2010 National League

The pennant races were good this season, with Philadelphia leading the way at 97 victories, Finishing six ahead of Atlanta, with 91 wins and a wild card.  San Francisco won 92 edging San Diego with 90.  Cincinnati took the Central with 91 wins, ahead of St. Louis at 86.  Pittsburgh lost 105, Arizona 97, and Washington 93.

Carlos Gonzalez won the batting title at .336, followed by Joey Votto at .324 and Omar Infante at .321.  Votto led both on-base and slugging.  Albert Pujols led with 115 runs scored, Rickie Weeks had 112 and Gonzalez 111.  Gonzalez led with 197 hits.  Jayson Werth had 46 doubles, Matt Holliday and Ryan Braun 45.  Dexter Fowler had 14 triples.  Pujols led with 42 homers, Adam Dunn had 38 and Votto 37.  Pujols led with 118 RBI, Gonzalez had 117 and Votto 113.  Michael Bourn had 52 steals.

Roy Halladay won 21 games, Adam Wainright 20, Ubaldo Jiminez 19.  Josh Johnson led with a 2.30 ERA, Wainright 2.42, Halladay 2.44.  Halladay led with 251 innings.  Tim Lincecum had 231 strikeouts, Halladay 219, Jimenez 214.  Brian Wilson had 48 saves and Heath Bell 47.

Win Shares leaders, position players:  Adrian Gonzalez (San Diego) 35, Joey Votto (Cincinnati) 33, Albert Pujols (St. Louis) 32, Rickie Weeks (Milwaukee) 29, Aubrey Huff (San Francisco) 28, Ryan Braun (Milwaukee), Carlos Gonzalez (Colorado), Matt Holliday (St. Louis), Troy Tulowitski (Colorado), Chase Utley (Philadelphia), and David Wright (New York) 25, Dan Uggla (Florida) 24, Prince Fielder (Milwaukee), Jason Heyward (Atlanta), Angel Pagan (New York), Andres Torres (San Francisco), Shane Victorino (Philadelphia), Ryan Zimmerman (Washington) 23.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers:  Roy Halladay (Philadelphia) 25, Ubaldo Jimenez (Colorado) 22, Tim Hudson (Atlanta) and Adam Wainright (St. Louis) 20, Roy Oswalt (Houston/Philadelphia) 18, Brett Myers (Houston), Billy Wagner (Atlanta), and Brian Wilson (San Francisco) 17, Cole Hamels (Philadelphia), Josh Johnson (Florida), and Carlos Marmol (Chicago) 16.

WAR (Fangraphs) leaders, position players:  Pujols 7.5, Votto 7.3, Zimmerman 7.2, Torres 6.9, Holliday 6.6, Weeks 6.4, Tulowitski 6.3, Gonzalez and Huff 6.2, Kelly Johnson (Atlanta) 5.8, McCann 5.5, Jay Bruce (Cincinnati), Pagan, and Utley 5.4, Werth 5.3.

WAR leaders, pitchers:  Jiminez 6.7, Halladay 6.5, Johnson 6.3, Wainright 6.1, Yovani Galladro (Milwaukee), Tim Lincecum (San Francisco), and Roy Oswalt (Houston/Philadelphia) 4.7, Clayton Kershaw (Los Angeles) 4.5, Chad Billingsley (Los Angeles), Tommy Hanson (Atlanta), and Anibal Sanchez (Florida) 4.4.

Actual award voting (BBWAA)
MVP (top 16):

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Points
Joey Votto, Cincinnati	31	1									443
Albert Pujols, St. Louis	1	21	8	1		1					279
Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado		7	13	5	4	2	1				240
Adrian Gonzalez, San Diego		1	3	15	8		2	1			197
Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado			2	1	7	8	4	3		2	132
Roy Halladay, Philadelphia		1	3	4	3	5	2	5		3	130
Aubrey Huff, San Francisco				3	2	2	3	1	4	4	70
Jayson Werth, Philadelphia					3	3	1	3	2	2	52
Martin Prado, Atlanta					1	1	4	4	5	2	51
Ryan Howard, Philadelphia		1	1	1	2	2	1				50
Buster Posey, San Francisco			1	1	1		1	2	4	1	40
Matt Holliday, St. Louis						1	4	1	4		32
Brian Wilson, San Francisco			1			2		2	1	2	28
Scott Rolen, Cincinnati						1	1	3	3	2	26
Ryan Braun, Milwaukee						1	2	1	1	1	19
Ryan Zimmerman, Washington							2	1	2	3	18

Cy Young:

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	Points
Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies	32					224
Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals		28	3		1	122
Ubaldo Jimenez, Colorado Rockies		4	19	8	1	90
Tim Hudson, Atlanta Braves			3	13	4	39
Josh Johnson, Florida Marlins			5	5	9	34
Roy Oswalt, Houston Astros/Philadelphia Phillies			1	3	5	14
Brian Wilson, San Francisco Giants				1	5	7
Heath Bell, San Diego Padres			1		1	4
Mat Latos, San Diego Padres				1	2	4
Brett Myers, Houston Astros				1		2
Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants					2	2
Bronson Arroyo, Cincinnati Reds					1	1
Matt Cain, San Francisco Giants					1	1

