2009 AL Cy Young

Royals’ Zack Greinke Wins In Landslide



Zack Greinke of the Kansas City Royals was an overwhelming choice for the American League Cy Young Award despite posting a victory total that matched the lowest for any winner in either league among starting pitchers in a full season.

Pitching for a team that was next to last in the AL in average runs per game, Greinke compiled a 16-8 record with a 2.16 ERA. No AL starter had won the Cy Young Award without winning at least 18 games. Greinke fell two victories short and equaled the output of 2006 National League winner Brandon Webb, who was 16-8 that year for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Greinke, 26, who held opponents to one run or fewer in 18 of his 33 starts, was named first on 25 and second on the other three ballots cast by two writers in each league city for a total of 134 points, based on the 5-3-1 tabulation system. The right-hander’s league-best ERA was the lowest in the AL since 2000 Cy Young Award winner Pedro Martinez had a 1.74 ERA for the Boston Red Sox. Greinke also was second in complete games (6), shutouts (3), strikeouts (242) and opponents’ batting average (.230). He was the only pitcher named on all ballots.

Seattle Mariners right-hander Felix Hernandez (19-5, 2.49 ERA), received two first-place votes and finished second in the balloting with 80 points. The other first-place vote went to Detroit Tigers right-hander Justin Verlander (19-9, 3.92 ERA), who placed third overall. Hernandez and Verlander were tied for the AL lead in victories. Hernandez led the league in winning percentage (.792) and batting average against (.227) and Verlander in innings (240) and strikeouts (269).

It marks the fourth time a Royals pitcher has been honored. Greinke joins two-time winner Bret Saberhagen (1985, 1989) and David Cone (1994).

Voting :

Player , Team, Votes
Zack Greinke, Kansas City Royals , 134
Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners, 80
Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers , 14
CC Sabathia, New York Yankees , 13
Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays , 11

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Quelle : BBWAA

Völlig verdient! Ganz starke Saison... Mr. "Über-Command"... hach ja... würde er nicht bei den Royals spielen, dann. .....

2009 Managers of the Year

Rockies’ Jim Tracy Wins NL Award, Angels’ Mike Scioscia Wins in AL


Jim Tracy, who took over the Colorado Rockies in late May when they were in last place and led them to the National League wild card, was named NL Manager of the Year in balloting by the BBWAA. It marked only the second time a manager hired in mid-season was honored. Tracy joins Jack McKeon, the 2003 winner with the Florida Marlins.

Tracy, 53, was listed first on 29 of the 32 ballots submitted by two writers in each league city and was second on two for a total of 151 points, based on the 5-3-1 tabulation system. No manager was named on every ballot.

The St. Louis Cardinals’ Tony La Russa, a four-time winner, received two first-place votes and finished second in the balloting for a record sixth time. The other first-place vote went to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Joe Torre, a two-time winner in the American League. In all, eight managers gained mention.

Tracy was hired to replace Clint Hurdle as manager of the Rockies on May 29, when the club had a record of 18-28 and was 14 games out of first place. Colorado was 74-42 under Tracy and came within one game of the NL West-leading Dodgers on the final weekend of the season before losing its final two games in Los Angeles and settling for the wild card.

La Russa, the NL winner in 2002, also won three times in the AL, with the Oakland Athletics in 1988 and 1992 and with the Chicago White Sox in 1983. His other second-place finishes in the NL with the Cardinals were in 2000, 2004 and 2005 and in the AL with the A’s in 1989 and 1990.




Mike Scioscia, who guided the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to their third consecutive American League West title, was elected the AL Manager of the Year in balloting by the BBWAA. It was the second time Scioscia won the award. He was also honored in the Angels’ championship season of 2002.

Scioscia’s job in 2009 included keeping the Angels focused following the April 9 death of pitcher Nick Adenhart, who was killed in an automobile crash. They finished the regular season with a 97-65 record for their fifth division title in the past six years, the most of any club during that stretch.

Scioscia, 50, was listed first on 15 of 28 ballots cast by two writers from each league city, second on 10 and third on one to score 106 points, based on the 5-3-1 tabulation system. No manager was named on every ballot.

The Minnesota Twins’ Ron Gardenhire received six first-place votes and was the runner-up for the second straight year and fifth time overall, with a total of 72 points. The New York Yankees’ Joe Girardi, the 2006 winner in the National League with the Florida Marlins, was first on four ballots and placed third. The Seattle Mariners’ Ken Wakamatsu got two first-place votes and the Texas Rangers’ Ron Washington one.

