As the Major League Baseball season surpasses the half-way point of 2014, many baseball fans and analysts will state their choices for the potential year-end award winners based on performance to date. All Out Sports Network is no different. We have our opinions and support for them just as anyone else might. These are our first-half award winners. All statistics are as play begins on July 2.
Rookie of the Year
Masahiro Tanaka, New York Yankees
Many critics predicted Tanaka to come nowhere close to his 2013 Nippan League statistics of 24-0, 1.27 ERA, and 0.93 WHIP. He is not exactly on that same pace, but he is pitching exceptionally well: 11-3, 2.10 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, and 4.4 WAR in 16 starts. This includes 5-1, 1.88 ERA in May. There is little competition in rookie pitching; the closest at this point is teammate Dellin Betances: 4-0, 1.50 ERA, 0.77 WHIP, and 76 strikeouts in 48 innings pitched coming out of the Yankees’ bullpen.
Many fans will argue that Chicago’s Jose Abreu or Houston’s George Springer would win this award, and either could by season’s end. Abreu leads all rookies with 26 HR and 67 RBI, and he is hitting .280 as play begins on July 2. Springer has provided a lot of power himself with 16 HR and 43 RBI, but a .244 average keeps him down just a touch for this award.
Boston’s Brock Holt does not have that kind of power, but his .317 average as mainly a lead-off hitter plus his defensive versatility (five positions) and excellence puts him in the running.
Cy Young award
Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners
Yes, Tanaka could earn both awards; he has no other competition from rookies. However, we cannot forget about the other very-deserving pitchers. Wins do not always accurately convey individual performance, but ERA, WHIP, and strikeouts typically do. In addition to his record shown above, Tanaka has struck out 127 hitters in 115.2 innings.
Hernandez, however, is slightly better at this point: 10-2, 2.10 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 137 strikeouts in 128 innings, and 3.8 WAR. Toronto’s Mark Buehrle (10-5, 2.50 ERA) and Oakland’s Scott Kazmir (9-3, 2.61) would also garner some first-place votes. Finally, who could argue against Texas’s Yu Darvish and his 8-4, 2.42 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 128 strikeouts?
Most Valuable Player
Nelson Cruz, Baltimore Orioles
One factor figures most prominently into our MVP selection: would the team contend as easily without this player’s contributions? While the American League has a number of players deserving of the MVP award based on performance, Baltimore’s Nelson Cruz answers the question the best. Statistically, Cruz is hitting .280/.348/.573 with 26 HR and 67 RBI in 82 games. These are very similar to Abreu’s numbers; plus, Cruz just barely leads him in WAR, 2.4 to 2.3. In addition, Baltimore is seventh in the A.L. in runs scored, which demonstrates that they may not contend so easily without his contributions.
Blue Jays fans could understandably tout Edwin Encarnacion (.278, 26 HR, 66 RBI); they could even argue that the Blue Jays would not lead the A.L. East without him. However, the Blue Jays have a lot of thunder throughout their lineup whereas Baltimore does not. Cruz is the first-half MVP.
Other strong candidates include Los Angeles’s Mike Trout (.315, 19 HR, 62 RBI), Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera (.311, 14 , 65), and Detroit’s Victor Martinez (.323, 20 , 52).
Manager of the Year
Bob Melvin, Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are the scrappiest bunch of lesser-known players to dominate the A.L. West. All fans know of Yoenis Cespedes, but many outside the Bay Area may forget the rest of the lineup. Players such as Josh Donaldson, Derek Norris, Coco Crisp, and Brandon Moss tend to stay under the radar, but they can surely play ball. Melvin has the Athletics playing .614 baseball (51-32), the best record in the Majors.
Kazmir, Sonny Gray (7-3, 3.20 ERA), Jesse Chavez (6-4, 2.94), and Tommy Milone (6-3, 3.79) have quietly led the pitching, and Sean Doolittle (11 saves) has become quite the closer since getting the job just recently.
Other leading candidates for Manager of the Year may include Toronto’s John Gibbons, Kansas City’s Ned Yost, and Houston’s Bo Porter — Gibbons for surging his team to the A.L. East lead, Yost for leading the Royals into contention after years of sub-par performance, and Porter for bringing about the young talent and starting to turn things around, making the future exciting in Houston.
We still have half a season left, and any of the candidates could take home the hardware come voting time in November. Someone else could sneak in and steal an award as well. For now, these look like the potential winners at the half-way point. Many will agree with these selections, and many others will not. The debating makes the conversation fun.
PHOTO CREDIT: Vegabond Guru, www.vegabondguru.com
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