2006 TSM Baseball Award Results

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

We had 22 voters for this project, just a few shy of the writers who actually get to vote for the real awards. So we have a decent represenative sampling. Overall, the posters here did a good job. Congratulations. Without further ado, here are your winners.

 

AL MVP:

 

.343/.417/.483, 34 steals, 118 runs scored

 

Derek Jeter edged Joe Mauer by 38 points in the balloting, drawing half of the first place votes in the process. Jeter is worshipped by the sports press for things he doesn't do, but in some aspects he does not get credit for what he does. Jeter finished fourth in the league in OBP, and was a basestealing threat when he reached. He played average defense at a prime position. Rounding out the top ten were Mauer, Johan Santana, David Ortiz, Justin Morneau, Jermaine Dye, Travis Hafner, Frank Thomas, Grady Sizemore and Carlos Guillen.

 

NL MVP:

 

.331/.431/.671, 49 home runs, 137 RBIs

 

There is a saying that a player with an out of context year will get more MVP support than a player who excels consistantly. Albert Pujols has produced similar statistics for six seasons now, establishing himself as the greatest player of the new millenium. Our voters looked past Ryan Howard's gaudy home run and RBI totals to give the nod to Pujols by a healthy margin. Pujols gathered 14 of 22 first place votes. Rounding out the top ten were Howard, Carlos Beltran, Lance Berkman, Miguel Cabrera, Alfonso Soriano, Jose Reyes, Chase Utley, David Wright, and Nomar Garciaparra.

 

AL Cy Young:

 

19-6, 233.7 IP, 47 BB, 245 Ks, 2.77 ERA

 

What more can you say? Johan Santana has led the American League in least hits allowed per nine, strikeouts, and adjusted ERA each of the last three seasons. There is no doubt as to who the best pitcher in baseball is right now, and to cement the honor, this vote was unanimous. Roy Halladay took second and Chien Ming Wang finished third.

 

NL Cy Young:

 

16-8, 235 IP, 50 BB, 178 Ks, 3.10 ERA

 

Brandon Webb leads the NL pack in an odd year where no pitcher truly excelled. Six pitchers tied for the NL lead with sixteen wins. Look at any category and chances are a different pitcher led. Aaron Harang led the league in strikeouts. Jake Peavy led in strikeouts per nine. Chris Young led in least hits allowed per nine. Chris Carpenter led in WHIP. Webb finished second in innings and first in adjusted ERA, making him a respectable choice. Roy Oswalt finished second and Carpenter third in the voting.

 

AL Rookie of the Year:

 

17-9, 197.3 IP, 60 BBs, 124 Ks, 3.63 ERA

 

Verlander led the pack by winning seventeen games, and lasting the year. Jonathan Papelbon and Francisco Liriano both lost steam by missing the end of the year, and Jered Weaver came up too late from AAA to make a serious run. If this balloting is any indication, Japanese import Kenji Johjima will not cause any controversy this year. He received just one vote, for third place, from myself.

 

NL Rookie of the Year:

 

.292/.350/.483, 17 HRs, 51 steals

 

Before the season, I predicted the Marlins would lose 100 games. One of their weak spots had to be Hanley Ramirez, a much heralded shortstop prospect who had not shown any ability to hit above single A. The Marlins made him their starter. Now they look like geniuses and I look like a moron. Ramirez is just 22, and if he keeps his up he might become a HOF caliber player. Note that I said might. That's a fair sight better than what I thought last offseason. Rounding out the ballot were Ryan Zimmerman (another future star), and Dan Uggla. Uggla stunned everyone by hitting 27 home runs as a Rule V pick.

 

This was a fantastic season for rookies in the NL. Besides the aforementioned three we witnessed Chris Duncan, Prince Fielder, Josh Johnson, Russell Martin, Scott Olsen, Andre Ethier, Cole Hamels, Anibal Sanchez, Conor Jackson and Matt Cain.

 

AL Manager of the Year:

 

 

Jim Leyland took 19 of 21 votes cast to win the balloting (one abstained). Leyland's Tigers lost the division on the final day of the season, but still stunned fans after not having finished even above .500 since 1993. Ron Gardenhire took second, and Ken Macha edged Joe Torre for third place.

 

NL Manager of the Year:

 

 

As I said earlier, I expected the Marlins to lose 100 games. They stayed in contention until mid-September, and Joe Girardi took a lot of credit for getting his young prospects to perform at a Major League level. Girardi has likely earned himself another managing job. Willie Randolph took second, and Grady Little and Bruce Bochy tied for third place.

