26 January 2013

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.

12 January 2013

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.