who wins and why Rookie of the Year (announced Monday) AL: Myers, Iglesias, Archer NL: Fernandez, Puig, Miller Managers of the Year (announced Tuesday) AL: Farrell, Francona, Melvin NL: Hurdle, Gonzalez, Mattingly Cy Young (announced Wednesday) AL: Scherzer, Iwakuma, Darvish NL: Fernandez, Wainwright, Kershaw MVP (announced Thursday) AL: Trout, Cabrera, Davis NL: Goldschmidt, Molina, McCutchen__
my picks... rookie al: myers nl: fernandez manager al: farrell nl: hurdle cy young al: scherzer nl: kershaw mvp al: trout* nl: mccutchen *make-up call for last season
gurnick making a case for puig... No rookie was more valuable or exciting than Puig The five-tool talent helped to energize the Dodgers after June promotion from Minors By Ken Gurnick | MLB.com -- November 8, 2013LOS ANGELES -- If making an impact from the moment of your Major League debut until the final game of the season is a key consideration for a Rookie of the Year Award winner, consider Yasiel Puig. He was promoted from Double-A Chattanooga June 3. The Dodgers were in last place. He was an immediate late-night highlight reel. He hit four homers in his first five games. By the end of the month, Puig not only was the National League Rookie of the Month, but also the NL Player of the Month -- the first player to win both awards in his first month in the Major Leagues. The Dodgers were en route to the greatest in-season turnaround in franchise history and it didn't happen only because of Puig, but it wouldn't have happened without him, either. Puig hit .436 with a .713 slugging percentage that month. His 44 hits set a Los Angeles Dodgers rookie record for a month and were second all-time behind Joe DiMaggio's 48. Understandably, Puig couldn't keep up that pace and finished the season hitting .319 with 19 homers and 42 RBIs in 104 games. The club was 66-38 in games he played. His average was the highest for a Dodgers rookie since James Loney's .331 in 2007. The homers were the most for a Dodgers rookie since Mike Piazza's 35 in 1993. Puig became an immediate fan magnet because he plays with an unbridled energy that sometimes turns reckless, earning the nickname "Wild Horse" from Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully. "His energy was infectious," said manager Don Mattingly. It also earns him occasional scoldings from teammates and staff for fundamental mistakes that are inevitable when a player is rushed to the Major Leagues with less than one year of Minor League seasoning. "We take the bad with the good," said Mattingly. Puig showed up late to a game in Miami and was fined, having already been benched for a dugout tantrum thrown while he was slumping. Another time, Puig was yanked mid-game for a lack of concentration. He was ejected for his part in an on-field brawl against the D-backs. And he infuriated umpires during the playoffs for showing them up. So, there are still rough edges needing to be smoothed. But then there's the five-tool talent that a Dodgers prospect hasn't possessed since perhaps Roberto Clemente. Puig's Superman imitation started in Spring Training and continued at Double-A Chattanooga, where he was hitting .313 with eight homers, 12 doubles, three triples, 37 RBIs and 13 stolen bases in 40 games. Puig was signed last summer for a staggering $42 million, seven-year Major League contract. The Cubs were believed to be the Dodgers' most aggressive competition for Puig's autograph. The $42 million was considered by most clubs as wildly excessive, but the Dodgers needed impact hitters in their farm system and wanted to make a statement that the years of ignoring international talent because of economics were over. With a body like Bo Jackson, Puig possesses power, running speed, ball-catching skills and a powerful right-fielder arm. But with limited exposure as a young Cuban ballplayer, Puig's raw skills were relatively under wraps when he escaped his homeland for free agency. Puig showed up four years ago on the radar of Dodgers scout Mike Brito, who shared the credit with Corito Verona for the signing of Fernando Valenzuela 3 1/2 decades ago. Brito and current scouting vice president Logan White watched Puig bat in a controlled workout in the summer of 2012 in Mexico City, then White took the ball in a full-court pursuit that resulted in Puig's stunning signing. Ken Gurnick is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. __
My picks Rookie AL: Myers NL: Fernandez Manager AL: Farrell NL: Hurdle Cy AL: Scherzer NL: Kershaw MVP AL: Davis NL: Goldschmidt
Rookie AL: Myers NL: Fernandez Manager AL: Melvin NL: Hurdle CY Young AL: Scherzer NL: Kershaw MVP AL: Trout NL: McCutchen
AL Rookie: Myers (he's had the most hype and the others were not really of that big of an impact.) NL Rookie: Fernandez (Puig was great, but Fernandez had Cy Young type numbers and had the full season) AL Manager: Farrell (last to first is always a MOY lock) NL Manager: Hurdle (Pitt was the big story) AL Cy: Scherzer (is not even debatable) NL Cy: Kershaw (sames as AL Cy) AL MVP: Cabrera (great year and the playoff team player always gets the edge) NL MVP: McCutch (this is the closest, but Molina lost some time to injury and Goldy missed the playoffs. Not that he's the best candidate, but it the biggest storyline and this is selected by media)
Rookie AL: Myers NL: Fernandez Manager AL: Marrel NL: Hurdle CY AL: Scherzer NL: Kershaw MVP AL: Cabrera (Trout gets boned again) NL: McCutchen
I think that Cabrera will get the nod for having better overall BA and stats... personally I'd rather have Trout on my team but he'll get shafted again
Fernandez deserved it over Yasiel lets be realistic, his rankings amongst non rookies was incredible let along rookies. Puig had a hell of a year but I think he is getting too much credit for the turnaround, HanRam had as much to do with the streak as anyone. No big deal either way, careers matter more not 1 award.
Just confirms my belief that the majority of baseball fans are retarded. I remember getting like a million downvotes on ESPN in July because I said Fernandez would win ROY over Puig. It was 3 to 30 or some awesome shit like that.
Did anybody else notice that one person didn't vote Puig 1st, 2nd, or 3rd? That voter should never be allowed to vote again.
Hadn't noticed that... but I would agree these are the oldest of the old senile baseball writers we're talking about here