[Vern Gagne 0]

No votes for Mr.Saito of the Dodgers. He became almost automatic in the closer's roll for the Dodgers.

 

I think NL ROY will either be Zimmerman or Uggla.

[vivalaultra 0]

I don't know if I would feel comfortable voting for guys like Johjima or Saito for ROY, considering all the time they put in the Japanese Leagues. Granted, they're technically rookies, but Saito's like...36.

[CanadianChris 0]

I doubt it would be Uggla, because his dropoff toward the end of the year was fairly significant. It's going to be close between Ramirez and Zimmerman, but Ramirez had an awesome August and September, so I think he'll stand out more in the voters' minds.

[Bored 0]

What players, if any, appeared on just one ballot for the MVP voting?

[Guest Princess Leena]

Alexander.

 

I hope Hanley wears his hat correctly in next year's pictures. He really does look 12.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I don't know if I would feel comfortable voting for guys like Johjima or Saito for ROY, considering all the time they put in the Japanese Leagues. Granted, they're technically rookies, but Saito's like...36.

The award itself is named after its first winner, Jackie Robinson. Given that at least three established stars of the negro leagues won the award, I have no problem voting for the Japanese players.

[vivalaultra 0]

I don't know if I would feel comfortable voting for guys like Johjima or Saito for ROY, considering all the time they put in the Japanese Leagues. Granted, they're technically rookies, but Saito's like...36.

The award itself is named after its first winner, Jackie Robinson. Given that at least three established stars of the negro leagues won the award, I have no problem voting for the Japanese players.

 

 

Good point, Lord Alfred. But it would still be bizzarre for a 36-year old who has been playing pro ball for a decade or more to win ROY.

[naiwf 0]

In the last 6 years the AL ROY has gone to a 32 year old pitcher with 10 years as a pro in Japan, and a 27 year old hitter with 9 years as a pro in Japan. On top of that, Matsui should have won the year Berroa did. This ridiculous argument that Japanese baseball should count against your MLB rookie status only when it's convenient makes no sense.

[vivalaultra 0]

If saying that it's weird that 10-year Japanese veterans winning a Rookie of the Year award is the most ridiculous thing I say today, I'll be doing well. I wasn't discounting that they deserve to be in the running for the award or even winning the award (I certainly agree that Matsui should've won it instead of Berroa), I was just saying that the idea of a 36-year old rookie seems odd to me. Oh well.

[naiwf 0]

I wasn't saying that the idea is ridiculous, I'm just saying that I've heard voters flip flop on what they'll vote for when it's convenient. There were guys who voted both Sasaki and Suzuki # 1 in ROY balloting who felt it was wrong to vote Matsui # 1 because he played in Japan. Just like they won't count Ichiro's Japanese hit total with his MLB hit total when he retires, you shouldn't count someone's Japanese games played against his MLB rookie status.

[Vern Gagne 0]

The rule should be changed.

[The Man in Blak 0]

I don't know if I would feel comfortable voting for guys like Johjima or Saito for ROY, considering all the time they put in the Japanese Leagues. Granted, they're technically rookies, but Saito's like...36.

The award itself is named after its first winner, Jackie Robinson. Given that at least three established stars of the negro leagues won the award, I have no problem voting for the Japanese players.

 

I'll admit, if the precedent weren't set in the past, I'm not sure that I would consider the Japanese Players on my ballot. There is enough debate over the quality of the Japanese leagues, in comparison to MLB, but the fact of the matter is that Johjima and Saito have had years of professional experience at the highest level of baseball in their country. It seems a bit odd to consider Japanese imports like Johjima, Saito, and Matsui a "rookie" when they are some of the most experienced baseball players you may find on these teams.

 

Also, it's worth noting that Jackie Robinson only played one year with the Monarchs in 1945 before hitting the Majors and was 27 years old when he won the award - he was still relatively inexperienced, as far as professional baseball experience goes.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

What players, if any, appeared on just one ballot for the MVP voting?

AL: Chien Ming Wang, Miguel Tejada, Jon Papelbon, Ivan Rodriguez, Jason Varitek, Roy Halladay, Jason Giambi

 

NL: Mike Cameron, Barry Bonds, Carlos Delgado, Adam Dunn, Freddy Sanchez, Carlos Zambrano, Scott Rolen, Adrian Gonzalez

[vivalaultra 0]

I voted Sanchez! Without him (and the Cubs), the Pirates would've finished last in the division.