| My 2014 MLB Award Winners |
| By Sally Haase October 10, 2014 Here we are again folks; another baseball season has ended, with a no-hitter no less; thanks to Jordan Zimmerman. The division winners this year were the Baltimore Orioles, the Detroit Tigers, and the Los Angeles Angels; with the Oakland Athletics and Kansas City Royals battling in the play-in game. In the National league it is the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Washington Nationals and the St. Louis Cardinals with the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants in the play-in game. The World Series could cover the whole country, each end, or the middle of the country this season. The end of the season also means the end of season awards and here are my thoughts on who will be honored. Let's start with the American League. Rookie of the year: Jose Abreu, Chicago White Sox. The Sox had to find a player to take over for the retiring Paul Kornerko at first base and they found a great one in Abreu. At 27 years old, he is not a traditional MLB rookie but it is still his first year in the majors and his numbers speak for itself. In 145 games Abreu accumulated a . 317 average with 36 home runs and his fielding was great as well with a .992 fielding percentage. MVP: Mike Trout, Angels. With no Triple Crown winner this year it is Trout's year for the MVP, and the 5 tool player certainly deserves it. He only missed five games this season, led the AL in run scored with 115 and drove in just as many with 111. Add in the 36 home runs and the highlight reel catches in the outfield and you have the MVP of the American League. CY Young: Corey Kluber, Cleveland Indians. Talk about coming out of nowhere to be one of the best pitchers in the league. Kluber had a fantastic season on a mediocre team. The ERA was terrific at 2.44 and his 18 wins ties for the league lead. Kluber also was the Indians ace by working 235.2 innings with 269 strikeouts. Manager of the Year: Buck Showalter Orioles. It was a toss up between Showalter and the Royals Ned Yost for this honor; since I felt Showalter should have won last season but didn't, I hope the baseball writers honor him this season for his effort with the Orioles. The AL East is probably the toughest division to win and Showalter led his team to the East championship without a proven ace on the pithing staff and a slew of injuries. Showalter led a true team effort this season. On to the senior circuit; Rookie of the year: Jacob deGrom, New York Mets. deGrom's record is not the most impressive at 9-6 but he did start 22 games so there were seven games in which he had a no decision and based on his ERA of 2.69 it was likely because the Mets could not score enough runs to support his effort to get him the win. deGrom struck out 144 batters in 140.1 innings pitched and only gave up seven home runs in all those innings. There is more to a great season than the pitcher's record and deGrom is living proof of that. MVP: Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers. I am not one of those who think the MVP needs to go to a position player, especially when Kershaw had such a dominant season; and it could have been even more amazing had he not missed all of April with an injury. Kershaw's numbers are better than Justin Verlander's when he won the AL MVP award; this one should be a no-brainer. CY Young: Kershaw. 21-3, 1.77 ERA, 6 complete games, 239 K's. Led the NL in ERA for the fourth consecutive season. 'nuff said. Manager of the year: Matt Williams, Nationals. This was the toughest one to pick since there were really no surprises to emerge from the NL. Clint Hurdle could repeat, but I will go with rookie skipper Williams for the honor this year. Sure, he took over a great team when Davey Johnson retired, but much like Showalter, Williams had to manage the Nationals through some injuries and his steady leadership led the team to the NL East championship. There you have it; we'll see how my predictions turn out come November when the awards are handed out. |
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