picking C.C. Sabathia of the New York Yankees.
Did I flip a coin? Maybe.
I just see C.C. as a distant MVP contender and the glue of the Yankees rotation.
National League Cy Young
Adam Wainwright, of the Saint Louis Cardinals, is the only other guy I see getting quite a few first place votes.
Tim Hudson, of the Atlanta Braves, had a very good and underrated season that deserves mention.
Roy "Doc" Halladay, of the Philadelphia Phillies, should walk away with it.
American League Rookie Of The Year
Austin Jackson, of the Detroit Tigers, will get a lot of votes and is worthy.
Wade Davis, of the Tampa Bay Rays, will get some votes too.
Neftali Feliz, of the Texas Rangers, is my pick. His 39 saves and OPS are too hard to ignore.
National League Rookie Of The Year
Outfielder Jason Hayward, of the Atlanta Braves, will get a lot of votes in what should be a close race to the finish.
The Saint Louis Cardinals Jaime Garcia will also get votes in a fantastic N.L. rookie class.
Buster Posey, a catcher for the San Francisco Giants, is my pick. His offensive numbers are pretty much equal to Heyward's, but with a lot less at bats.
American League Manager Of The Year
Terry Francona, of the Boston Red Sox, got a very injured and old team a lot of wins somehow.
Buck Showalter, of the Baltimore Orioles, took a floundering team and got them to play 10 games above .500 after his hiring.
The Texas Rangers Ron Washington also deserves mention.
My pick is Ron Gardenhire of the Minnesota Twins. I'd love to see what this guy could do with an expensive clubhouse like the Yankees.
National League Manager Of The Year
I REALLY hope the underrated Charlie Manuel of the Philadelphia Phillies gets votes. He had an injured lineup for 117 games, yet the Phillies blew the doors off their division and are many peoples favorites to be champions.
Dusty Baker, of the Cincinnati Reds, did a great job as well this year.
But what Bud Black did with the San Diego Padres is amazing. They almost had a dream season without a whole lot of talent.
1 comment:
Great to see the props to Joey Votto. As I recently told a friend, anyone who kept pace with King Albert should be rewarded.
By the way, I just posted the All-Time Roys ... and two of them are in this post!
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