Rookie of the Year:

	1st	2nd	3rd	Points
Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants	20	9	2	129
Jason Heyward, Atlanta Braves	9	20	2	107
Jaime Garcia, St. Louis Cardinals	1	1	16	24
Gaby Sanchez, Florida Marlins	2	1	5	18
Neil Walker, Pittsburgh Pirates		1		3
Starlin Castro, Chicago Cubs			3	3
Ike Davis, New York Mets			2	2
Jose Tabata, Pittsburgh Pirates			1	1
Jonny Venters, Atlanta Braves			1	1

Manager of the Year:

	1st	2nd	3rd	Points
Bud Black, San Diego Padres	16	7	3	104
Dusty Baker, Cincinnati Reds	13	12	2	103
Bruce Bochy, San Francisco Giants	1	4	13	30
Bobby Cox, Atlanta Braves	1	4	11	28
Charlie Manuel, Philadelphia Phillies	1	4	3	20
Brad Mills, Houston Astros		1		3

Top Player:  Joey Votto.  The Reds not only played over .500 for the first time in years, they won the division, and Votto was the biggest reason why.
1. Joey Votto, 2. Adrian Gonzalez, 3. Albert Pujols, 4. Aubrey Huff, 5. Carlos Gonzalez, 6. Ryan Zimmerman.

Top pitcher:  Roy Halladay.  The workhorse of the league's top winners was the best pitcher in the league.
1. Roy Halladay, 2. Ubaldo Jimenez, 3. Adam Wainright, 4. Josh Johnson, 5. Tim Lincecum.

Top Rookie:  Buster Posey.  Catcher for the pennant winners.

Top manager:  Dusty Baker, leading the first winners in Cincinnati in a decade.

2010 American League

Tampa Bay posted the best record in the league with 96 wins:  Minnesota won the Central with 94 wins, the Yankees took the wild card with 95 victories.  However, it was the Rangers, with 90 regular season wins, who would win the pennant before losing the World Series in five games.  Boston won 89, Chicago 88, Toronto 85.  On the opposite end, Seattle lost 101, Baltimore 96, Kansas City 95, and Cleveland 93.  New York led the league in runs scored, while Oakland and Tampa Bay allowed the fewest.

Josh Hamilton won the batting average title with a .359 mark, trailed by Miguel Cabrera at .328 and Joe Mauer at .327.  Cabrera led in on-base, Hamilton in slugging.  Mark Teixiera led with 113 runs scored, Cabrera and Derek Jeter tallied 111.  Ichiro Suzuki had 214 hits, Robinson Cano 200.  Adrian Beltre hit 49 doubles, Carl Crawford 13 triples.  Jose Bautista surprised by clouting 54 homers, Paul Konerko hit 39 and Cabrera 38.  Cabrera led with 126 RBI, Alex Rodriguez drove in 125, Bautista 124.  Juan Pierre stole 68 bases.

C.C. Sabathia paced the pitchers with 21 wins, while Jon Lester and David Price won 19.  Felix Hernandez led with a 2.27 ERA, Clay Buchholz posted a 2.33.  Jered Weaver struck out 233, Hernandez 232, Lester 225.  Hernandez led with 250 innings.  Rafael Soriano had 45 saves.

Win Shares leaders, position players:  Robinson Cano (New York) and Jose Bautista (Toronto) 34, Carl Crawford (Tampa Bay) 32, Miguel Cabrera (Detroit) and Josh Hamilton (Texas) 30, Paul Konerko (Chicago) 29, Evan Longoria (Tampa Bay) 28, Shin-Soo Choo (Cleveland) and Joe Mauer (Minnesota) 27, Adrian Beltre (Boston) 26, Mark Teixiera (New York) 24, Torii Hunter (Los Angeles) and Ichiro Suzuki (Seattle) 23, Nick Markakis (Baltimore), Nick Swisher (New York) and Delmon Young (Minnesota) 22.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers:  Felix Hernandez (Seattle) 23, C.C. Sabathia (New York) 20, Jered Weaver (Los Angeles) 19, Clay Buchholz (Boston) 18, Jon Lester (Boston), David Price (Tampa Bay), and Justin Verlander (Detroit) 17, Trevor Cahill (Oakland), John Danks (Chicago), and Cliff Lee (Seattle/Texas) 16.

WAR (Fangraphs) leaders, position players:  Hamilton 8.4, Longoria 7.7, Crawford 7.6, Beltre 6.9, Bautista 6.8, Cano 6.6, Cabrera 6.3, Brett Gardner (New York) 6.2, Choo 6.1, Mauer 5.5, Justin Morneau (Minnesota) 5.1, Daric Barton (Oakland) and Nelson Cruz (Texas) 5.0, Suzuki 4.7.

