Tim McCarver Awarded Ford C. Frick Award, You Have Got to Be Joking

Tim McCarver was awarded the Ford C. Frick award for excellence in broadcasting Wednesday morning. Pardon our French, but what the fuck is this world coming to.

[FOX Sports]

Ryan Braun Wins National League MVP, Now a Million Times More Attractive

Ryan Braun became a little hotter back in September when he officially became a 30-30 player. Nothing turns us on more than an impressive stat line.

But now that he's won the National League's Most Valuable Player award, we can hardly contain ourselves.

After helping lead his Milwaukee Brewers to their first division title in nearly 30 years, the left fielder received 20 of the 32 possible first-place votes and 388 total points from the Baseball Writers Association of America. He beat out Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp, his teammate first baseman Prince Fielder, Arizona Diamondbacks right fielder Justin Upton, and St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols. Not a lot of chumps, so Braun should feel proud.

Justin Verlander's Badassery Knows No Bounds; AL Cy Young and MVP in the Bag

Is there anything Justin Verlander can't do? Maybe... but probably not.

After winning the American League’s pitching triple crown by going 24-5 with a 2.40 ERA and 250 strikeouts, the Detroit Tigers right-hander officially became the Most Valuable Player of 2011 on Monday. He's the first pitcher to earn the MVP honor since Dennis Eckersley with the Oakland Athletics in 1992 and the first starting pitcher since Roger Clemens won it with the Boston Red Sox in 1986. It's been a while.

Verlander, who also earned the AL Cy Young Award last week, beat out Boston Red Sox center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury, Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista, New York Yankees center fielder Curtis Granderson (Verlander's preference other than himself) and fellow teammate, first baseman Miguel Cabrera. Tough competition for sure, but Verlander's season was not only memorable, it was out of control good.

The 28-year-old tossed his second career no-hitter against the Blue Jays on May 7, and went on to have the winningest season since Bob Welch went 27-6 for the Oakland Athletics back in 1990. His pivotal role in the Tigers' quest for the postseason reopened the heated debate on whether pitchers, who already have their own award, should be considered in the MVP voting at all.

Apparently the debate was not quite strong enough this season, as Verlander received 13 of the possible 28 first-place votes and 280 points over, 38 more points than Ellsbury. He's pretty pumped:

Clayton Kershaw Beats out Roy Halladay for NL Cy Young Award

Please enjoy this guest post...

Kershaw Beats out Halladay for NL Cy Young

The close vote that was expected for the National League Cy Young Award never happened as Los Angeles left-hander Clayton Kershaw easily outdistanced Philadelphia’s Roy Halladay. Kershaw received 27 of the 32 first-place votes while Halladay got only four first-place votes.

Kershaw becomes the first Los Angeles pitcher to win the Cy Young since Orel Hershiser in 1988 and the eighth Dodger in history to win the award. Kershaw received 207 points which was 74 more than Halladay received. The Phillies’ Cliff Lee finished third in the voting followed by Ian Kennedy of the Diamondbacks. Kershaw led the league in wins with 21, in ERA at 2.28 and in strikeouts with 248. It was a career-best year for Kershaw who started 33 games and pitched 233 1/3 innings. He had three complete games and two shutouts. He was virtually unbeatable in the second half of the season and routinely favored in MLB baseball betting. He went 12-1 with a 1.31 ERA in the second half of the season. Kershaw went up against former NL Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum four times and the Dodgers beat the Giants in all four of those games.

Triple Crown

Kershaw actually won the Triple Crown of pitching as he had the most wins, lowest ERA and most strikeouts. Never in the history of the Cy Young award has a pitcher not won the Cy Young when he led the league in the Triple Crown categories. Kershaw had a .808 winning percentage this season and since 1956 there have only been six other pitchers who had a winning percentage that high, as low an ERA and as many strikeouts. Kershaw was 21-5 this season and he did that for a Los Angeles team that was basically average as the Dodgers finished 82-79. If you take out Kershaw’s wins the Dodgers would have been awful in MLB baseball betting. And it is not like Kershaw got a lot of help from the Los Angeles offense as the Dodgers scored four runs or less in 11 of his 21 wins.

Historic

Kershaw is off to a historic start to his career. He is just 23 years old and already has 47 wins, a 2.88 ERA and 745 strikeouts. No pitcher in Major League history has ever had that many wins an ERA that low and averaged so many strikeouts at the age of 23.

Clayton Kershaw Wins National League Cy Young Award

Clayton Kershaw is the proud recipient of the 2011 National League Cy Young Award. We all saw this coming.

