2012 American League

Perhaps the oddest thing about the 2012 AL was that the Red Sox, recent powers in the league, finished in last place with 93 losses.  The biggest surprise on the positive side would be the Oakland A's, winning the West division with 94 victories.  The Yankees took the East with 95 wins.  Both teams were closely pursued, as the Rangers finished one game behind the A's and the surprising Orioles came with two games of the Yanks.  Texas and Baltimore then faced off in the new "wild card game," with the Orioles moving on to the division series.  The somewhat surprising pennant winner in a year of surprises was the Tigers, winners of the Central with 88 victories, three games ahead of the White Sox.

On the bottom of the standing, the Twins lost 96, the Royals 94, and the Indians 90 as the Tigers and Chisox faced a lot of pushovers.  The East was a bit soft, too, with the Red Sox down and the Blue Jays losing 89.  In the playoffs, the Tigers surprised by sweeping the Yankees in the LCS, then got swept in the World Series.

Miguel Cabrera captured the "Triple Crown," leading in batting average with a .330 mark, hitting 44 home runs and driving in 139 runs to lead those categories as well.  Mike Trout was second in batting average at .326, Adrian Beltre third at .321.  Joe Mauer led in on-base, Cabrera in slugging.  Trout led in runs with 129, 20 ahead of Cabrera in second.  Alex Gordon hit 51 doubles and Albert Pujols 50.  Austin Jackson hit 10 triples, Derek Jeter had 216 hits.  Josh Hamilton and Eric Granderson was second with 43 homers each, Hamilton was second with 128 RBI.  Trout led with 49 steals.

Jered Weaver and David Price had 20 wins each, Matt Harrison won 18.  Price led with a 2.56 ERA, followed by Justin Verlander at 2.64.  Weaver was third at 2.81.  Verlander led with 239 strikeouts, Max Scherzer had 231, James Shields and Felix Hernandez 223.  Verlander led with 238 1/3 innings, Hernandez was second at 232.  Jim Johnson had 51 saves, Fernando Rodney 48.  Hernandez hurled five shutouts.

Win Shares leaders, position players:  Mike Trout (Los Angeles) 38, Robinson Cano (New York) 34, Miguel Cabrera (Detroit) 32, Edwin Encarnacion (Toronto) 31, Prince Fielder (Detroit) and Ben Zobrist (Tampa Bay) 27, Josh Hamilton (Texas) and Adam Jones (Baltimore) 26, Adrian Beltre (Texas), Shin-Soo Choo (Cleveland), Joe Mauer (Minnesota), and Albert Pujols (Los Angeles) 25.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers:  Justin Verlander (Detroit) 23, David Price and Fernando Rodney (Tampa Bay) and Chris Sale (Chicago) 19, Josh Harrison (Texas) 18, Jim Johnson (Baltimore) and Jake Peavy (Chicago) 17, Hiroki Kuroda (New York) and Jered Weaver (Los Angeles) 16, Grant Balfour (Baltimore) and Felix Hernandez (Seattle) 15.

(Fangraphs) WAR leaders, position players:  Trout 10.0, Cano 7.7, Cabrera 6.8, Beltre 6.3, Zobrist 5.8, Alex Gordon (Kansas City) 5.5, Torii Hunter (Los Angeles) and Austin Jackson (Detroit) 5.2, Fielder 4.8, Mauer 4.7.

WAR leaders, pitchers:  Verlander 7.0, Hernandez 5.9, Yu Darvish (Texas) 4.9, Price 4.8, Sale 4.7, C.C. Sabathia (New York) and Max Scherzer (Detroit) 4.6, Peavy 4.4, James Shields (Tampa Bay) 3.9, Kuroda 3.7.

