MLB Baseball Sports Fan Blog

AL Rookie of the Year – 1B Eric Hosmer, Kansas City Royals

Hosmer might not be the man who actually wins this award, but this is probably because his team, the Kansas City Royals, have not been on the national radar for approximately 20 years and did not even sniff the postseason again. The two men he is competing with, starters Ivan Nova and Jeremy Hellickson, both play in the most hyped division in all of baseball and were on postseason teams. The highly touted first basemen did exactly what he was expected to do upon earning his promotion in early May. Rake, rake, and rake some more. Hosmer finished with a .293 average, 19 home runs, and 79 RBIS. Oh yeah, he’s also a burner on the basepaths in regards to first basemen (11 steals). Hosmer’s numbers compare very favorably with the rookie years of other slugging first basemen like Prince Fielder (.271, 28, 81) and Joey Votto (.297, 24, 84). Hosmer looks to be a star in the making. With a lot of other young pieces around him, Hosmer may finally be the player who leads the Royals back to postseason glory.

NL Rookie of the Year – RP Craig Kimbrel, Atlanta Braves

Unlike the American League honors, the National League Rookie of the Year is a no-brainer. Atlanta Braves closer Craig Kimbrel should be the hands down choice over teammate Freddie Freeman and Phillies starter Vance Worley. Kimbrel burst onto the scene with a blazing heater and was entrenched as the Braves’ closer from the beginning of the season. Kimbrel had a sensational campaign compiling a 4-3 record, 2.10 ERA, 1.65 Ks per inning over 77 innings, and converting 46 of 53 save opportunities. While he ultimately cost the Braves a shot at the postseason with his blown save on the last day of the season, it was against the Philadelphia Phillies, the team with the best record in the NL. In fact 4 of his 7 blown saves came against the St. Louis Cardinals, Phillies, and Diamondbacks, all playoff teams. Kimbrel will need to step his game up against the top flight competition, but that will come with experience. The Braves look to be set at closer for the foreseeable future with Kimbrel in place.

AL Manager of the Year – Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay Rays

Early in September the Tampa Bay Rays looked to be dead in the water. On September 1^st, they trailed the Boston Red Sox by 9 games for the division and the New York Yankees by 8 games in the Wild Card. Fast forward 4 weeks later and the Rays had a chance to sneak into the playoffs with a Boston loss and a win against the Yankees on the last day of the season. Following a loss by Boston, the Rays, down by 7 runs in the 8^th inning, rallied to come back and win in extra innings, propelling them to the postseason in one of the most unlikely postseason bids ever. Tampa earned this honor by grinding the entire season. Evan Longoria missed extended time, B.J. continued his career of erratic play, runs were scarce, but they were able to hold it all together with their exceptional starting pitching. Maddon coaxed a great year from rookie Jeremy Hellickson and great seasons from James Shields, David Price, Jeff Niemann, and Wade Davis. Great defense also played a huge part as Maddon is one of the games leading minds for employing various defensive alignments depending on the batter and situation. The end result should be Maddon winning Manager of the Year honors by continually doing more with less than everyone in baseball.

NL Manager of the Year – Kirk Gibson, Arizona Diamondbacks

If someone were to tell you the Arizona Diamondbacks would make the postseason prior to the 2011 season, you would promptly ask them for the phone number of their drug dealer. The Diamondbacks finished dead last in the NL West in 2010. They were one of the most undisciplined teams at the plate and had a dreadful pitching staff. In just his first full season, manager Kirk Gibson was able to change all of that. Boasting a roster that was largely the same as 2010, their major acquisitions were signing Willie Bloomquist and J.J. Putz, the Diamondbacks climbed from worst to first in the division. Led by career years from outfielder Justin Upton and catcher Miguel Montero, the D-Backs finished 9^th in the league in runs scored, very impressive considering they faced the San Francisco Giants’ and San Diego Padres’ pitching staffs for a quarter of the schedule. Gibson showed he was a very capable manager in close games going 28-14 in 1 run affairs. Arizona trailed the defending champion Giants by 4 games at the end of the July, but rolled to win the division by 8 games despite losing starting shortstop Stephen Drew to a broken ankle. Gibson did more than just lead the team to more victories, he instilled a new attitude and demeanor to the ball club. He made them believe they could and would compete with every club out there, and that may be the most important achievement of the season for Gibson going forward.

AL Cy Young – SP Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

Justin Verlander’s 2011 season was one of the most impressive seasons we’ve seen in recent years. Verlander was unquestionably the Tigers’ best player all season and willed the Detroit Tigers to the postseason en route to a 24-5 record, 2.40 ERA, .92 WHIP, and 250 strikeouts in 251 innings. The highlight of the year for Verlander came in May against the Toronto Blue Jays. He struck out 4 batters while throwing a no-hitter, the second of his career. With this signature moment combined with his overall statistics, Verlander is a slam dunk pick for the American League Cy Young.