WAR leaders, pitchers:  Lee 7.2, Verlander 6.4, Hernandez and Francisco Liriano (Minnesota) 6.0, Lester 5.8, Weaver 5.6, Sabathia 5.2, Zach Greinke (Kansas City) 5.1, Colby Lewis and C.J. Wilson (Texas) 4.8, Danks and Gavin Floyd (Chicago) 4.4.

Actual award voting:
MVP (top 10):

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Points
Josh Hamilton, Texas	22	4		2							358
Miguel Cabrera, Detroit	5	11	10	1	1						262
Robinson Cano, New York		12	12	1	3						229
Jose Bautista, Toronto	1		4	8	5	1	6		1	2	165
Paul Konerko, Chicago				4	7	6	5	2	1	2	130
Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay				2	3	6	5	5	1	1	100
Carl Crawford, Tampa Bay		1		6	3	2		3	4	2	98
Joe Mauer, Minnesota			2	1	3	6	2	3	4	1	97
Adrian Beltre, Boston				1	1	3	4	9	6		83
Delmon Young, Minnesota				1		2	4	2	1	3	44

Cy Young:

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	Points
Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners	21	2	3	1	1	167
David Price, Tampa Bay Rays	4	15	7	1		111
CC Sabathia, New York Yankees	3	10	12	2	1	102
Jon Lester, Boston Red Sox			1	9	12	33
Jered Weaver, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim		1	2	6	2	24
Clay Buchholz, Boston Red Sox			2	5	4	20
Cliff Lee, Seattle Mariners/Texas Rangers			1	1	1	6
Rafael Soriano, Tampa Bay Rays				1	3	5
Trevor Cahill, Oakland Athletics				1	2	4
Joakim Soria, Kansas City Royals				1		2
Francisco Liriano, Minnesota Twins					1	1
Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers					1	1

Rookie of the Year:

	1st	2nd	3rd	Points
Neftali Feliz, Texas Rangers	20	7	1	122
Austin Jackson, Detroit Tigers	8	19	1	98
Danny Valencia, Minnesota Twins		1	9	12
Wade Davis, Tampa Bay Rays			11	11
John Jaso, Tampa Bay Rays		1		3
Brennan Boesch, Detroit Tigers			3	3
Brian Matusz, Baltimore Orioles			3	3

Manager of the Year:

	1st	2nd	3rd	Points
Ron Gardenhire, Minnesota Twins	16	8	4	108
Ron Washington, Texas Rangers	10	8	7	81
Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay Rays	1	10	9	44
Terry Francona, Boston Red Sox		2	7	13
Cito Gaston, Toronto Blue Jays	1			5
Joe Girardi, New York Yankees			1	1

Top Player:  Josh Hamilton missed a fair number of games, but his overall numbers are still the best.  The writers thought so, and I concur.
#1 Josh Hamilton, #2 Carl Crawford, #3 Robinson Cano, #4 Evan Longoria, #5 Jose Bautista, #6 Adrian Beltre.

Top pitcher:  Again going with the writers; it was King Felix.
#1 Felix Hernandez, #2 C.C. Sabathia, #3 Justin Verlander, #4 Jon Lester, #5 Jered Weaver.

Top rookie:  Austin Jackson, though Feliz had a fine year as well.

Top manager:  Joe Maddon, probably true nearly every year.

2009 National League

Philadelphia led the league in runs scored, Los Angeles led in ERA, and those teams won their divisions, the Phillies with 93 wins in the East and the Dodgers with 95 wins in the West.  St. Louis won the Central with 91 victories, and Colorado took the wild card with 92 wins.  The Phils beat the Dodgers in the LCS, then lost the World Series to the Yankees.

Hanley Ramirez took the batting average crown with a .342 mark, Pedro Sandoval was second at .330, and Albert Pujols third at .327.  Pujols led in both on-base and slugging.  Pujols scored 124 runs, leading Ryan Braun at 113 and Chase Utley at 112.  Braun led with 203 hits while Miguel Tejada had 199.  Tejada led with 46 doubles and Shane Victorino with 13 triples.  Pujols led with 47 homers, Prince Fielder hit 46, Ryan Howard 45, and Mark Reynolds 44.  Reynolds also set a record by striking out 223 times.  Howard and Fielder tied at 141 RBI, Pujols had 135.  Michael Bourn stole 61 bases.

Adam Wainright had 19 wins, Chris Carpenter 17, Jorge de la Rosa 16.  Carpenter had a 2.24 ERA, Tim Lincecum 2.48, Jair Jurrjens 2.60.  Wainright led with 233 innings.  Lincecum had 261 strikeouts, Javier Vazquez 238, Dan Haren 223.  Heath Bell had 42 saves.

Win Shares leaders, position players: Albert Pujols (St. Louis) 39, Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder (Milwaukee) 36, Adrian Gonzalez (San Diego) and Hanley Ramirez (Florida) 34, Chase Utley (Philadelphia) 32, Pablo Sandoval (San Francisco) 27, Matt Kemp (Los Angeles) and Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth (Philadelphia) 26, Yunel Escobar (Atlanta), Derrek Lee (Chicago), Joey Votto (Cincinnati), Troy Tulowitski (Colorado), Adam Dunn (Washington) 24.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers:  Tim Lincecum (San Francisco) 22, Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainright (St. Louis) 21, Dan Haren (Arizona) and Matt Cain (San Francisco) 20, Ubaldo Jiminez (Colorado) and Josh Johnson (Florida) 19, Jair Jurrjens (Atlanta) 17, Jonathon Broxton (Los Angeles), Wandy Rodriguez (Houston), and Javier Vazquez (Atlanta) 16.