Actual award voting:
MVP (top 15):

Player, Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Points
Miguel Cabrera, Tigers	22	6									362
Mike Trout, Angels	6	21	1								281
Adrian Beltre, Rangers		1	16	9	1		1				210
Robinson Cano, Yankees			6	10	1	1	3	2	1		149
Josh Hamilton, Rangers				3	6	5	8	2	3	1	127
Adam Jones, Orioles			1	2	7	5	4	3	2		120
Derek Jeter, Yankees			2	1	5	1	3	2	1	1	77
Justin Verlander, Tigers				2	3	3	2		1	1	58
Prince Fielder, Tigers					1	5	1	2	5	5	56
Yoenis Cespedes, Athletics					1	2	2	3	2	4	41
Edwin Encarnacion, Blue Jays					2			5		6	33
David Price, Rays			1			3		1			26
Fernando Rodney, Rays							1	5	2	1	24
Jim Johnson, Orioles			1	1			1	1			22
Alex Rios, White Sox					1				5	1	17

Cy Young:

Player, Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	Points
David Price, Rays	14	13	1			153
Justin Verlander, Tigers	13	13	2			149
Jered Weaver, Angels		2	14	9	2	70
Felix Hernandez, Mariners			5	10	6	41
Fernando Rodney, Rays	1		5	4	8	38
Chris Sale, White Sox			1	4	6	17
Jim Johnson, Orioles				1	3	5
Matt Harrison, Rangers					2	2
Yu Darvish, Rangers					1	1

Rookie:

Name, Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Points
Mike Trout, Angels	28			140
Yoenis Cespedes, Athletics		19	6	63
Yu Darvish, Rangers		9	19	46
Wei-Yin Chen, Orioles			2	2
Jarrod Parker, Athletics			1	1

Manager:

Name, Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Points
Bob Melvin, Athletics	16	12		116
Buck Showalter, Orioles	12	16		108
Robin Ventura, White Sox			12	12
Joe Maddon, Rays			7	7
Joe Girardi, Yankees			5	5
Jim Leyland, Tigers			2	2
Ron Washington, Rangers			2	2

Top player:  Mike Trout.  Sure, Cabrera won the "Triple Crown," but Trout was just as good offensively and much better defensively.  Baseball writers like to talk about "the little things," and "intangibles," but they only vote for them when the feel like it.
#1 Mike Trout, #2 Robinson Cano, #3 Miguel Cabrera, #4 Ben Zobrist (Tampa Bay), #5 Adrian Beltre (Texas), #6 Joe Mauer.

Top pitcher:  Justin Verlander.  Yeah, Price won 20, but Verlander pitched better.
#1 Justin Verlander, #2 David Price, #3 Felix Hernandez, #4 Chris Sale, #5 C.C. Sabathia.

Top rookie:  Mike Trout.  One of the easiest award selections ever.

Top manager:  Bob Melvin, I think.  Buck Showalter also did an exceptional job.

2011 National League

Philadelphia was the dominant team in the regular season, mainly on the strength of the best pitching in the league.  The Phillies won 102 games.  Milwaukee took the Central with 96 wins, Arizona won 94, with solid offenses and good pitching.  St. Louis edged their way to the wild card spot with 90 wins, then ran the table in the postseason for a World Series title, showing again that the playoffs are largely a crapshoot.  It was the capper on Tony LaRussa's career.  Atlanta won 89 and San Francisco 86.  Houston was the worst team in the league with 106 losses.

Jose Reyes won the batting average title with a .337 mark, followed by Ryan Braun at .332 and Matt Kemp at .324.  Joey Votto edged Prince Fielder and Lance Berkman in on-base average, Braun led Kemp in slugging.  Braun edged Kemp in OPS.  Kemp led the league with 115 runs scored, Braun scored 109.  Starlin Castro had 207 hits.  Kemp had 353 total bases.  Votto had 40 doubles, Reyes and Shane Victorino 16 triples.  Kemp led with 39 homers, Fielder 38, Albert Pujols 37, Dan Uggla 36.  Kemp led with 126 RBI, Fielder 120, Ryan Howard 116.  Michael Bourn stole 61 bases.

Clayton Kershaw and Ian Kennedy won 21 games, Roy Halladay won 19.  Kershaw also led with a 2.28 ERA and 248 strikeouts.  Halladay had a 2.35 ERA, Cliff Lee 2.40.  Ryan Vogelsong posted a 2.71, Tim Lincecum 2.74.  Lee struck out 238, Halladay and Lincecum 220.  John Axford and Craig Kimbrel saved 46 games each.  Halladay had 8 complete games, Lee six shutouts, and Chris Carpenter led in innings.

