*- BBWA winner
**- IBWAA winner
***- BBWA and IBWAA winner
American League
Most Valuable Player
1. Mike Trout, Anaheim
2. Miguel Cabrera, Detroit***
3. Josh Donaldson, Oakland
4. Chris Davis, Baltimore
5. Robinson Cano, New York
6. Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay
7. Manny Machado, Baltimore
8. Dustin Pedroia, Boston
9. Max Scherzer, Detroit
10. Adrian Beltre, Texas
- Like last year, my top two are the same. Also like last
year, Cabrera was voted ahead of Trout. Trout has two of the best age-20 and 21
seasons, yet has zero MVPs to show for it. Oh, and he plays defense and runs
the bases well. Donaldson was really good and underrated this season. Machado
had a solid season with the bat, but was game-changing with his glove.
1. Max Scherzer, Detroit***
2. Felix Hernandez, Seattle
3. Anibal Sanchez, Detroit
4. Yu Darvish, Texas
5. Chris Sale, Chicago
- Scherzer had a fantastic season, and it had nothing to do
with wins. Hernandez is underrated seemingly every year. Any of these five had
a case for the award.
Rookie of the Year
1. Wil Myers, Tampa Bay***
2. Jose Iglesias, Boston/Detroit
3. Chris Archer, Tampa Bay
- Myers was not only the best rookie in an otherwise weak AL
crop, he was the most impactful. Iglesias hit surprisingly well, but also has
an “8” glove. Archer is the next great Tampa Bay starter.
Manager of the Year
1. Terry Francona, Cleveland*
2. Ned Yost, Kansas City
3. Bob Melvin, Oakland
- Francona did a masterful job in Cleveland. There’s some
talent on that roster, but not 92-win talent. I’m shocked Yost didn’t get a lot
of play for the award in the BBWA or IBWAA ballots. Melvin guided his team to
the third-best record in baseball. I probably erred by not including IBWAA
winner John Farrell**.
Reliever of the Year
1. Koji Uehara, Boston
2. Greg Holland, Kansas City**
3. Neal Cotts, Texas
- Uehara doesn’t throw hard at all, yet was one of the most
dominant relievers in baseball. Holland is on the cusp of being an elite
closer. Cotts had an amazing comeback season.
National League
Most Valuable Player
1. Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh***
2. Matt Carpenter, St. Louis
3. Hanley Ramirez, Los Angeles
4. Yadier Molina, St. Louis
5. Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona
6. Joey Votto, Cincinnati
7. Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles
8. Yasiel Puig, Los Angeles
9. Shin-Soo Choo, Cincinnati
10. Carlos Gomez, Milwaukee
- McCutchen was far and away the NL’s best player. While his
counting stats aren’t overly impressive, he provided much more value than home
runs and RBIs. Carpenter led the majors in runs scored, hits and doubles.
Ramirez would have run away with this award if he performed like he did over,
say, 130 games. He was that valuable.
Molina and Goldschmidt were great in their own rights. I probably should have
voted Kershaw higher.
Cy Young
1. Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles***
2. Jose Fernandez, Miami
3. Adam Wainwright, St. Louis
4. Cliff Lee, Philadelphia
5. Matt Harvey, New York
- This was the slam dunk of all slam dunks. Kershaw had a
season for the ages and was never in danger of losing out to a fluke season
(like last year). Fernandez was shut down in September, or he could have made a
better case. Harvey was the biggest competition for Kershaw before he blew out
his elbow.
Rookie of the Year
1. Jose Fernandez, Miami***
2. Yasiel Puig, Los Angeles
3. Hyun-Jin Ryu, Los Angeles
- The award is for “best rookie,” not “most valuable rookie.”
Puig was the most valuable, Fernandez was the best. His age-20 season was one
of the best in the history of the game -- hard to overlook that. Ryu was hurt
by a deep class (Shelby Miller, Julio Tehran) and age (26).
Manager of the Year
1. Clint Hurdle, Pittsburgh***
2. Fredi Gonzalez, Atlanta
3. Don Mattingly, Los Angeles
- OK, maybe this was the slam dunk of slam dunks. Like
Francona in Cleveland, Hurdle managed his team to better-than-expected results
with talent that wasn’t necessarily top-notch (despite having the MVP). Mattingly
is only here because his team sucked until June 22 and he was almost fired.
Reliever of the Year
1. Kenley Jansen, Los Angeles
2. Craig Kimbrel, Atlanta**
3. Trevor Rosenthal, St. Louis
- Hard to go wrong with any of these three. My Dodger bias plays in a
little here, but Jansen is vastly underrated in the media because, well, I’m
not exactly sure why.
Graphic credit: Howard Cole, baseballsavvy
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