The 2003 season is over, but there were some important announcements made in the end of year awards.
AL Rookie of the Year: Angel Berroa, Kansas City Royals
A controversial decision saw the Royals' exciting shortstop defeat the Yankees' Godzilla, Hideki Matsui in a very close call. Berroa was a big part of the Royals' turnaround, providing a spark at the top of the order, and improving his defense as the season went along.
However, it could be argued that Matsui was also as deserving of the award after a fine first year for the Yankees. Matsui was actually left off two ballots, as people debated whether a veteran of the Japanese leagues could be considered a rookie in North America. This debate started when Hideo Nomo won the 1996 NL Rookie of the Year award, but the voters did not seem to mind voting for the Seattle duo of Kaz Sasaki (2000) or Ichiro (2001).
Until a rule change is made, I think you have to consider Japanese veterans for the Rookie of the Year award. To vote for Nomo, Sasaki or Ichiro and then not for Matsui is unfair to a very professional guy who has had to perform under intense media pressure.
In conclusion, as much as I like to see players from teams like the Royals win the big awards, I think Matsui deserved better than to be left of those two ballots. Maybe a fairer result would have been for Berroa and Matsui to share the award.
Honourable mentions: Hideki Matsui, Rocco Baldelli, Jody Gerut.
NL Rookie of the Year: Dontrelle Willis, Florida Marlins
Scott Podsednik and Brandon Webb had very good cases, but the voters went for the guy who helped turn the Marlins from cellar dwellers to World Champions.
There's no question that the excitement caused by Dontrrelle Willis' arrival in the Major Leagues helped boost baseball interest in Florida, as games in which he pitched meant a much fuller Pro Player Stadium. It also boosted a team that was without two injured starters (A.J. Burnett and Josh Beckett), and was getting used to life under new manager Jack McKeon.
Willis had great numbers, was part of one of the biggest surprise team in baseball, and did his part to get people interested in supporting the Marlins. In the end, it would have been hard not to vote for Willis, because of the big impact he made on his team, both on the field and in the seats.
Honourable mentions: Scott Podsednik, Brandon Webb
AL Cy Young: Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays
The voters got this award correct, as Halladay was the best AL pitcher for the entire season, winning 22 games. Andy Pettitte almost had as many wins (21), but had a much higher ERA. Halladay also had an incredible unbeaten run, which stretched for several months, led the Majors with 266 innings and also pitched a 10-inning three-hit shut-out!
Honourable mentions: Estoban Loaiza (what a comeback!), Jamie Moyer, Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder.
NL Cy Young: Eric Gagne, Los Angeles Dodgers
Eric Gagne rounded off another incredible season by winning the NL Cy Young award - the first time a reliever has won it since Dennis Eckersley in 1992. Gagne put up some incredible numbers: 55 saves; 63 consecutive saves; two straight years of 50+ saves; opponents batted just .133 against him and he had 137 strikeouts in 87 1/3 innings. Put it all together and you have one of the best years a closer has ever had.
A lot of people do not like to see relief pitchers gain Cy Young votes (Gagne was left off two ballots), as they do not pitch as often as starters, but when someone is perfect at a difficult job, you have to reward them!
Honourable mentions: Jason Scmidt, Mark Prior (he'll be picking up a Cy Young or two in the years ahead!) and Russ Ortiz.
AL Manager of the Year: Tony Pena, Kansas City Royals
It was a very easy decision for the voters in this category, as Tony Pena's Royals came from a 100 loss season in 2002 to almost winning the AL Central this year. Pena's constant enthusiasm and belief helped this team make sure that they never gave up.
The following example proved Pena was also good at turning negatives into positives. Catcher Mike DiFelice was ejected from a game, and responded by hurling a water cooler onto the field from the dugout. The next day, TV cameras spotted Pena (armed with a large role of tape) sticking DiFelice to the bench so he could not get into any more trouble! The players all laughed about it, and the happy atmosphere was back. Great to see.
Honourable mentions: Ron Gardenhire, Ken Macha
NL Manager of the Year: Jack McKeon, Florida Marlins
Another straightforward decision for this award, as McKeon's appointment coincided with the Marlins' fantastic race for the playoffs. McKeon must have thought that he would never manage again, but the 72 year-old got the call to take over from Jeff Torborg. In a similar way to Tony Pena, McKeon instilled a positive belief in the Marlins, and did a fantastic job with the young players like Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera.
McKeon also made some gutsy playoff decisions, such as using Penny and Beckett in relief in game seven against the Cubs, shifting Willis to the bullpen for the World Series as he knew he needed another left-hander in relief, and deciding to start Beckett on short rest in game 6 at Yankee Stadium. All of these decisions paid off, the Marlins won it all, and McKeon is a very deserving winner of this award.
Honourable mentions: Dusty Baker, Felipe Alou, Bobby Cox
AL Most Valuable Player: Alex Rodriguez, Texas Rangers
Let the controversy begin. Should a great player on a very poor team be allowed to win the AL MVP? I would have to say no. I am not questioning A-Rod's ability (he is the best player in baseball), but if Texas were terrible with him, surely they would have still been bad without him?
There is an interesting point about voting only for candidates on contending teams - for example, if A-Rod had played for a team that went 80-82, does that mean that he would have been a stronger MVP candidate if the team had gone 82-80 instead?
My response to that point is that at no point in the season were Texas ever in a playoff race. If the Rangers had been in the thick of things past the All-Star break, only to fall back at the end, then I have no problem with A-Rod being MVP. But because Texas were never even close, I disagree with this voting decision.
It's not A-Rod's fault that the rest of the Texas team did not know how to pitch, but his large contract will prevent owner Tom Hicks (also to blame for giving out A-Rod's $252 million) from spending on better pitchers.
A-Rod knew that wherever he signed after leaving Seattle meant that he would never have to work again. I think he got greedy and signed for Texas, rather than taking less money to sign for a team with a better chance of winning.
A-Rod is getting frustrated with the lack of success in Texas, but his big contract in a depressed market will make it tough for him to be traded. A-Rod must be beginning to realise that while $252 million can buy you a lot, it cannot buy you a World Series ring!
The voters did have a tough choice, as there were lots of very good candidates, but none that really stood out. My choice would have been Carlos Delgado, as he was an RBI machine for a Toronto team that was very much in the playoff race until after the All-Star break, but you could also make very good cases for lots of other players.
Honourable mentions: Carlos Delgado, Jorge Posada, David Ortiz, Shannon Stewart
NL Most Valuable Player: Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants
At this rate, they are going to have to re-name this award as the Barry Bonds trophy.
Bonds picked up his 6th MVP award after another great year from one of the greatest players ever. Although Albert Pujols and Gary Sheffield had excellent years, the Giants were simply not the same without Bonds in the lineup. In a way, I think Pujols and Sheffield were handicapped by the other great hitters around them in their teams, but everyone knows how vital Bonds is to the Giants lineup, which is built around him.
Pujols is an exceptional talent, and I am sure he will win an MVP award before he retires - he might just have to wait until Bonds quits though!
As a footnote, I was disappointed to read that Bonds has decided to manage his own image rights, which means that fans will not be able to buy a Giants' jersey with Bonds' name on the back from next season. Bonds will no doubt be organising his own merchandising deals (does he really need the money?!), but I think it's a shame that fans of his own team will not be able to wear his shirt, and the Giants will no doubt see their own merchandising sales fall next year.
Honourable mentions: Albert Pujols, Gary Sheffield, Jim Thome