Win Shares leaders, position players:  Matt Kemp (Los Angeles), Ryan Braun (Milwaukee) 37, Joey Votto (Cincinnati), Prince Fielder (Milwaukee) 33, Lance Berkman (St. Louis) 30, Miguel Montero (Arizona) 29, Andrew McCutchen (Pittsburgh) 28, Justin Upton (Arizona), Jose Reyes (New York), Albert Pujols (St. Louis) 26, Aramis Ramirez and Starlin Castro (Chicago), Troy Tulowitski (Colorado), Jimmy Rollins (Philadelphia), Mike Morse (Washington) 25.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers:  Clayton Kershaw (Los Angeles) 23, Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee (Philadelphia) 22, Ian Kennedy (Arizona) 20, Craig Kimbrel (Atlanta), Cole Hamels (Philadelphia) 17, Daniel Hudson (Arizona), Tim Lincecum (San Francisco) 16.

WAR leaders, position players:  Kemp 8.4, Braun 7.2, Votto 6.4, Justin Upton (Arizona) 6.1, Reyes 5.8, Tulowitski, Victorino, and Brandon Phillips (Cincinnati) 5.6, Sandoval 5.5, McCutchen 5.4, Fielder 4.9, Matt Holliday (St. Louis) 4.8, Berkman 4.6.

WAR leaders, pitchers:  Halladay 8.0, Kershaw 6.6, Lee 6.5, Kennedy 5.0, Matt Garza (Chicago) 4.9, Hudson 4.8, Hamels, Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner (San Francisco) 4.6, Chris Carpenter (St. Louis) 4.5.

Actual award winners:

MVP (top 12):

ank		Tm	Vote Pts	1st Place	Share	WAR	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	SB	BB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	W	L	ERA	WHIP	G	GS	SV	IP	H	HR	BB	SO
1	Ryan Braun	MIL	388.0	20.0	87%	7.83	150	563	109	187	33	111	33	58	.332	.397	.597	.994
2	Matt Kemp	LAD	332.0	10.0	74%	8.13	161	602	115	195	39	126	40	74	.324	.399	.586	.986
3	Prince Fielder	MIL	229.0	1.0	51%	4.59	162	569	95	170	38	120	1	107	.299	.415	.566	.981
4	Justin Upton	ARI	214.0	1.0	48%	6.05	159	592	105	171	31	88	21	59	.289	.369	.529	.898
5	Albert Pujols	STL	166.0	0.0	37%	5.42	147	579	105	173	37	99	9	61	.299	.366	.541	.906
6	Joey Votto	CIN	135.0	0.0	30%	6.44	161	599	101	185	29	103	8	110	.309	.416	.531	.947
7	Lance Berkman	STL	118.0	0.0	26%	3.65	145	488	90	147	31	94	2	92	.301	.412	.547	.959
8	Troy Tulowitzki	COL	69.0	0.0	15%	6.17	143	537	81	162	30	105	9	59	.302	.372	.544	.916
9	Roy Halladay	PHI	52.0	0.0	12%	8.66	32	74	3	9	0	3	0	2	.122	.145	.149	.293	19	6	2.35	1.040	32	32	0	233.2	208	10	35	220
10	Ryan Howard	PHI	39.0	0.0	9%	1.12	152	557	81	141	33	116	1	75	.253	.346	.488	.835
11	Jose Reyes	NYM	31.0	0.0	7%	4.65	126	537	101	181	7	44	39	43	.337	.384	.493	.877
12	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	29.0	0.0	6%	7.18	33	71	10	16	0	4	0	3	.225	.267	.225	.492	21	5	2.28	0.977	33	33	0	233.1	174	15	54	c248