NL Cy Young – SP Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers

The 2011 season was a disappointment for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Despite being in the midst of a ownership struggle between Frank McCourt and MLB Commissioner Bud Selig following an ugly divorce with McCourt’s wife, the team believed it had enough talent to compete for the division. The Dodgers quickly fell out of contention, but not because of Clayton Kershaw’s effort. Kershaw pulled off the pitching crown leading the National League in wins (21), strikeouts (248), and ERA (2.28). Kershaw also threw a career high 5 complete games with 2 shutout efforts. The Dodgers were 23-10 in Kershaw’s starts, but only 59-69 in games started by other pitchers. Add in the fact that Kershaw outdueled 2-time Cy Young winner and World Series Champion Tim Lincecum 4 times over the course of the season, and you have your 2011 Cy Young winner for the National League.

AL MVP – OF Curtis Granderson, New York Yankees

The AL MVP race is most likely the tightest race in all of the postseason awards with 4 candidates all having a chance to win. They are Jacoby Ellsbury, Adrian Gonzalez, Curtis Granderson, and Justin Verlander. All four players had tremendous seasons, but the nod can go to none other than the “Grandy Man” himself. This is not as much as a testament to what he did as an individual as opposed to what the other candidates failed to do. Justin Verlander had a tremendous season, but only pitched one out of every 5 days limiting his impact. Jacoby Ellsbury and Adrian Gonzalez also played very well, but they each played a role in the Red Sox collapse down the stretch that caused them to miss the playoffs. Another factor is that these 2 players will also likely split the votes of those believing a Red Sox player should win the award. That leaves Granderson as the sole survivor, but a very strong one. Despite hitting only .262, Curtis led the league in RBIs with 119 and finished second in the league in home runs with 41.  He led the New York Yankees to an AL East crown when a lot of predictions had them missing the playoffs entirely. Granderson finally settled into New York and the Yankee organization to have one of his finest years. He finally became the player the Yankees expected when they traded for him 2 years ago.

NL MVP – OF Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers

Coming into 2011, the abilities of Ryan Braun were overshadowed by Milwaukee Brewers’ teammate Prince Fielder. If you were one of the pitchers who overlooked the “Hebrewer”, you were sure to pay dearly for doing so. Braun finished second in batting average (.332), sixth in home runs (33),  fourth in RBIs (111), second in runs (109), and seventh in stolen bases (33). Factor in Braun’s solid defense and the Brewers’ trip to the postseason and that’s one helluva resume. Not bad for a player who was second fiddle on the team. Our apologies to Matt Kemp who had truly sensational numbers, but was on a team who was not playing meaningful baseball for any duration of the season. With Fielder possibly on the way out and Braun coming off his best season, the spotlight will be on him in Milwaukee.

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Robinson Cano stole the show in Arizona last night at Major League baseball’s annual home run derby. The New York Yankees all-star second basemen defeated Adrian Gonzalez in the final round of what proved to be one of the better derby’s in recent memory.

Finishing with 32 home runs all together, Cano energized the crowd each time he stepped into the batter’s box and especially on his 472-foot drive off an advertisement a good 50 feet or more above and well behind the swimming pool at Chase Field. Cano also added his own unique touch to the contest by having his father, Jose Cano-who once pitched at the major league level, throw to him during his at-bats. It felt similar to when Josh Hamilton invited his little league coach to the old Yankee Stadium and put on a memorable show for the fans, only Cano actually walked away with the trophy.

For the 28 year-old Cano, last night proved to be his coming out party to the baseball fans around the country that were not aware that he is not only the most talented player in pinstripes, but rather a top 15 player in the league to date.

Cano makes his swing and raw power look as effortless as Ken Griffey Jr in his prime, his defense might be the best part of his game-nobody turns the double play better, and his smile and charisma light up any room he walks into and is the reason why he is popular amongst players on rival teams like David Ortiz and Adrian Gonzalez.

The only thing that could have made the night more memorable would’ve been for radio announcer John Sterling to do his infamous Cano home run call and tell all baseball fans listening…. “It’s Robbie Cano!!!, Don’t You Know?”

* Here is my list of the top 15 players in the MLB to date, in no particular order. Only everyday players have been considered here.