WAR (Fangraphs) leaders, position players:  Pujols 9.0, Utley 8.2, Ramirez 7.4, Ryan Zimmerman (Washington) 7.3, Fielder 6.4, Gonzalez 6.2, Tulowitski 5.7, Sandoval 5.5, Lee 5.3, Kemp and Nyjer Morgan (Pittsburgh/Washington) 5.2, Werth 5.0, Braun, Casey Blake (Los Angeles) and Michael Bourn (Houston) 4.9.

WAR (Fangraphs) leaders, pitchers:  Lincecum 8.0, Vazquez 6.5, Haren 6.1, Jiminez 5.9, Wainright 5.7, Carpenter and Johnson 5.6, Joel Piniero (St. Louis) 4.7, Ricky Nolasco (Florida) 4.3, Clayton Kershaw (Los Angeles) 4.1, Marquis and Rodriguez 4.0.

Actual award voting, BBWAA:
MVP (top 14):

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Points
Albert Pujols, Cardinals	32										448
Hanley Ramirez, Marlins		15	5	3	3		2	3	1		233
Ryan Howard, Phillies		6	8	7	5	1	3	1			217
Prince Fielder, Brewers		5	9	7	3	1		3	1	3	203
Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies		3	6	5	5	5	1	1			172
Andre Ethier, Dodgers		2		3	2	5	4	5	3		113
Pablo Sandoval, Giants			1		2	5	5	6	1	4	89
Chase Utley, Phillies			2	2	1	5	4		3	1	84
Derrek Lee, Cubs		1			3	3	2	2	5		66
Matt Kemp, Dodgers				2	1	2	3	1	1	2	49
Ryan Braun, Brewers					3	1		2	4	6	43
Adrian Gonzalez, Padres				1		1		3	2	5	30
Todd Helton, Rockies			1	1		1	1		2		28
Chris Carpenter, Cardinals					1	2	1		2	1	25

Cy Young:

	1st	2nd	3rd	Points
Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants	11	12	9	100
Chris Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals	9	14	7	94
Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals	12	5	15	90
Javier Vazquez, Atlanta Braves		1		3
Dan Haren, Arizona Diamondbacks			1	1

Rookie:

	1st	2nd	3rd	Points
Chris Coghlan, Florida Marlins	17	6	2	105
J.A. Happ, Philadelphia Phillies	10	11	11	94
Tommy Hanson, Atlanta Braves	2	6	9	37
Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates	2	5		25
Casey McGehee, Milwaukee Brewers	1	3	4	18
Randy Wells, Chicago Cubs		1		3
Garret Jones, Pittsburgh Pirates			2	2
Everth Cabrera, San Diego Padres			1	1
Dexter Fowler, Colorado Rockies			1	1
Gerardo Parra, Arizona Diamondbacks			1	1
Colby Rasmus, St. Louis Cardinals			1	1

Manager:

	1st	2nd	3rd	Points
Jim Tracy, Colorado Rockies	29	2		151
Tony La Russa, St. Louis Cardinals	2	13	6	55
Joe Torre, Los Angeles Dodgers	1	7	7	33
Bruce Bochy, San Francisco Giants		5	3	18
Bobby Cox, Atlanta Braves		3	6	15
Charlie Manuel, Philadelphia Phillies		2	4	10
Fredi Gonzalez, Florida Marlins			4	4
Bud Black, San Diego Padres			2	2

Player of the Year:  Albert Pujols.  Once again, El Hombre surpassed the rest of the players of the NL.
1. Albert Pujols, 2. Hanley Ramirez, 3. Chase Utley, 4. Prince Fielder, 5. Adrian Gonalez, 6. Pablo Sandoval.

Pitcher of the Year:  Tim Lincecum, by a small but clear margin.  St. Louis kicked a lot about the award voting, but the right guy got it.
1. Tim Lincecum, 2. Javier Vazquez, 3. Adam Wainright, 4. Dan Haren, 5. Ubaldo Jiminez.

Rookie of the Year:  With hindsight available, Andrew McCutchen over Chris Coghlan.

Manager of the Year:  Charlie Manuel, since we can include the postseason.

2009 American League

New York took the AL East with 103 wins, and the LA/Anaheim Angels the West with 97 wins, while the Red Sox won the wild card with 95 wins.  The only close race was the Central, where Minnesota with 87 wins was a game in front of Detroit.  Texas won 87 games, Seattle 85, and Tampa Bay 84.  At the bottom of the standings, Baltimore lost 98, Cleveland and Kansas City 97 each.

