MLB Mid-Season Awards

Last year the Boston Red Sox were a team of destiny. They had it all: top-notch pitching, timely hitting, great chemistry and a little luck. They came out of nowhere to surprise everybody and win the World Series.

This year, not so much.

Through 95 games, the lowly Sox are 43-52. As a team, they are batting a putrid .246 and averaging just under four runs per game. Only Houston, the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota have more strike outs in the American League. I wasn’t expecting them to necessarily catch lightning in a bottle again, but to be this bad? If it’s any consolation, the 2012 World Series champions San Francisco Giants were 43-51 at the All-Star break in 2013 and missed the playoffs. In fact in the past ten years, only five times have the defending World Series champions made the playoffs the following year (2012 Cardinals, 2010 Yankees, 2009 Phillies, 2008 Red Sox, 2005 Red Sox).

This season going into the All-Star break, there are 17 teams within 3.5 games of a playoff spot, including the division leaders (Baltimore, Detroit, Oakland, LA Angels, Seattle, Kansas City, Toronto, Cleveland, NY Yankees, Washington, Atlanta, Milwaukee, LA Dodgers, San Francisco, St. Louis, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. Whew!). Parity has become contagious in baseball, and any of these teams have the probability to play deep into October. At the moment the Oakland A’s are the relevant frontrunners, and showed they are serious with the trade for pitchers Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel. But there’s still a lot of baseball left to be played, and it all has the makings for a couple of great months ahead. Before the games pick up again this weekend, let’s see who was deserving during baseball’s first half.

A.L. Rookie of the Year - Jose Abreu, 1B, Chicago White Sox

I would have gone with the Yankees Masahiro Tanaka if not for the recent troubling news of the UCL tear in his pitching elbow. Tanaka is tied for the lead in the AL in wins and has the Yankees thinking playoffs. Plus when you’re in the early discussion for the Cy Young, the ROY should come easily. But since Tanaka is going to be on the shelf for at least six weeks, the clear winner is Abreu. He leads the AL in home runs at the break with 29 and made the All-Star team, all while missing 14 games due to an ankle injury. After Tanaka, Abreu is a no-brainer.

N.L. Rookie of the Year – Billy Hamilton, OF, Cincinnati Reds

This is another no-brainer. Hamilton leads all N.L. rookies in hits (95), runs (47), and is batting .285 through 90 games. He is also third in all of baseball with 38 steals. He is the table setter for a Reds team that is 1.5 games out of first in the NL Central division. Hamilton was the top NL rookie on many pre-season lists, and is living up to expectations.

AL Cy Young – Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners

King Felix is leading a pitching staff that is second in the AL in ERA (3.16) and first in opponent’s batting average (.226). He is second only to Tampa Bay’s David Price in innings pitched (144.1) and strikeouts (154), but leads the AL in WHIP (0.90) and ERA (2.12). He had a masterful game on June 8^th, striking out 15 batters while giving up no runs over seven innings. The Mariners as a team are batting just .245, but thanks to Hernandez Seattle has a 51-44 record and currently holds the second Wild Card spot. He earned to be the starter for the AL in the All-Star game.

NL Cy Young – Clayton Kershaw, L.A. Dodgers

Kershaw began the season on the DL and didn’t make his regular season debut until May 6^th, but since then he’s been nothing short of brilliant. He hasn’t lost since May 28^th and has won his last eight decisions. His most impressive stat is the 41 scoreless inning streak that lasted over six games from June 13^th through July 10^th. And I almost forgot to mention the no hitter he tossed on June 18^th. He currently doesn’t have enough innings pitched to rank among the league leaders, but if he did he would be first in ERA (1.78) and WHIP (0.83). His dominance has the Dodgers at the top of the NL West.

AL MVP – Mike Trout, OF, L.A. Angels

The shelving of Toronto’s Edwin Encarnacion to a quadriceps injury could drop him off the list. An argument could also be made for Baltimore’s Nelson Cruz, who has fit nicely in the middle of the Oriole lineup. Although both sluggers find themselves on top of the home run and RBI list, they’re falling short to Trout in batting average. Along with being fourth in the AL in homers (22) and tied for third in RBIs (73), Trout is batting .310. He’s also second in the AL in runs (65), OBP (.400) and slugging (.606) while playing a tough position in center field. He’s the best player on an Angels team that has the second best record in baseball (57-37) and is in the hunt for the AL West division title.

NL MVP – Andrew McCutchen, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates

This might be the toughest race to call at the moment. You can definitely make arguments for Colorado’s Troy Tulowitzki and Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton. But I find it hard to cast votes to players whose teams’ playoff hopes look bleak. McCutchen is second in the NL on OBP (.420) due to leading the league in hits (115) and walks (58). He’s also tied for second in the NL in RBIs (61) and has 15 stolen bases without being caught. And similar to Trout, he plays a good center field. Once again McCutchen has the Pirates in the playoff mix in a competitive NL Central division.

AL Manager of the Year – Lloyd McClendon, Seattle Mariners

Let’s be honest. Before the season began, did anyone pick the Seattle Mariners to be in the hunt for a playoff spot? Not this writer. By the numbers Seattle’s offense doesn’t look that good, but pitching and defense is winning them ballgames. The Mariners have a tough road ahead playing in a division with Oakland and the Angels, so if they can somehow hold onto the second Wild Card spot and make the playoffs, McClendon deserves the award.

NL Manager of the Year – Ron Roenicke, Milwaukee Brewers

Just like Seattle, nobody picked that the Brewers to be in first place and hold the second best record in the NL at any point during the season, especially in a division with the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds. Milwaukee has been on a slide of late, losing eight of their last ten going into the break. But to be where they are right now in a tough division, it’s hard to make an argument against Roenicke.