Top 15 Players in MLB
Adrian Gonzalez 1B, Boston Red Sox
Evan Longoria 3B, Tampa Rays
Jose Bautista 3B, Toronto Blue Jays
Robinson Cano 2B, New York Yankees
Jose Reyes SS, New York Mets
Ryan Howard 1B, Philadelphia Phillies
Ryan Braun OF, Milwaukee Brewers
Miguel Cabrera 1B, Detroit Tigers
Joe Mauer C/1B, Minnesota Twins
Prince Fielder 1B, Milwaukee Brewers
Albert Pujols 1B, St. Louis Cardinals
Joey Votto 1B, Cincinatti Reds
Troy Tulowitzki SS, Colorado Rockies
Carlos Gonzalez OF, Colorado Rockies
Josh Hamilton OF, Texas Rangers

Written by, Mike Durnin @ Sportsfan-network.com

The Arizona Diamondbacks 3rd overall selection- (Trevor Bauer 6’01” 180 /RHP/UCLA): is by far the most polished and major league ready of the pitching prospects in the 2011 MLB draft class. Bauer possesses four to five above average pitches in his repertoire, all of which he throws for consistent strikes and is able to disguise by throwing from the same arm slot over and over again. His fastball can reach the high 90’s but sits comfortably in the 93-94 range with good movement as a by product of his unorthodox delivery and motion. Bauer’s curveball is his best pitch with a 12 to 6 drop and is also used as his go to strikeout pitch. He also throws a slider, changeup, and screwball/splitter, all of which he will throw in any count. Bauer draws numerous comparisons to Tim Lincecum, both of whom take untraditional approaches to pitching but nonetheless are very savvy and smart in attacking hitters and throwing them off balance with their pitch selection. Statistically speaking, Bauer was the best college pitcher in 2011 compiling a 13-2 record with a 1.25 ERA in 16 starts, and totaling a nation-best 203 strikeouts and hurling 10 complete games (including the last nine consecutive). He was passed over by the Pittsburgh Pirates at # 1 for his UCLA teammate Gerrit Cole, who was seen as having the best power pitching stuff in the draft class along with a more favorable body type at 6’04”- 220 pounds. However, Cole had a less than stealer season going 6-8 with a 3.31 ERA in 16 starts. His fastball, although thrown in the upper 90’s consistently, can tend to be too straight sometimes and catches way more of the plate than will be allowed at the next level. Cole also doesn’t command his secondary pitches as well as Bauer does and has a tendency to fly open with his front side allowing for the batter to pick up the pitch easier.

Bauer wasn’t seen as the # 1 pick because of his untraditional way of going about his pitching regiment, his herky-jerky delivery, and because he has thrown a lot of innings in his college career. Nonetheless, Bauer possesses a tremendous work ethic and high pitching IQ that will no doubt translate to success in the big leagues. The only cause for concern with Bauer would be that the Diamondbacks pitching coaches and managers will be scared off by the same routines and pitching delivery that makes Bauer such an intriguing and fun watch.

Videos of Trevor Bauer in Action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRCubp0Klac

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfhdJuypU0o

Written by, Michael Durnin @ Sports Fan Blog Network

Well actually, if your like me — a Mets fan — your season is already over. Cool. If your like most other baseball fans, however, you are probably in that kind of weird stretch of the season where you are still not really sure how good your team is or what they’ll look like in a month or two, and not really getting too excited about a win or too down about a loss. Still, the young season has provided a fair share of interesting story lines, including some early turnarounds and unexpected starts.

A few teams have gotten hot after slow starts, including the Boston Red Sox (30-25 after starting the season 2-10) and the Seattle Mariners (28-26 after a 4-11 start). The Philadelphia Phillies, on the backs of their four-headed pitching monster (Halladay, Lee, Oswalt, Hamels), have raced out to a fast start, notching 34 wins in their first 55 games, although a surprisingly good Florida Marlins team is only 2 games back from the NL East division lead. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the early season has been the Cleveland Indians, however, who are single-handily keeping the Cleveland sports market afloat and have gotten out to an impressive 32-20 start and hold a 5 game lead in the AL Central. The Indians have been paced by second-year pitcher Josh Tomlin (6-2 with a 2.74 ERA) and up-and-coming second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera, who leads the team with a .296 batting average, 10 home-runs, and 36 RBI. Cleveland should also get slugger Travis Hafner back from injury relatively soon, which should bolster an already potent lineup which includes Orlando Cabrera, Grady Sizemore, and Michael Brantley.

As for when the first truly “meaningful” games will start, it’s a bit hard to tell. Obviously it is still very early and all divisions are still very much up for grabs (only division leader with more than a 2.5-game lead is Cleveland). The New York Yankees and Red Sox kick off a 3-game set next week, which hopefully will stir things up a bit. In the meantime, fans will keep a close eye on their teams as they enter the meat of the season and look to make improvements and adjustments where needed. Fellow Mets fans will join me in watching how our “star” players find creative ways of staying off the field and how many random players we can insert in the lineup. How many games are left again?

Attendance in baseball across the league is significantly down this year. It is very easy to buy MLB tickets for all teams. One team that is not struggling with attendance are the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies made a splash this off-season by signing Cliff Lee, and adding him to their pitching staff that already had three number-one starters. In doing so, they established one of the best pitching rotations that baseball fans have ever seen.