Joe Mauer won the batting average title with a .365 mark, with Ichiro Suzuki at .352 and Derek Jeter at .334.  Mauer also led in on-base and slugging.  Dustin Pedroia led with 115 runs scored and Chone Figgins tallied 114.  Suzuki had 225 hits, Jeter 212.  Brian Roberts had 56 doubles, Billy Butler 51.  Jacoby Ellsbury and Denard Span each tripled 10 times.  Carlos Pena and Mark Teixiera had 39 homers each, Jason Bay and Aaron Hill 36 each.  Teixiera led with 122 RBI, Bay had 119, Adam Lind 114 and Evan Longoria 113.  Ellsbury stole 70 bases, Carl Crawford 60.

Felix Hernandez, C.C. Sabathia, and Justin Verlander won 19 games each.  Zach Grienke led with a 2.16 ERA, Hernandez was second at 2.49, Roy Halladay third at 2.79.  Verlander led with 269 strikeouts, Greinke 242, Jon Lester 225.  Halladay led the loop with 9 complete games and 4 shutouts.  Brian Fuentes had 48 saves, Joe Nathan 47.

Win Shares leaders, position players:  Joe Mauer (Minnesota) 32, Jason Bay (Boston) 30, Derek Jeter (New York), Ichiro Suzuki (Seattle), and Kevin Youkilis (Boston) 28, Ben Zobrist (Tampa Bay) 27, Chone Figgins (Los Angeles) and Mark Teixiera (New York) 26, Miguel Cabrera (Detroit) and Aaron Hill (Toronto) 25, Ian Kinsler (Texas), Evan Longoria (Tampa Bay) and Dustin Pedroia (Boston) 24, Bobby Abreu (Los Angeles, Jason Bartlett (Tampa Bay), Shin-Soo Choo (Cleveland), Kendrys Morales (Los Angeles), and Alex Rodriguez (New York) 23.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers:  Zack Greinke (Kansas City) and Felix Hernandez (Seattle) 26, Roy Halladay (Toronto) and Justin Verlander (Detroit) 21, C.C. Sabathia (New York) 18, Andrew Bailey (Oakland), Edwin Jackson (Detroit), Jon Lester (Boston), and Jered Weaver (Los Angeles) 17, David Aardsma (Seattle), Josh Beckett (Boston), Mark Buerhle and John Danks (Chicago), and Joe Nathan (Minnesota) 16.

WAR (Fangraphs) leaders, position players:  Zobrist 8.7, Mauer 7.9, Longoria 7.6, Jeter 7.1, Figgins 6.9, Gutierrez 6.3, Carl Crawford (Tampa Bay) and Youkilis 5.9, Bartlett 5.5, Suzuki 5.4, Cabrera 5.3, Teixiera 5.2, Choo 5.1, Pedroia 5.0.

WAR leaders, pitchers:  Greinke 9.3, Verlander 8.3, Halladay 7.4, Hernandez 6.8, Lester and Sabathia 6.4, Beckett 5.5, Gavin Floyd (Chicago) 4.5, Cliff Lee (Cleveland) 4.2, John Lackey (Los Angeles) and Weaver 3.8.

Actual award voting, BBWAA:
MVP (top 14):

1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Points
Joe Mauer, Twins	27	1									387
Mark Teixeira, Yankees		15	6	4	1	1		1			225
Derek Jeter, Yankees		9	5	3	5	3		1	1	1	193
Miguel Cabrera, Tigers	1	1	5	8	4	3	2		1	3	171
Kendry Morales, Angels			3	9	10	3	2				170
Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox		2	7	3	4	2	2	4		1	150
Jason Bay, Red Sox			1	1		4	5	4	5	1	78
Ben Zobrist, Rays						1	4	3	1	2	34
Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners						2		4	4	3	33
Alex Rodriguez, Yankees			1		3				2	1	31
Chone Figgins, Angels						3	1	2	3		31
Aaron Hill, Blue Jays					1		2	2		3	23
Bobby Abreu, Angels						2	1	1	1	4	23
Mariano Rivera, Yankees						2	1	1			17

Cy Young:

	1st	2nd	3rd	Points
Zack Greinke, Kansas City Royals	25	3		134
Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners	2	23	1	80
Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers	1		9	14
CC Sabathia, New York Yankees		2	7	13
Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays			11	11

Rookie:

	1st	2nd	3rd	Points
Andrew Bailey, Oakland Athletics	13	6	5	88
Elvis Andrus, Texas Rangers	8	6	7	65
Rick Porcello, Detroit Tigers	7	8	5	64
Jeff Niemann, Tampa Bay Rays		5	6	21
Gordon Beckham, Chicago White Sox		2	4	10
Brett Anderson, Oakland Athletics		1	1	4

Manager:

	1st	2nd	3rd	Points
Mike Scioscia, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	15	10	1	106
Ron Gardenhire, Minnesota Twins	6	12	6	72
Joe Girardi, New York Yankees	4	3	5	34
Don Wakamatsu, Seattle Mariners	2	2	3	19
Ron Washington, Texas Rangers	1	1	11	19
Jim Leyland, Detroit Tigers			2	2

Top player:  Joe Mauer, the Twins' multi-talented catcher.  Mauer made this mini-run of Minnesota success possible.
#1 Joe Mauer, #2 Derek Jeter, #3 Ben Zobrist, #4 Kevin Youkilis, #5 Ichiro Suzuki, #6 Mark Teixiera.