The 23-year-old Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander and his disgusting curveball received 27 of the 32 possible first-place votes from the BBWAA to earn the honor. He snagged the pitching Triple Crown by leading the NL with a 2.28 ERA and 248 strikeouts and tying Ian Kennedy for most wins with a 21-5 record. Not bad.

Kershaw, whose previous best for victories was a meager 13, crushed it during the final two months of the season, going 8-0 with a 0.96 ERA over his final nine starts. He was was 5-0 against the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants, but even more impressive was his 4-0 mark with a ridiculous 0.30 ERA in head-to-head matchups with 2008 and 2009 Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum. Especially badass at Dodger Stadium, he went 12-1 with the lowest home ERA in the big leagues at 1.69.

Justin Verlander Crushes AL Cy Young Award Voting, MVP May be Next

The announcement that Justin Verlander won the American League Cy Young Award on Tuesday was no surprise to anyone, including the BBWAA voters, who were unanimous in their decision. All 28 first-place votes.

His reaction to receiving the honor was met with the question of whether he will also nail the Most Valuable Player Award:

“Do I think it’s possible? Yes. Would I like to win it? Of course. It’s kind of a weird scenario... I'm so different from everybody”

Well, at least he's modest.

No starting pitcher has been named MVP since Roger Clemens back in 1986, with Dennis Eckersley being the the last reliever to get it in 1992. While lots of people believe pitchers shouldn't even be on the MVP ballot since they already have their own award for outstanding performance, seasons like Verlander's might change their tune.

The 28-year-old right-hander (along with his 100mph heater and ridiculous slider and curveball) won the pitching Triple Crown, leading Detroit to its first division title in over two decades with 24 wins, 250 strikeouts, and a nice 2.40 ERA. Not bad.

While that's impressive as hell, the AL MVP crowd includes teammate Miguel Cabrera, along with the likes of former Tigers outfielder Curtis Granderson, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Jose Bautista.

Oddly enough, Verlander said that if he didn't get the honor, he'd like to see Granderson get it. Not Cabrera.

[Detroit Free Press]

David Ortiz Wants to Stick Around Boston, Regardless of Red Sox Problems

All things considered, some big league players may not want to be associated with a team whose ridiculous September collapse has been blamed on drinking beers and eating fried chicken in the clubhouse. David Ortiz is not one of those players. Besides, it's not like they were the only team enjoying some rally beers.

After earning the highest honor a player can accomplish when he received the Roberto Clemente Award before Game 2 of the World Series on Thursday, Ortiz had this to say about his team's troubles:

“You guys know it all, already. I don’t have to add anything. I’m there every day, but I do what I’ve got to do. I have no more comment on that. You guys know it all.”

Eligible for free agency after the World Series, Ortiz batted .309 with 29 homers and 96 RBI this season. He said given the mess the team has found itself in -- the rumors, losing their general manager and banishing their skipper -- it’s a little too early to start talking about a new contract. In an interview with ESPN last month, Big Papi eluded to the idea he would play for the New York Yankees if given the chance. Not cool. However, he squashed that notion on Thursday:

“I never said that I would sign with the Yankees. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. They asked me if I would play for the Yankees. I said I would think about it. But I didn’t confirm to nobody that I would play for the Yankees. I’m still a Red Sox, aren’t I?”

'A Red Sox'... we've always struggled with the possessive and singular of that team's name.

Wherever the soon-to-be 36-year-old designated hitter ends up in 2012, Commissioner Bud Selig surely has a lot he'd like to (and definitely will) say to the Sawx organization after the Fall Classic ends.

[Boston Herald]

Behold, Your 2011 Comeback Players of the Year: Jacoby Ellsbury and Lance Berkman

The 2011 Comeback Players of the year have officially been awarded to Jacoby Ellsbury and Lance Berkman.

After struggling through an injury-plagued 2010 season, the 35-year-old Berkman has gotten back on track and helped to bring his Wild-Card winning St. Louis Cardinals deep into the postseason. The switch-hitting outfielder batted .301 with 31 homers and 94 RBI to win the National League award. After dropping 20 pounds over the offseason, Fat Elvis ranked in the top 10 in the NL in homers, walks (92), slugging percentage .547) and on-base percentage (.412) this season. Way to go, buddy.

It wasn't that tough for Ellsbury, the recipient of the American League honors, to earn the comeback award. He participated in just 18 games last season due to injuries and hit only .192. However, he did set career highs with the Boston Red Sox in most of the offensive categories this year, batting .321 with 32 bombs, 105 RBI, 46 doubles, five triples, 119 runs scored, and 39 stolen bases. That's 30-30 baby.

The 28-year-old outfielder became the first Boston player to hit 30 homers and steal 30 bases in a season, but unfortunately his Red Sox totally blew it in September and failed miserably at joining the fun in October.

