End of the Year Voting

Because I don’t feel like writing about the Red Sox right now and I didn’t want to jump right into writing about the playoffs, I figured I’d share my votes as a member of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance (BBA) for the end of the season awards.

In order to be a member in good standing at the BBA, you must meet the three criteria of membership:  No gaps between posts on your blog of longer than a month, at least 30 posts during a calendar year, and as a blogger you have to vote in at least one of voting opportunities the Alliance presents. Today I submitted my ballot for the end of the season awards and am sharing it with you all.

I won’t lie.  My heart couldn’t be less into this.  But what I did , was decide to present my ballot as I had planned it even though I was tempted to blow it up.  The Red Sox might have stomped my spirit into the ground but they haven’t completely killed it…yet. As a member of the Boston Chapter of the BBA, I only vote for the American League awards…and here they are:

Connie Mack Award (the BBA’s award for top manager): Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay Rays

How do I not vote for him?  Hell, I don’t even like him but it’s ridiculous for me to think any other manager did as much with their team as he did. (As an aside, I’m having a difficult time not rooting for the Tampa Bay Rays.  I can’t explain it.  I’m torn because as much as I don’t think their fans deserve it the team itself does…really I’m just hoping for the meteor to end that series because I don’t WANT to root for either team.)

Willie Mays Award (the BBA’s award for top rookie): Eric Hosmer, (1B), Kansas City Royals

I’m not going to penalize Hosmer for playing on the Royals.  He missed almost a month of the season and still ended the year batting almost .300 (.292 to be exact).  His runs, hits, RBI and, yes, average, lead all American League rookies and he came in second in most of the other statistical categories.  He also ended the season the AL Rookie of the Month for September, ending his rookie year on a strong note.  I don’t care what team he plays for, the kid deserves the award.

Goose Gossage Award (the BBA’s award for top reliever): Jonathan Papelbon, Boston Red Sox

I don’t have the stomach or heart to write in-depth about Papelbon right now but I’ll say this, he did more this year to convince me I want the Red Sox to keep him on as closer than Daniel Bard did to make me believe he should be crowned the new closer.

Walter Johnson Award (the BBA’s award for top pitcher): Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

I know that wins aren’t the end-all for pitchers but his 24 are impressive (along with the rest of his stats) and he lead his Tigers to the top of AL Central division.  I can’t imagine anyone NOT voting for Verlander.

Stan Musial Award (the BBA’s award for top player): Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston Red Sox

There are other players you could argue and maybe some see as more deserving, but Jacoby gets my vote.  I’ll be able to write more about him and his amazing year soon…I hope.

Between October 10th through October 24th, the BBA will announce the winners of the awards and I’ll post them here.  It’s the little things that will help me get through this off-season, right?