I'm a baseball fan living in New York City. In between long tirades about the New York Yankees and the national pastime in general, I'm a graphic designer.
One Man's Ballot
I finally managed to find the time to vote in the just-completed
Internet Baseball Awards and wanted to put my ballot on record. I did it very quickly, though I'd given a fair amount of consideration to each award in the recent weeks. I'll admit that postseason peformance may have seeped into one or two of these, despite the fact that it's not supposed to (the real votes are done before the end of the regular season to insure this). Anyway...
NL MVP: 1. Barry Bonds 2. Sammy Sosa 3. Luis Gonzalez. 4. Albert Pujols 5. Rich Aurilia 6. Chipper Jones 7. Shawn Green 8. Paul LoDuca 9. Lance Berkman 10. Ryan Klesko. Comment: While I may have been swayed against him at earlier points in the season,
Bond's history-making, finally put in perspective, was waaaay too much to ignore.
AL MVP: 1. Jason Giambi 2. Alex Rodriguez 3. Brett Boone 4. Roberto Alomar 5. Derek Jeter 6. Ichiro Suzuki 7. Jim Thome 8. Manny Ramirez 9. Bernie Williams 10. Jorge Posada. Comment: Giambi and A-Rod are pretty much in a
dead heat offensively. A-Rod gets more points for his defense. My vote for Giambi was definitely swayed by his role in leading the A's back from the depths of an 8-18 start to become the hottest team in baseball down the stretch. Boone's monster season, though likely a fluke, was too good to ignore. Ichiro definitely made an impact and deserved to be among the top 10, but I think his hype outweighed his numbers. The same can always be said about Derek Jeter, but I watch him play every day and despite his lousy defense (especially the first half of the year), he continues to amaze me.
NL Cy Young: 1. Randy Johnson 2. Curt Schilling 3. Matt Morris 4. Greg Maddux 5. Wade Miller. Comment: This one was easy. As good as Schilling has been, Johnson was better--an ERA half a run lower, more strikeouts, fewer baserunners, fewer home runs. Morris was a strong third.
AL Cy Young: 1. Freddy Garcia 2. Mike Mussina 3. Roger Clemens 4. Tim Hudson 5. Mark Mulder. Comment: Much less clear cut than the NL. Clemens was impressive for going 20-1, but he lost twice to the Devil Rays at the end, and his ERA started to inflate. Mike Mussina, on the other hand, got better as the season went on, and his September showing put him right in the mix. The fine trio of A's pitchers was impossible to ignore, and I'm not even sure I voted for the right ones. Jamie Moyer, Joe Mays, and Mark Buehrle deserved consideration as well. In the end, Garcia's low ERA and high winning percentage won out.
NL Rookie of the Year: 1. Albert Pujols 2. Roy Oswalt 3. Adam Dunn. Comment: Pujols had an amazing season, hitting .329 with 37 HR, 130 RBI and an OPS of 1013. Oswalt was fantastic as well, 14-3 with a 2.73 ERA despite the Enron Field factor. Dunn looks like he's going to be a good one.
AL Rookie of the Year: 1. Ichiro Suzuki 2. Alfonso Soriano 3. C.C. Sabathia. Comment: I don't like the rule that gives the experienced Japanese players eligibility--this guy won eight batting titles in his career already--but the precedent has been in place for a long time, and it's impossible to deny his impact. Soriano showed vast improvement as the season wore on--who could have forseen him going from a walkless wonder to drawing key bases on balls in both playoff series thus far? In a normal year, I'd have taken him. Sabathia looks to be a good one if he cuts down his walks. The Angels' David Eckstein probably deserved a mention as well.
NL Manager of the Year: 1. Bob Brenly 2. Jim Tracy 3. Tony LaRussa. Comment: Probably swayed by the postseason. I don't like Brenly, not after his tantrum over the bunt that broke up Schilling's perfect game. But it's tough to deny what he's accomplished in his first season as a manager, taking the well-aged D-Backs into the World Series. Tracy kept the ailing Dodgers in the race for much longer than he had any right to, but batting Tom Goodwin or Marquis Grissom in the leadoff spot when your team is starving for runs is just plain stupid. Tony LaRussa is here because I couldn't bring myself to vote for the red-assed Larry Bowa, who kept the Phils in it right to the final week. I can probably find a reason to vote against every single NL manager, now that I think about it.
AL Manager of the Year: 1. Lou Piniella 2. Art Howe 3. Jimy Williams. Comment: Much more palatable and competitive lot than the NL. Piniella deserves a hell of a lot of credit for the Mariners' season, and though they came up short, he showed a lot of class. Howe never let his team quit; despite his bulletin-board fodder for the Yanks, I've always liked him as a manager. Jimy Williams had the Red Sox 12 games above .500 for no good reason when Dan Duquette fired him; the Red Sox went straight down the shithole thanks to that maneuver, which just goes to show how good a job Jimy was doing. Joe Torre continues to amaze me with his calm ability to keep the Yanks focused on the things that matter.
Those were my votes. I'll dole out some awards of my own, including the coveted Futility Infielder of the Year Award, in the coming weeks.