Cy Young (top 5):

nk		Tm	Vote Pts	1st Place	Share	WAR	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	BK	WP	BF	WHIP	ERA+
1	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	207.0	27.0	92%	6.53	21	5	.808	2.28	33	33	0	5	2	0	233.1	174	66	59	15	54	2	248	3	1	5	912	0.977	161
2	Roy Halladay	PHI	133.0	4.0	59%	8.86	19	6	.760	2.35	32	32	0	8	1	0	233.2	208	65	61	10	35	4	220	4	1	2	933	1.040	163
3	Cliff Lee	PHI	90.0	0.0	40%	8.61	17	8	.680	2.40	32	32	0	6	6	0	232.2	197	66	62	18	42	0	238	6	0	0	920	1.027	160
4	Ian Kennedy	ARI	76.0	1.0	34%	4.78	21	4	.840	2.88	33	33	0	1	1	0	222.0	186	73	71	19	55	0	198	9	1	11	900	1.086	137
5	Cole Hamels	PHI	17.0	0.0	8%	6.58	14	9	.609	2.79	32	31	0	3	0	0	216.0	169	68	67	19	44	2	194	5	3	3	850	0.986	137

Rookie of the Year:

ank		Tm	Vote Pts	1st Place	Share	WAR	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	SB	BB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	W	L	ERA	WHIP	G	GS	SV	IP	H	HR	BB	SO
1	Craig Kimbrel	ATL	160.0	32.0	100%	2.44	79	0	0	0	0	0	0	0					4	3	2.10	1.039	79	0	46	77.0	48	3	32	127
2	Freddie Freeman	ATL	70.0	0.0	44%	1.66	157	571	67	161	21	76	4	53	.282	.346	.448	.795
3	Vance Worley	PHI	40.0	0.0	25%	3.62	25	45	4	10	0	5	0	1	.222	.239	.244	.484	11	3	3.01	1.230	25	21	0	131.2	116	10	46	119
4	Wilson Ramos	WSN	6.0	0.0	4%	1.74	113	389	48	104	15	52	0	38	.267	.334	.445	.779
5	Josh Collmenter	ARI	5.0	0.0	3%	1.96	31	40	2	6	0	1	0	2	.150	.209	.150	.359	10	10	3.38	1.069	31	24	0	154.1	137	17	28	100
6	Danny Espinosa	WSN	3.0	0.0	2%	2.75	158	573	72	135	21	66	17	57	.236	.323	.414	.737
7	Darwin Barney	CHC	2.0	0.0	1%	1.66	143	529	66	146	2	43	9	22	.276	.313	.353	.666
7	Kenley Jansen	LAD	2.0	0.0	1%	0.85	51	0	0	0	0	0	0	0					2	1	2.85	1.043	51	0	5	53.2	30	3	26	96

Manager of the Year:

ank		Tm	Vote Pts	1st Place	Share	G	W	L	W-L%	Finish
1	Kirk Gibson	ARI	152.0	28.0	95%	162	94	68	.580	1.0
2	Ron Roenicke	MIL	92.0	3.0	58%	162	96	66	.593	1.0
3	Tony LaRussa	STL	24.0	1.0	15%	162	90	72	.556	2.0
4	Charlie Manuel	PHI	10.0	0.0	6%	162	102	60	.630	1.0
5	Fredi Gonzalez	ATL	4.0	0.0	2%	162	89	73	.549	2.0
6	Bruce Bochy	SFG	2.0	0.0	1%	162	86	76	.531	2.0
6	Clint Hurdle	PIT	2.0	0.0	1%	162	72	90	.444	4.0
8	Terry Collins	NYM	1.0	0.0	1%	162	77	85	.475	4.0
8	Don Mattingly	LAD	1.0	0.0	1%	161	82	79	.509	3.0

Top player:  It was a Kemp and Braun year.  The writers went for Braun, mainly because the Brewers won the division, but Kemp rates slightly ahead.
1. Matt Kemp, 2. Ryan Braun, 3. Joey Votto, 4. Justin Upton, 5. Jose Reyes, 6. Andrew McCutchen.

Top pitcher:  Clayton Kershaw won the pitchers' "Triple Crown," but Halladay rates slightly ahead in ERA+ due to home parks.  It's a close call.
1. Roy Halladay, 2. Clayton Kershaw, 3. Cliff Lee, 4. Ian Kennedy, 5. Cole Hamels.

Top rookie:  Craig Kimbrel with an outstanding relief performance.

Top manager:  Charlie Manuel, managing the top winners in the league.