It's award season for MLB, which means it is time for the My Pinstripes awards as well.
MVP
We'll start off with the big one right away. The Most Valuable Player (MVP) award for the American League. This is a two man race - Robinson Cano of the Yankees and Josh Hamilton of the Rangers.
Hamilton led the league in many offensive categories despite missing almost the entire last month of the season. Here's the thing, Texas most likely would have still won the AL West had Hamilton had a mediocre season.
Cano had a huge breakout year with the bat and won his first Gold Glove with remarkable defense. People will point out the RBI totals of A-Rod and Mark Teixeira, the up year for Nick Swisher, etc. But Cano carried the Yankees for much of the season. Without him there's a good chance that Boston, despite all it's injuries, would have caught the Yankees for the wild card.
The My Pinstripes AL MVP goes to Robinson Cano.
The MLB AL MVP will go to Josh Hamilton.
Over in the National League it is again a two man race. Albert Pujols had one of his usual monster years, while Joey Votto was the break out star of the surprising Cincinnati Reds. Prince Albert has dominated the award, but this is Votto's for the taking. It's hard to imagine that he had to be put on the All-Star team through a last minute fan vote.
The My Pinstripes NL MVP goes to Joey Votto.
The MLB NL MVP will go to Joey Votto (otherwise the BBWAA is even crazier than you think).
CY Young
Let's start with the NL this time around. Ubaldo Jiminez owned this award in the first half. He was unstoppable. Then a rain delayed/interrupted start seemed to screw up his season. Adam Wainwright took ownership in August. he was unstoppable. And then he fell apart down the stretch.
So that only means one thing..is there a doctor in the house? Perfect game in the regular season, no-hitter in the post-season (which of course does not affect voting), and a won-loss record that would have been much better if the Phillies hadn't slumped for most of the season.
The My Pinstripes NL CY Young goes to Roy Halladay.
The MLB NL CY Young will go to Roy Halladay.
Over in the AL, it's a triumvirate of CC Sabathia, David Price, and Felix Hernandez. The King has all the totals other than wins, which is not the best indicator of a top pitcher. Sabathia and Price were both dominant at times.
The My Pinstripes AL CY Young goes to CC Sabathia.
The MLB CY Young goes to.....David Price (just a hunch).
Rookie of the Year
As I write this I already who the actual winners are, but they were my picks as well.
Neftali Feliz dominated as the Rangers closer. But where does he go from there? Do the Rangers keep him as the closer or eventually make him a starter?
Buster Posey's impact on the Giants lineup was enormous as was his defensive presence.
Buster Posey's impact on the Giants lineup was enormous as was his defensive presence.
The My Pinstripes and MLB Rookie of the Year Winners - Neftali Feliz, Buster Posey
Manager of the Year
Many people will hand this award to Ron Washington for the job he did with the Texas Rangers. But Washington also made a lot of strange decisions during the year and played in a weak division. Ozzie Guillen and Ron Gardenhire also performed well. But...
The My Pinstripes AL Manager of the Year is Terry Francona. A few less bad breaks and some good ones and Boston might have been in the playoffs.
The MLB AL Manager of the Year will go to Ron Washington.
Over in the NL there are a number of good choices- Bruce Bochy, Bobby Cox, Dusty Baker, Bud Black.
The My Pinstripes NL Manger of the Year is Bobby Cox
The MLB NL Manager of the Year will go to Dusty Baker
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