Sunday, November 17, 2013

Day 231: Major Leauge Baseball Hands Out More Superlatives

Well, friends... MLB has announced the rest of their award winners this past week. Guess that means the 2013 baseball season has officially (and sadly) come to a close. It was a season full of surprises and celebrations for this Red Sox fan... one I didn't want to end!

Most Valuable Player

American League:  No surprise here. Detroit Tigers' Miguel Cabrera became the first player to win back-to-back MVP awards since White Sox slugger Frank Thomas did it 1993-94. Cabrera won by a landslide, garnering 23 of the first-place votes compared to Mike Trout's five. Cabrera finished the season with a .348 batting average earning him his third straight batting title with the Tigers. He also lead the AL in on-base percentage, slugging and OPS. [Stacy's preseason prediction: Mike Trout]

National League:  Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates took home the NL MVP honors. His win was also quite convincing—he received 28 first-place votes. McCutchen's offensive numbers were not as impressive as Cabrera's—.317 batting average, 21 home runs, 27 stolen bases, 84 RBIs and 97 runs scored. Instead, he was honored for the impact he had on a team that make the postseason for the first time in 20 years and improved their record by 15 games over the previous season. [Stacy's preseason prediction: Bryce Harper]

Rookie of the Year

American League:  Tampa Bay Rays' Wil Myers collected 23 of 30 first-place votes for the AL Rookie of the Year award after playing barely a half a season, but posting some impressive offensive numbers. The 22-year-old batted .293 with 13 home runs and 53 RBIs in only 88 games after being called up in mid-june. He added some much-needed power to the Rays' lineup, helping them make the postseason. I will forever remember Myers for his botched play in game one of the Division Series that was instrumental in the Red Sox big win.

National League:  Miami Marlins' pitcher Jose Fernandez upset the flamboyant Dodger, Yasiel Puig to take the NL ROY award with 26 of the 30 first-place votes. Fernandez was originally slated to start the season in Double-A, but a couple of injuries left holes in the Marlins' rotation giving the 20-year-old pitcher a chance to prove himself and making him the youngest pitcher on a major league team on opening day. He went 12-6 with a 2.19 ERA and 187 strikeouts and made the All-Star team.

Cy Young

American League:  Max Scherzer had a crazy good season so it was no surprise that the Detroit Tigers' righty won the AL Cy Young with 28 of the 30 first-place votes. The 29-year-old hurler went 21-3 with a 2.90 ERA in 32 starts. Scherzer is the second Tiger to win the Cy Young in the last three seasons—Justin Verlander won in 2011. [Stacy's preseason prediction: Felix Hernandez]

National League:  Clayton Kershaw took the prize in the National League nearly unanimously with 29 of the 30 first-place votes. This is the 25-year-old Dodger's second Cy Young in three years—he won in 2011 (and came in second in 2012.) Kershaw went 16-9 in 33 starts and led the NL with 232 strikeouts. His stingy 1.83 ERA is the lowest in the majors in 13 years. [Stacy's preseason prediction: Clayton Kershaw *dingdingding* we have a winner!]

Congratulations to all the winners... until next year baseball fans!

No comments:

Post a Comment