2013 BBA Post-Season Voting.
As a member of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance it is required that I vote 4 times a year in regards to different matters relating to Major League Baseball. We have a lot of fun doing this and it’s always interesting to see everyone’s take on the it. The following awards are what we vote on each and every calendar year:
–January: Hall of Fame vote. This vote is based on the official Hall of Fame ballot for the BBA recommendation of who should be selected.
–March: We vote for the Ring Lardner Award. This is given to the baseball writer who, along with quality writing, has a strong internet presence.
–June: All-Star Game voting, self explanatory.
–October: Post-Season awards. There are five awards voted on: Willie Mays Award (Rookie of the Year), Connie Mack Award (Manager of the Year), Walter Johnson Award (Cy Young Award), Stan Musial Award (MVP), and the Goose Gossage Award (Top Reliever).
My votes are due tomorrow for the Post-Season awards and the results will be released the day after the World Series ends. So without hesitation, here are my picks:
Connie Mack Award (manager of the year):
American League– Terry Francona (What Tito did with the Indians is nothing but spectacular. John Farrell may have a had a great season as Boston’s new skipper, but he also had a more talented roster and payroll to work with.)
National League– Clint Hurdle (No one else is as deserving as Hurdle. I think this is a no-brainer.)
Willie Mays Award (rookie of the year):
American League– Wil Myers (This should be an easy choice as there are no other front-runners besides Myers. He had a great rookie season and in ways was comparable to Yasiel Puig in terms of breaking in the big leagues like a bat out of hell. I am looking looking forward to watching his career.)
National League– Yasiel Puig (This was honestly difficult as it could of easily been Jose Fernandez of the Marlins. Ultimately I had to go with Puig as he is an everyday player. Still, with that said I can’t honestly say that I made the right choice. It’s that close.)
Goose Gossage Award (top reliever):
American League– Koji Uehara (What can I say about Uehara which hasnt already been said? The guy straight up had an amazing season and if it were not for what he accomplished this season, I would be giving this award to Mariano Rivera.)
National League– Craig Kimbrel (Is Kimbrel a legendary closer in the making? I may not be a Braves fan, but watching this guy shut down teams and close out games is a delight.)
Walter Johnson Award (cy young):
American League– Max Scherzer (Amazing season. No one else even came close to touching him in the AL.)
National League– Clayton Kershaw (Much like Scherzer above, no one came closer to having a season like Kershaw did in 2013. He had one of those seasons that many years from now we will reflect on it in astonishment and tell our kids about it; much like people speak of Koufax and his heyday.)
Stan Musial Award (mvp):
American League– Mike Trout (No one else is even close. Without a doubt, the best player in MLB as far as I’m concerned.)
National League– Andrew McCutchen (Would the Pirates have made it as far as they did without McCutchen? In my eyes, he was the NL MVP with Paul Goldschmidt coming in not far behind.)
ninety feet of perfection. 