Top pitcher:  Zach Grienke had an amazing year.
#1 Zach Greinke, #2 Felix Hernandez, #3 Justin Verlander, #4 Roy Halladay, #5 C.C. Sabathia.

Top rookie:  Andrew Bailey, though Elvis Andrus is a close second.

Top manager:  Mike Scioscia, who has been a steady skipper for the Angels.

2008 National League

The Chicago Cubs led the NL with 97 regular-season wins, then were swept in the Division Series by the West-winning LA Dodgers, who with 84 victories had the lowest total of any playoff team.  Philadelphia won 92 games to take the East, and would win the World Series.  Milwaukee gained the wild card with 90 wins.  The Mets won 89, the Astros and Cardinals 86 games each.  On the other end, Washington lost 102, San Diego 99, and Pittsburgh 95.

Chipper Jones won the batting average title at .364, with Albert Pujols at .357.  Matt Holliday was third at .321.  Chipper led in on-base, Pujols in slugging.  Hanley Ramirez led with 125 runs, Carlos Beltran scored 116, David Wright 115.  Jose Reyes had 204 hits, Wright 189.  Nate McLouth and Lance Berkman tied with 46 doubles.  Reyes had 19 triples.  Ryan Howard led the field with 48 homers and 146 RBI.  Adam Dunn was second in homers with 40, Carlos Delgado third with 38.  Wright was second with 124 RBI, Adrian Gonzalez third with 119.  Wily Taveras led with 68 steals.

Brandon Webb led the league with 22 wins.  Tim Lincecum was second with 18.  Johan Santana led with a 2.53 ERA, Lincecum was second with a 2.62 mark, Tim Peavy third at 2.85.  Santana led with 234 innings.  Lincecum led with 265 strikeouts.  C.C. Sabathia completed seven starts.  Jose Valverde compiled 44 saves.

Win Shares leaders, position players:  Lance Berkman (Houston) 38, Albert Pujols (St. Louis) 35, Carlos Beltran (New York) 33, Hanley Ramirez (Florida) 32, Chase Utley (Philadelphia) 30, Jose Reyes and David Wright (New York) 29, Nate McLouth (Pittsburgh) 27, Adrian Gonzalez (San Diego) and Ryan Ludwick (St. Louis) 26, Ryan Braun (Milwaukee), Andre Ethier (Los Angeles), Ryan Howard (Philadelphia), Aramis Ramirez (Chicago) and Dan Uggla (Florida) 25.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers:  Tim Lincecum (San Francisco) 27, Brandon Webb (Arizona) 22, Johan Santana (New York) 21, Dan Haren (Arizona) 20, Ryan Dempster (Chicago), Cole Hamels (Philadelphia) and Roy Oswalt (Houston) 18, Aaron Cook (Colorado) and Edinson Volquez (Cincinnati) 17, Chad Billingsley and Derek Lowe (Los Angeles), Ricky Nolasco (Florida), C.C. Sabathia (Milwaukee), Ben Sheets (Milwaukee) and Carlos Zambrano (Chicago) 16.

WAR leaders, position players:  Pujols 9.1, Utley 8.3, Berkman 7.9, Beltran 7.6, Jones and H. Ramirez 7.5, Wright 7.1, Reyes 6.4, Matt Holliday (Colorado) 6.1, Ludwick, Brian McCann (Atlanta) and Jimmy Rollins (Philadelphia) 5.6, Randy Winn (San Francisco) 5.4, Troy Glaus (St. Louis), Russell Martin (Los Angeles), and Jayson Werth (Philadelphia)  5.2.

WAR leaders, pitchers:  Lincecum 7.5, Haren 6.5, Webb 6.0, Dempster 5.2, Lowe 5.0, Santana 4.8, Cook 4.7, Sabathia 4.6, Sheets 4.5, Billingsley and Hamels 4.4, Ubaldo Jiminez (Colorado) 4.3, Volquez 4.2.

Actual award voting from the BBWAA:
MVP (top 15):

Player	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Points
Albert Pujols, St. Louis	18	10	2	1			1				369
Ryan Howard, Philadelphia	12	8	6		1	1	2			1	308
Ryan Braun, Milwaukee		2	3	5	5	2	2	3	2	1	139
Manny Ramirez, Los Angeles		2	4	7	2	3	2		1	2	138
Lance Berkman, Houston		2	4	4	1	3	3	4	1	1	126
CC Sabathia, Milwaukee		4	5	1	2	2	3		1	2	121
David Wright, New York		2	1	4	3	3	2	5	2	1	115
Brad Lidge, Philadelphia	2		2		4	3	2	3	1	2	104
Carlos Delgado, New York			5	1	2	5		2	3		96
Aramis Ramirez, Chicago				2	4	1	1	4	3	1	66
Hanley Ramirez, Florida				2	2	2	1	2	2	5	55
Chipper Jones, Atlanta		1				2	4	1	2	2	44
Geovanny Soto, Chicago				3	1		3		1		41
Johan Santana, New York		1		1		1	1		2	1	30
Chase Utley, Philadelphia				1	1	1	1		3	2	30