Gardenhire’s fifth second-place finish is the most for an AL manager, breaking a tie he had been in with Art Howe. Gardenhire, also the runner-up in 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2008, still trails four-time Manager of the Year winner Tony La Russa for the most second-place finishes. La Russa ran second today in the NL balloting for the sixth time overall. La Russa was also second in the NL voting in 2000, 2004 and 2005 with the St. Louis Cardinals and in 1989 and 1990 in the AL with the Oakland Athletics.

Quelle : bbwaa

Beide haben nen tollen Job verrichtet und völlig zurecht Managers of the Year

2009 NL Cy Young

Tim Lincecum Goes Back-to-Back With Tight Win


Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants was elected the National League Cy Young Award winner for the second consecutive year in balloting by the BBWAA. Lincecum had the lowest victory total over a full season of any starting pitcher who won the award in either league.

The previous low victory total for a Cy Young Award-winning starter in a season not affected by a strike was by Brandon Webb, who was 16-8 for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2006. It was matched Tuesday by 2009 American League winner Zack Greinke, who was 16-8 for the Kansas City Royals.

The election also marked only the second time that a pitcher won the award without receiving the most first-place votes. Of the 32 ballots submitted by two writers in each league city, Lincecum (15-7, 2.48 ERA) was listed first on 11, one fewer than the St. Louis Cardinals’ Adam Wainwright (19-8, 2.63 ERA), who finished third overall behind teammate Chris Carpenter (17-4, 2.24 ERA), the 2005 winner.

Lincecum was named second on 12 ballots and third on nine for a total of 100 points, based on a 5-3-1 tabulation system. In addition to his 12 first-place votes, Wainwright got five seconds and 15 thirds to score 90 points. Lincecum and Wainwright were the only pitchers on all ballots. Carpenter was first on nine ballots, second on 14 and third on seven for 94 points.

The only other time a pitcher won the Cy Young Award without the most first-place votes was in 1998 when the Atlanta Braves’ Tom Glavine had 11 to San Diego Padres reliever Trevor Hoffman’s 13 but out-pointed him overall, 98-88.

The six-point margin was tied for the third closest election in the NL since the ballot expanded from one to three pitchers in 1970. The 10-point margin among the top three vote getters was the second closest in NL voting. In 1987, Philadelphia Phillies reliever Steve Bedrosian beat out the Chicago Cubs’ Rick Sutcliffe, 57-55, with Rick Reuschel, who pitched for both the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants that year, running a close third with 54 points.

The second closest 1-2 election was in 1981 with the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Fernando Valenzuela defeating the Cincinnati Reds’ Tom Seaver, 70-67. This year’s election equals that of 1979 when the Cubs’ Bruce Sutter edged the Houston Astros’ Joe Niekro, 72-66.

Lincecum, one of only two Giants pitchers honored (left-hander Mike McCormick won in 1967), led the NL in strikeouts with 261 in 225 1/3 innings and was tied for the league lead in complete games (4) and shutouts (2). Carpenter led the league in ERA and winning percentage (.810). Wainwright topped the NL in victories and innings (233).

Greg Maddux and Randy Johnson share the record for consecutive Cy Young victories with four. As a repeat winner, Lincecum also joins Sandy Koufax (1965-66) in the NL. AL repeat winners were Roger Clemens, who did it twice (1986-87, 1997-98), Denny McLain (1968-69), Jim Palmer (1975-76) and Pedro Martinez (1999-2000).

The voting:

Player, Team , Votes

Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants, 100
Chris Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals, 94
Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals, 90
Javier Vazquez, Atlanta Braves ,3
Dan Haren, Arizona Diamondbacks , 1

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Quelle: mlb.com

Das ist dann doch eine Überraschung für mich, dass Timmi sich den Titel holt... habe eigentlich fest damit gerechnet, dass es einer cer Cards Aces macht... dabei hat er auch nicht die meisten Erststimmen erhalten...
Gratz anyways an meinen Favorite Pitcher

2009 AL MVP

Twins’ Joe Mauer Earns 27 of 28 1st-Place Votes



Joe Mauer, who won an unprecedented third batting championship for a catcher and helped propel the Minnesota Twins to the American League Central title, was elected the AL Most Valuable Player for 2009 in balloting by the BBWAA.

