Monday, May 16, 2016

Season 30 Award Winners

With the World Series in full swing, this season's award winners were announced, let's see who took home the trophies!

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
American League - Willie Cerda, Texas - .294 AVG 47 HR 160 RBI
Cerda earns back-to-back MVP's in different leagues, winning last season's NL MVP, and ties the record for most MVP's overall with his 4th win.  Cerda was a key offseason free agency acquisition for Texas, leading the way to a record breaking regular season win total.  He lead the AL in Runs and RBI, won his 6th Silver Slugger Award, and made his 4th All-Star appearance.

National League - Don Sparks, Cleveland - .321 AVG 42 HR 132 RBI
Sparks caps off an outstanding season with his 2nd MVP award, as he also took home the trophy is Season 27.  Sparks lead the NL in Runs, Slugging and OPS, made his 2nd All-Star appearance and won his 2nd Silver Slugger award this season.  Pretty impressive feat for a 24 year-old to already have 2 MVP's in the bag, but it can't be said that it's not well-deserved.

CY YOUNG AWARD
American League - Randall Washington, Texas - 25-5 3.13 ERA 208 K
The AL Cy Young voting was pretty much vote for your favorite Texas pitcher, and in the end it was Washington that took the trophy, his first.  Washington posted the 2nd highest win total in Cobbfather history and made his 4th All-Star appearance this season.  The 29 year-old has had other Cy Young caliber seasons, but faced stiff competition, so good to see him finally bring one home this season.

National League - Red Collins, Florida - 19-6 2.51 ERA 205 K
Collins was a decisive winner in the NL Cy Young voting, giving the 31 year-old Florida hurler his 1st Cy Young trophy.  Collins lead the NL in ERA, WHIP and Strikeouts, and made his 2nd All-Star appearance, earning the win in a close 1-0 battle.  Like Washington, he's also had some amazing seasons where he was just edged out for the Cy Young, and broke the barrier this season.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
American League - Luis Gomez, Atlanta - 13-10 3.67 ERA 116 K
Gomez took the AL Rookie of the Year by a slim one vote margin.  He was thrown right into the fire, joining a stout Atlanta rotation and held his own.  While probably not an ace, Gomez should be capable of putting up some solid seasons, particularly if he's able to stay on teams that are as talented as the Atlanta squad is.

National League - Tony Villanueva, Montgomery - 21-6 3.65 ERA 126 K
The 21 year-old lefty Villanueva takes home the NL Rookie of the Year award with a breakout season that saw him finish 5th in the Cy Young voting.  Villanueva was a late season call-up in Season 29, and got hammered pretty hard.  He clearly put the poor experience behind him and bounced back to lead the NL in wins.  You don't see 21 wins for a rookie too often, it's a truly impressive feat.

FIREMAN OF THE YEAR
American League - Carlos Prieto, Texas - 3.32 ERA, 49 SV - 1st win
National League - Rodrigo Ontiveros, Las Vegas - 3.29 ERA 48 SV - 3rd win

SILVER SLUGGER AWARDS
American League
DH Benny Franco Cheyenne 4th
C Daisuke Masato Chicago 1st
1B Willie Cerda Texas 6th
2B Crash Cepeda San Francisco 3rd
3B Marshall Leach Atlanta 1st
SS Jaret Miller Atlanta 2nd
LF Michael Henn Pawtucket 1st
CF Paul Francoeur Texas 1st
RF Ryan Martin Pawtucket 1st
National League
P Steve Sheets Buffalo 1st
C Felix Yosida Florida 1st
1B Donaldo Javier Cleveland 1st
2B Ernie McEnerney Cleveland 1st
3B Brett Yarbrough Cleveland 1st
SS Willie Esposito Louisville 1st
LF Ken DuBose Los Angeles 1st
CF James Dillard Las Vegas 8th
RF Don Sparks Cleveland 2nd
GOLD GLOVE AWARDS
American League
P Yeico Oliva Atlanta 1st
C Felipe Zumaya Charleston 2nd
1B Vic Park Atlanta 5th
2B Terrell Titan Colorado Springs 1st
3B Alving Palmeiro Colorado Springs 4th
SS Ubaldo Trevino Chicago 2nd
LF Freddy Chang Colorado Springs 1st
CF Jose Ortiz New York 3rd
RF Ryan Martin Pawtucket 6th
National League
P Thomas Lyon Buffalo 3rd
C Cory Arnold Buffalo 1st
1B Stan Ford Las Vegas 1st
2B Ching-Lung Suzuki Louisville 3rd
3B Francisco Cerda Salt Lake City 1st
SS Wilfredo Javier Las Vegas 6th
LF Darren Mann Buffalo 1st
CF Alex Carrasco Dover 1st
RF Albert Pineda Florida 2nd