Cy Young:

Player	Club	1st	2nd	3rd	Points
Tim Lincecum	San Francisco Giants	23	7	1	137
Brandon Webb	Arizona Diamondbacks	4	15	8	73
Johan Santana	New York Mets	4	8	11	55
Brad Lidge	Philadelphia Phillies	—	1	7	10
CC Sabathia	Milwaukee Brewers	1	1	1	9
Ryan Dempster	Chicago Cubs	—	—	4	4

Rookie of the Year:

Player	Club	1st	2nd	3rd	Points
Geovany Soto	Chicago Cubs	31	1	—	158
Joey Votto	Cincinnati Reds	1	21	8	76
Jair Jurrjens	Atlanta Braves	—	6	16	34
Edinson Volquez	Cincinnati Reds	—	3	—	9
Jay Bruce	Cincinnati Reds	—	—	7	7
Kosuke Fukudome	Chicago Cubs	—	1	1	4

Manager of the Year:

Player	Club	1st	2nd	3rd	Points
Lou Piniella	Chicago Cubs	15	8	4	103
Charlie Manuel	Philadelphia Phillies	8	6	9	67
Fredi Gonzalez	Florida Marlins	5	6	5	48
Joe Torre	Los Angeles Dodgers	3	8	6	45
Tony La Russa	St. Louis Cardinals	1	1	3	11
Jerry Manuel	New York Mets	—	3	1	10
Cecil Cooper	Houston Astros	—	—	3	3
Dale Sveum	Milwaukee Brewers	—	—	1	1

Top Player:  Albert Pujols, pretty obviously.  Glad the BBWAA avoided giving it to Ryan Howard in spite of his HR and RBI lead.  He did come in a close second.
#1 Albert Pujols, #2 Lance Berkman, #3 Carlos Beltran, #4 Chase Utley, #5 Hanley Ramirez, #6 David Wright.

Top pitcher:  Tim Lincecum makes a spectacular splash.
#1 Tim Lincecum, #2 Brandon Webb, #3 Johan Santana, #4 C.C. Sabathia, #5 Ryan Dempster.

Top rookie:  Joey Votto, though Geovany Soto had a solid season.

Top manager:  Lou Piniella, though the magic did not last into the postseason.

2008 American League

The Angels led the league with 100 victories, but the Tampa Bay Rays were the story of the season, first by winning the East in a big upset, with 97 wins, then by winning the AL pennant though they lost in the World Series.  The White Sox took the Central with 89 wins while Boston took the wild card at 95 wins, meaning the Yankees stayed home at playoff time.  The Yanks won 89 times, Toronto won 86, Minnesota was one game behind the White Sox with 88 wins.  On the opposite end, Seattle lost 101 and Baltimore 93.

Joe Mauer won the batting title with a .328 average, Dustin Pedroia was second with a .326 mark, Milton Bradley was third at .321, Ian Kinsler fourth at .319, and Magglio Ordonez fifth with a .317 mark.  Bradley led in on-base, Alex Rodriguez in slugging.  Pedroia led in runs scored with 118, followed by Curtis Granderson with 112.  Pedroia and Ichiro Suzuki had 213 hits.  Pedroia had 54 doubles and Brian Roberts 51.  Granderson had 13 triples.  Miguel Cabrera led the way with 37 homers, Carlos Quentin 36, and A-Rod 35.  Josh Hamilton led with 130 RBI followed by Justin Morneau at 129 and Cabrera 127.  Jacoby Ellsbury led with 50 steals while B.J. Upton had 44.  Grady Sizemore led with 131 runs created.

Cliff Lee led the league with 22 wins, Roy Halladay and Mike Mussina won 20 each.  Lee also led with a 2.54 ERA, Halladay was second at 2.78, Daisuke Matsuzaka was third with a 2.90 mark.  A.J. Burnett led the league with 231 strikeouts, Johan Santana was second with 214, Halladay had 206 and Javier Vazquez 200 even.  Halladay had 9 complete games and led with 246 innings.  Francisco Rodriguez had 62 saves to set a record.

Win Shares leaders, players:  Joe Mauer (Minnesota) 31, Justin Morneau (Minnesota) and Kevin Youkilis (Boston) 29, Grady Sizemore (Cleveland) 28, Josh Hamilton (Texas) 27, Ian Kinsler (Texas) and Dustin Pedroia (Boston) 26, Johnny Damon (New York), Nick Markakis (Baltimore), and Alex Rodriguez (New York) 25, Bobby Abreu (Tampa Bay), Vlad Guerrero (Anaheim), Carlos Quentin (Chicago), and B.J. Upton (Tampa Bay) 24.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers:  Cliff Lee (Cleveland) 25, Roy Halladay (Toronto) 23, Jon Lester (Boston), Joe Saunders and Ervin Santana (Anaheim) 19 each.