Mauer, the first catcher to lead his league in batting average (.365), on-base percentage (.444) and slugging (.587) in the same season, was listed first on all but one of the 28 ballots cast by two writers in each league city. He was second on that other ballot to score a total of 387 points, based on a tabulation system rewarding 14 points for first place, nine for second, eight for third on down to one for 10th.

The other first-place vote was cast for Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera (.324, 34 HR, 103 RBI), who finished fourth in the overall balloting with 171 points, behind a pair of New York Yankees teammates, first baseman Mark Teixeira (.292, 39 HR, 122 RBI, 103 R) and shortstop Derek Jeter (.334, 18 HR, 107 R, 30 SB).

Teixeira, who led the league in runs batted in and total bases (344) and tied Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Carlos Pena for the lead in home runs, totaled 225 points and Jeter 193. Teixeira’s best previous finish in MVP voting was seventh in 2005 for the Texas Rangers. Jeter also finished third in 1998 and was the runner-up in 2006. Mauer, Teixeira, Jeter and Cabrera were named on every ballot. In all, 27 players gained mention.

Rounding out the top 10 were Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim first baseman Kendry Morales (.306, 34 HR, 108 RBI), Boston Red Sox infielder Kevin Youkilis (.305, 27 HR, 94 RBI), Red Sox left fielder Jason Bay (.267, 36 HR, 119 RBI, 103 R), Tampa Bay Rays second baseman-outfielder Ben Zobrist (.297, 27 HR, 91 RBI), Seattle Mariners right fielder Ichiro Suzuki (.353, 225 H, 26 SB), Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez (.286, 30 HR, 100 RBI) and Angels third baseman Chone Figgins (.298, 114 R, 101 BB, 42 SB).

Mauer, 26, is the only AL catcher to have won a batting title and the only one in either league to have won three of them. His .365 average, the highest by a catcher in major league history, surpassed his prior league-leading figures of .347 in 2006 and .328 in 2008. Mauer posted career-high totals in home runs (28) and runs batted in (96).

He did not start the season until May 1 due to a back injury and helped keep the Twins in contention for the division title following the loss to injury of first baseman Justin Morneau, the 2006 MVP and ’08 runner-up. Mauer batted .378 with two home runs and 14 RBI in the club’s final 21 games of the regular season.

It marked the eighth time a catcher won the award in the AL and the first since the Rangers’ Ivan Rodriguez in 1999. Yogi Berra won three times (1951, ’54-55) with the Yankees. Two other winners were also with the Yankees, Elston Howard in 1963 and Thurman Munson in 1976. The other AL catcher to win was the Tigers’ Mickey Cochrane in 1934.

A catcher has been the MVP in the National League seven times. Ernie Lombardi, the previous record holder for batting titles by a catcher with two (.342 for the Cincinnati Reds in 1938 and .330 for the Boston Braves in 1942), was the 1938 winner. The others were three-time winner Roy Campanella (1951, ’53, ’55), two-time winner Johnny Bench (1970, ’72) and Gabby Hartnett (1935).

Mauer is the fifth Twins player honored, joining Morneau, Zoilo Versalles (1965), Harmon Killebrew (1969) and Rod Carew (1977).

The Yankees have the highest number of MVP winners with 20. The finish by Teixeira marked the 21st time a Yankees player ran second. Other Yankees runners-up were Berra (1953, ’56), Jeter (2006), Mickey Mantle (1960, ’61, ’64), Joe DiMaggio (1937, ’48), Lou Gehrig (1931-32), Bill Dickey (1938), Phil Rizzuto (1949), Allie Reynolds (1952), Bob Turley (1958), Bobby Richardson (1962), Ron Guidry (1978), Reggie Jackson (1980), Don Mattingly (1986), Tino Martinez (1997) and Gary Sheffield (2004).

Quelle : bbwwa.com

2009 NL MVP

It’s Unanimous: Cardinals’ Albert Pujols Wins Again






St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols was a unanimous choice in winning the National League Most Valuable Player Award for the second consecutive season and the third time in his career.

Pujols was listed first on all 32 ballots submitted by two writers in each league city to score a perfect total of 448 points, based on the tabulation system that rewards 14 points for first place, nine for second, eight for third and on down to one for 10th.