However, pitching does not automatically win championships. In other sports, the logic of “defense wins championships” is always flawed. Without offense, there is no victory. And with the Phillies, there has to be offense. The pitching alone will not be able to carry a team. A team like the Yankees are so good because they have a great balance of batting and pitching. Offense and defense wins championships, and in baseball, it is offense and pitching.

Cliff Lee will be the most sought after free agent this off-season. Many teams will go after him, but only a few will go hard. Here are the three most likely destinations for Lee, in order:

3. Washington Nationals: This would be relatively close to home for Lee. It is unlikely that they will be able to compete money-wise with some teams, but the location is appealing. From a baseball side, they still have many years before they are a contender. And considering Lee has been on the losing side of the World Series for the last two years, it is doubtful that he would spend the rest of his prime on a rebuilding team.

2. Texas Rangers: Lee had a great run on the Rangers this year. On top of that, it seemed like he was enjoying his time there. Lee stated that he would be very happy to go back, but everybody has a price. The Rangers could easily compete for the next few years with Lee. They are aware of that, and will likely pay up. If he goes back, let’s hope it works out better than Chan Ho Park.

1. New York Yankees: This one is pretty much a given. The top free agents are always sought after by the Yankees. They did not make the World Series this year, and that does not sit well with ownership. Nobody will offer more money or years, as per the usual Yankee custom. If Lee is warmed up to the idea of playing on a grand stage, the Yankees will meet his financial demands.

The best situation for Lee would be to remain in Texas. They are a championship contender without the spotlight constantly on him. But realistically, the Yankees may very well get their man.

On Wednesday, we unveiled our picks for the 2010 AL/NL Cy Young Awards. Those awards went to Roy Halladay(NL winner) and Felix Hernandez(AL winner), respectively. As promised, we will give you our post-season baseball picks every Wednesday and Friday for the next two weeks. I am a man of my word, and today is Friday, which means we return with the winners of the 2010 AL/NL MVP. No point in wasting anymore time on this beautiful first Friday in November.

And the 2010 AL MVP goes to…
Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers
This award has been a long time coming for Hamilton. We are well aware of his abuse with drugs and alcohol earlier in his career when he was drafted No. 1 overall by the Tampa Bay Rays. He has come a long way since then, and has resurrected his career to look like the player the Rays selected in 1999. Because of his ability to get clean, and fully commit himself to baseball, Hamilton has become one of the premiere players in the league, and maybe, the best all-around centerfielder in the game. Hamilton hit .359(first in MLB), belted 32 HR, and drove in 100 RBI. He led all of baseball in slugging percentage(.633) and ranked fourth in the majors in OBP(.411). Despite missing most of September with cracked ribs, Hamilton’s production was significant enough to win this award. He stabilized a talented Rangers lineup in the three hole with his ability to hit for power and drive in runs. It was evident in this year’s ALCS when Hamilton finally found his stroke after going non-existent in the ALDS series with the Rays. Hamilton hit .350 in the ALCS, with 4 homers and 7 RBI winning the 2010 ALCS MVP award. Hamilton was so hot that Yankees manager Joe Girardi intentionally walked Hamilton a couple times in that series because he was afraid what Hamilton might do to his pitchers. Hamilton’s presence alone in the Rangers lineup made everyone else around him better, and, if it was not for Hamilton, the Rangers may not have had the success they did this year.

And the 2010 NL MVP Award goes to…
Joey Votto, Cincinnatti Reds
Joey Votto’s production has gradually increased year after year for the Reds. He arrived on the scenes in Cincinnatti in 2007 as a young, up and coming 23 year old phenom, whom the Reds prayed could solidify their need for a first basemen. Votto has done just that. Votto hit for career high’s in each hitting category and had his finest season as a Red thus far. It was a breakout season for Votto and the Reds, cementing himself as one of the top first basemen in the National League. He led the Reds to their first division title and post-season appearance since 1995. Votto hit .324(2nd in NL), 37 HR, 113 RBI, and ranked first in the National League in both slugging(.600) and OBP(.424). Votto was one of the most consistent hitters with runners in scoring position hitting .369, with 9 homers and 69 RBI. Votto’s consistency proved vital to the Reds success this year. Like Hamilton, Votto stabilized a Reds lineup at the top of the order that led the National League in Team Batting, Home Runs, Batting Average, and Slugging Percentage. The Reds eventually cooled off in the post-season thanks to the Big Three in Philadelphia. However, the Reds have a strong nucleus and a young team that will continue to grow and get better as the years go by. Many thought the Reds were maybe a year away from contending in the National League. Turns out the Reds thought otherwise. With Joey Votto leading the way, this is a team you should definitely keep an eye on in the next few years.