MLB Award Winners for 2014

[barrysloate]

Who are going to win the top awards this year? My choices:

AL MVP- Mike Trout (Nelson Cruz second)
NL MVP- Clayton Kershaw
AL CY Young- tough call, either Weaver or Kluber. Nobody stands alone
NL Cy Young- Clayton Kershaw
AL Rookie of the Year- Jose Abreu
NL Rookie of the Year- either Jacob de Grom or Billy Hamilton

Best player in baseball this year: Clayton Kershaw

[packs]

AL MVP: Trout
NL MVP: Kershaw

AL CY: King Felix / Chris Sale
NL CY: Kershaw

AL ROY: Betances
NL ROY: DeGromm / Ken Giles

[barrysloate]

Chris Sale has had a sensational season, but at only 12-4 I think it will be tough for him to win.

[packs]

I don't know how much his record will come into play. He leads the AL in ERA, ERA Plus, and K's per 9. That's a pretty dominating season.

[barrysloate]

I know, he's been great and there is no clear winner in the AL. We'll see what happens.

[packs]

I think this year's awards for the AL are pretty exciting. Not really any locks, though I do think there is little doubt Abreu will win ROY. Tough season to be a rookie. Betances and Yordano Ventura were great.

[Runscott]

I have faith in everyone involved in the discussion

Sent from my SM-G730V using Tapatalk

[clydepepper]

The 1945 Phillies were 46-and-108

My cousin, in his last year in majors, was 0-7
(but he was 22-10 for the Dodgers in '41).

...but, Jimmie Foxx, yes that one, was 1-and-0 !

as Casey used to say, 'You can look it up!'

As far as Indians' pitchers are concerned- While I really think Kluber had the best season and should win, my personal tastes run to the southpaws Sabathia, who played here in Columbus albeit briefly, and Lee whose windup is so smooth and precise...I'd definitely pay to see him pitch!

Floyd Bannister came through Columbus many moons ago and had a real graceful windup too.

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

AL MVP - Trout
NL MVP - Kershaw

AL CY - Sale
NL CY - Kershaw

[Runscott]

Alex, that's going to be a tough Sale.

[Runscott]

Mike Trout was nice enough to pose for this photo with my girlfriend and myself .

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

Originally Posted by Runscott

Alex, that's going to be a tough Sale.

I know but I think he deserves it.

[the 'stache]

Chris Sale for Cy Young?

Hmm, that's really interesting. To be honest, Alex, I haven't looked at Sale's numbers in quite a while. Wow, what an outstanding season he's had. He's had a pretty spectacular start to his career, too. That reminds me, I need to buy his Bowman Chrome prospect auto before it starts to skyrocket like Kershaw's.

Question for you guys. I know that when the MVP candidates are being considered for the award, their team's making or not making the playoffs has a huge impact on whether or not they receive serious consideration for the award. But I don't know, historically speaking, if the same holds true for Cy Young voting.

Sale's White Sox finished at 73-89, so they were not in the playoff chase. But from a numbers standpoint, he's right there with King Felix.

Felix Hernandez: 15-6 (.714), 2.14 ERA, 248 K, 46 BB, 0.915 WHIP, 6.5 H/9 IP, 9.5 K/9 IP, 1.8 BB/9 IP, 5.39 K:BB, 2.56 FIP, 170 ERA+
Chris Sale: 12-4 (.750), 2.17 ERA, 208 K, 39 BB, 0.966 WHIP, 6.7 H/9 IP, 10.8 K/9 IP, 2.0 BB/9 IP, 5.33 K:BB, 2.57 FIP, 178 ERA+

Their numbers are remarkably close. They have nearly identical ERA, hits per 9 IP, walks per 9 IP, and FIP. Hernandez has more strikeouts, but Sale's strikeout rate per 9 IP is higher by more than a strikeout. But Hernandez has a very slight edge in both hits and walks per 9 IP, so his WHIP is better, 0.915 vs 0.966.

Hernandez has thrown 62 more innings. How does that weigh? You look at their metrics, which are both incredibly close-does a voter then think to himself "well, Hernandez was able to maintain that excellence while basically pitching 7 more games worth of innings.

I don't know. Seattle didn't make the playoffs, either, but they just missed, where the White Sox weren't close.

I think Hernandez wins the Cy Young, but Sale is right there with him. That could be the most interesting vote out of the four.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by the 'stache

...
Question for you guys. I know that when the MVP candidates are being considered for the award, their team's making or not making the playoffs has a huge impact on whether or not they receive serious consideration for the award. But I don't know, historically speaking, if the same holds true for Cy Young voting.

Historically, no.

[howard38]

Question for you guys. I know that when the MVP candidates are being considered for the award, their team's making or not making the playoffs has a huge impact on whether or not they receive serious consideration for the award. But I don't know, historically speaking, if the same holds true for Cy Young voting.
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When first created the Cy Young award plaque noted that it was awarded to the "most valuable" pitcher and for many years almost every winner was on a post-season team or at least fairly close. Some time in the 1980s the wording was changed to "outstanding" pitcher. Pitchers on post-season teams still won the bulk of the awards but it's not unusual now to see guys on also-rans like Greinke and Hernandez win it.

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

I give the edge to Sale because Hernandez plays in a pitcher's park. Team standings doesn't seem to be as big of a deal as it used to (ex: Zach Greinke).

[Runscott]

It's been mentioned already, but 'innings pitched' will hurt Sales. These days, 235 innings (both Kluber and Felix) is a big deal, as a lot of pitchers begin breaking down late in the season - Felix' 2nd-to-last start is a good example.

I sure hope you guys are watching the KC/Oakland game - not one to be missed.