He became the sixth NL player to win the award by a unanimous vote, joining Orlando Cepeda (1967), Mike Schmidt (1980), Jeff Bagwell (1994), Ken Caminiti (1996) and Barry Bonds (2002). There have been nine unanimous winners in the American League – Hank Greenberg (1935), Al Rosen (1953), Mickey Mantle (1956), Frank Robinson (1966), Denny McLain (1968), Reggie Jackson (1973), Jose Canseco (1988), Frank Thomas (1993) and Ken Griffey, Jr. (1997).

Pujols, 29, led the league in home runs (47) for the first time in his career and was third in batting (.327) and runs batted in (135). He also topped the NL in runs (124), total bases (374), grand slams (5), extra base hits (93), on-base percentage (.443) and slugging percentage (.658). For the eighth straight year he totaled more walks (115) than strikeouts (64).

Florida Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez, who won the batting title (.342) and had 24 home runs and 106 RBI, was second in the voting with 233 points. First basemen Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies and Price Fielder of the Milwaukee Brewers, who tied for the league lead in RBI with 141 apiece, finished third and fourth, respectively. Howard (.279, 45 HR, 108 R) totaled 217 points and Fielder (.299, 46 HR, 110 BB) 203. In all, 30 players received votes, but only Pujols, Ramirez and Fielder were on every ballot.

Also finishing in the top 10 were Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki (.297, 32 HR, 92 RBI, 101 R, 20 SB), Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Andre Ethier (.272, 31 HR, 106 RBI, 112 R, 23 SB), San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval (.330, 25 HR, 90 RBI), Phillies second baseman Chase Utley (.282, 31 HR, 93 RBI, 103 R), Chicago Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee (.306, 35 HR, 111 RBI) and Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp (.287, 26 HR, 101 RBI, 34 SB).

This was the ninth consecutive top-10 finish in MVP voting for Pujols, who in addition to winning in 2005 and 2008 also finished second in 2002, 2003 and 2006, third in 2004, fourth in 2001 (his rookie year) and ninth in 2007.

Pujols became the 10th player to win the award three or more times and the first former Rookie of the Year Award winner to be a three-time MVP. Bonds is the record holder with seven MVP Awards (1990, ’92-93, 2001-04). The other eight three-time winners were Stan Musial (1943, ’46, ’48), Roy Campanella (1951, ’53, ’55) and Mike Schmidt (1980-81, 1980-81, ’86) in the NL and Mantle (1956-57, ’62), Jimmie Foxx (1932-33, ’38), Joe DiMaggio (1939, ’41, ’47), Yogi Berra (1951, ’54-55) and Alex Rodriguez (2003, ’05, ’07) in the AL.

The back-to-back victory by Pujols places him among six NL players and six in the AL to have won in successive seasons, led by Bonds, who won four years in a row from 2001-04 and also in 1992-93. Other NL repeaters were Schmidt (1980-81), Ernie Banks (1958-59), Joe Morgan (1975-76) and Dale Murphy (1982-83). Repeat winners in the AL were Foxx (1932-33), Berra (1954-55), Mantle (1956-57), Thomas (1993-94), Hal Newhouser (1944-45) and Roger Maris (1960-61).

It marked the 17th time a Cardinals player has been honored. St. Louis’ total of MVP winners is the most in the NL and second only to the New York Yankees’ 20 in the AL. Musial won as an outfielder in 1943 and 1948 and as a first baseman in 1946. Other Cardinals winners were Cepeda in 1967, second baseman Frankie Frisch in 1931, pitcher Dizzy Dean in 1934, left fielder Joe Medwick in 1937, pitcher Mort Cooper in 1942, shortstop Marty Marion in 1944, third baseman Ken Boyer in 1964, pitcher Bob Gibson in 1968, third baseman Joe Torre in 1971, first baseman Keith Hernandez (co-winner with the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Willie Stargell) in 1979 and center fielder Willie McGee in 1985.

Pujols’ victory was the 14th for a first baseman in the NL, a list that includes Musial, Cepeda, Stargell, Hernandez, Bagwell and Howard as well as Frank McCormick, Dolph Camilli, Phil Cavarretta, Willie McCovey and Steve Garvey. The AL MVP Award has been won by a first baseman 15 times. No other position has had as many MVP winners. Right fielders are next with 22, 11 in each league.

Quelle : bbwaa.com