Nick's 2009 Baseball Awards

I know everyone out there is thinking football right about now. But, I am a baseball geek. With that said, here are my post season awards if I had a vote for both leagues.

American League
MVP
Joe Mauer Minnesota – This one should not even be close. Mauer is hitting an out of this world .371 with 28 homers and 92 RBI’s. Mind you he missed a month with an injury to start the season. His OPS is an insane 1,046. He puts up these numbers playing the most demanding position on the field. I have heard a lot of talk about Jeter and Teixeira getting some support. If Jeter wins it then the cops need to be called. His numbers are not even close. I suppose you could make a case for Big Tex, but for my money Mauer had the best year hands down.

Cy Young
Zach Greinke Kansas City – Again, if the writers give this to anyone else, then we need to evaluate how the voting is done. Greinke should not be at fault just because his team happens to suck. He has still managed to win 16 games with an ERA of 2.06. He leads the league in almost every category except wins. Sabathia and Felix Hernandez are his only competition in my book and neither one of them can make a case when you compare the overall numbers.

Rookie of the Year
Andrew Bailey Oakland– This one is very close. To me it is between Bailey and Beckham of the White Sox. It is almost too close to call. Both players have had amazing freshman seasons. Beckham who didn’t get called up until June has driven in 60 runs. Still, I have to give a slot nod to Bailey. This guy has been sick for Oakland. Bailey has an ERA of 1.88. The league is hitting .170 against him. He has 26 saves and 6 more wins for a team that has only won 75 games. Any other year I give it to Beckham but Bailey by a nose should win it.

Manager of the Year
Ron Gardenhire Minnesota – Year in year out no manager gets more out of this talent then Gardenhire. He could win this award every year. How he guided a team with that pitching staff to be in contention for as long as it has is a miracle. Leyland and Ron Washington also deserve some consideration.

National League
MVP
Albert Pujols St. Louis – It pains me to say it, because I still don’t 100% trust this guys numbers but, I guess innocent until proven guilty. Said numbers are mind blowing. He’s hitting .328 with 47 bombs and 134 driven in. He is the most feared hitter in baseball. This probably should be unanimous. Both Hanley Ramirez and Prince Fielder are also having really solid seasons but, this is King Albert’s award yet again.

Cy Young
Chris Carpenter St. Louis – I have tossed and turned over this one for the last couple of weeks. At one point I was certain that Lincecum should get it. But, Carpenter now has a better ERA to go along with a sick 17-4 record. Wainwright is also having a stellar year, but I have to give it to Carpenter.

Rookie of the Year
JA Happ Philadelphia – This is about as close of a vote as you can get. There are a number of viable candidates. You have McCutchen in Pittsburgh, Randy Wells of the Cubs and Rasmus in St. Louis. But, in the end I have to give it to Happ. He is 12-4 with a 2.85 ERA. When Myers went down Happ came out of nowhere to pick up the slack. All those other guys I mentioned are having really good rookie seasons as well. But, without Happ the Phillies are not winning the division.

Manager of the Year
Jim Tracy Colorado – If anyone else gets a first place vote there ought to be an investigation. Tracy took over a squad going nowhere and turned into a playoff team. The job he has done has been miraculous. If I had to give a 2^nd place vote it would go to Bobby Cox who kept the Braves in it until the final week.