WAR leaders, position players:  Sizemore 7.4, Pedroia 6.7, Markakis and Rodriguez 6.3, Mauer 6.1, Youkilis 5.9, Alex Rios (Toronto) 5.6, Evan Longoria (Tampa Bay) 5.5, Kinsler and Upton 5.0, Brian Roberts (Baltimore) 4.9, Quentin 4.8, Ichiro Suzuki (Seattle) 4.6, Mike Aviles (Kansas City) and Milton Bradley (Texas) 4.4.

WAR leaders, pitchers:  Halladay 7.5, Lee 7.2, Santana 5.8, A.J. Burnett (Toronto) 5.5, Mike Mussina (New York) 5.3, John Danks (Chicago) 5.2, Lester and Josh Beckett (Boston) 5.1, Gil Meche (Kansas City) 5.0, Zach Greinke (Kansas City) and Javier Vazquez (Chicago) 4.9, Mark Buehrle (Chicago) 4.6, Andy Pettitte (New York) 4.4, James Shields (Tampa Bay) 4.1.

Actual award voting:
MVP (top 16):

Player	Club	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Points
Dustin Pedroia	Boston Red Sox	16	6	4	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	317
Justin Morneau	Minnesota Twins	7	7	6	3	3	1	1	—	—	—	257
Kevin Youkilis	Boston Red Sox	2	4	4	9	2	4	1	2	—	—	201
Joe Mauer	Minnesota Twins	2	8	1	3	4	3	3	2	1	—	188
Carlos Quentin	Chicago White Sox	—	1	4	8	4	4	4	—	1	1	160
Francisco Rodriguez	Los Angeles Angels	1	2	6	1	6	—	3	2	—	2	143
Josh Hamilton	Texas Rangers	—	—	2	2	3	7	3	2	4	3	112
Alex Rodriguez	New York Yankees	—	—	—	—	1	1	4	1	4	7	45
Carlos Pena	Tampa Bay Rays	—	—	1	—	2	—	2	3	2	3	44
Grady Sizemore	Cleveland Indians	—	—	—	—	—	2	1	5	6	1	42
Evan Longoria	Tampa Bay Rays	—	—	—	—	—	2	2	5	2	1	38
Cliff Lee	Cleveland Indians	—	—	—	1	1	1	1	—	1	—	24
Miguel Cabrera	Detroit Tigers	—	—	—	—	—	1	—	1	4	1	17
Vladimir Guerrero	Los Angeles Angels	—	—	—	—	—	—	2	2	1	—	16
Jermaine Dye	Chicago White Sox	—	—	—	—	1	—	—	2	—	2	14
Aubrey Huff	Baltimore Orioles	—	—	—	—	—	1	—	—	2	3	12

Cy Young:

Player	Club	1st	2nd	3rd	Points
Cliff Lee	Cleveland Indians	24	4	—	132
Roy Halladay	Toronto Blue Jays	4	15	6	71
Francisco Rodriguez	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	—	7	11	32
Daisuke Matsuzaka	Boston Red Sox	—	2	4	10
Mariano Rivera	New York Yankees	—	—	3	3
Mike Mussina	New York Yankees	—	—	2	2
Ervin Santana	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	—	—	2	2

Rookie of the Year:

Player	Club	1st	2nd	3rd	Points
Evan Longoria	Tampa Bay Rays	28	—	—	140
Alexei Ramirez	Chicago White Sox	—	18	5	59
Jacoby Ellsbury	Boston Red Sox	—	7	5	26
Mike Aviles	Kansas City Royals	—	2	3	9
Armando Galarraga	Detroit Tigers	—	—	9	9
Joey Devine	Oakland Athletics	—	1	—	3
Denard Span	Minnesota Twins	—	—	3	3
Nick Blackburn	Minnesota Twins	—	—	1	1
Joba Chamberlain	New York Yankees	—	—	1	1
Brad Ziegler	Oakland Athletics	—	—	1	1

Manager of the Year:

Player	Club	1st	2nd	3rd	Points
Joe Maddon	Tampa Bay Rays	27	1	—	138
Ron Gardenhire	Minnesota Twins	1	15	8	58
Mike Scioscia	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	—	12	9	45
Terry Francona	Boston Red Sox	—	—	6	6
Ozzie Guillen	Chicago White Sox	—	—	3	3
Cito Gaston	Toronto Blue Jays	—	—	2	2

Top player:  Joe Mauer.  Batting champion catcher on a contender is hard to ignore.
 1. Joe Mauer, 2. Dustin Pedroia, 3. Grady Sizemore, 4. Kevin Youkilis, 5. Nick Markakis, 6. Alex Rodriguez.

Top pitcher:  Lee on quality or Halladay with points for durability?  Think I'll take Lee in a close one.
 1. Cliff Lee, 2. Roy Halladay, 3. Mike Mussina, 4. Ervin Santana, 5. A.J. Burnett.

Top rookie:  Evan Longoria made the pennant possible.

Top manager:  Joe Maddon made it into the national consciousness.