[ESPN]

Vladimir Guerrero Wins Best DH Award

Talk about a comeback.

The Commissioner's Office announced Wednesday that Vladimir Guerrero has won the Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award. The Texas Rangers' big bat helped his team earn not only their first ever trip to the ALCS, but also the first World Series appearance in the team's 50-year history.

Guerrero, a nine-time All-Star, batted .306 with 25 homers, 106 RBIs and 73 runs in 129 games from the DH spot. The most amazing part of the whole thing: he struck out only 56 times in 523 at-bats.

Josh Hamilton is Super Valuable

In fact, he is the most valuable player in the entire American League.

Josh Hamilton gets to clear a spot in his trophy case for some hardware today after being named the AL MVP. Despite missing most of the final month of the regular season with two fractured ribs, the Texas Rangers outfielder compiled 358 points from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America after tallying 22 first place votes, four second places and two fourth place tallies... which probably came out of New York.

Hamilton had a big hand in getting the Rangers to their first ever ALCS, where he was named the MVP of that series on the road to the Fall Classic, which they eventually blew. The 29-year-old All-Star led the big leagues with a .359 batting average and a .633 slugging percentage, and finished the 2010 season a .369 hitter with runners in scoring position and .370 with two outs. Clutch.

Joey Votto Crushes NL MVP Voting

After helping the Cincinnati Reds reach the postseason for the first time in 15 years, Joey Votto received 31 of 32 first place votes to earn the 2010 National League MVP honor.

His 443 points awarded by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America topped reigning NL MVP-hog Albert Pujols by a mile.

After winning the MVP in 2005, 2008 and 2009, Pujols came in second with 279 points and the other first place vote, from (who else but) Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Homer much?

While Pujols had yet another magnificent season, Votto was a first-time All-Star, finishing second in the NL in hitting with a .324 batting average and third in homers (37) and RBI (113). He also led the league in slugging percentage (.600), was best in the majors in on-base percentage (.424) and swiped 16 bases in 21 attempts.

Man Muscles Dominates MVP Voting

Joe Mauer  is your 2009 American League Most Valuable Player. And rightfully so!

Receiving 27 of 28 first-place tallies, Man Muscles nearly swept the voting. Mark Teixeira was second and his New York Yankees teammate Derek Jeter finished third behind the Minnesota Twins catcher while Detroit Tigers' first baseman Miguel Cabrera finished fourth.

Cabrera received the one and only first place vote that did not go to Mauer. For the record, that BBWAA writer is an idiot.

After missing the entire month of April, Mauer batted .365 with 28 home runs and 96 RBIs to earn his record-setting third batting title as a backstop. That's right, he's the only catcher in the history of the game to win three batting championships, and just the tenth player to ever accomplish the feat. What a badass.

His 191 hits included 30 doubles and one triple, with a .444 OBP and .587 slugging percentage to aid the Twins in an improbable September run to the playoffs... where they were promptly swept by the eventual World Champion Yankees.

The 26-year-old Minnesota native could leave the team like every other successful former Twin has done when he has the opportunity to become a free agent after his $12.5 million 2010 season. Minnesota brass, however, are expected to try to sign him to a new deal, in which Mauer has offered an undisclosed "home-town discount." That's pretty sweet for the Twins since he'd be getting a gazillion dollars anywhere else.

Check back to read about Albert Pujols' National League MVP award, which will be announced Tuesday afternoon.

[USA Today] | [Twinkie Talk] | [Jorge Says No!]

Tim Lincecum Wins Cy Young #2

Tim Lincecum has earned his second consecutive National League Cy Young Award after yet another dominating season on the mound.

Continue reading and comment on this story at Sports Untapped.

You've Come A Long Way, Zack Greinke

Awards season continues with the American League Cy Young announced this afternoon. Hopefully none of you were surprised when it was given to the only logical pitcher: Mr. Badass himself, Zack Greinke. Man, we love this kid.

The Kansas City Royals right-hander deserved this honor more than anyone -- even lights out righty Felix Hernandez, who took second in the voting. Greinke was shorter on wins than your average 19-21 game winners of the past, but his season was chock-full of domination. He and his damn-near unhittable slider went 16-8 with a big league-best 2.16 ERA and 242 strikeouts. For the sake of comparison, King Felix went 19-5 with a 2.49 ERA for the Seattle Mariners.

Greinke, who is getting hitched this weekend, agreed to a $38 million, four-year contract last winter and will receive a $100,000 bonus for winning. He landed 25 of 28 first-place votes for 134 points by the BBWAA while Hernandez drew 80 points with mostly second-place votes.

The humble and silent but deadly hurler quit the game for a month-and-a-half back in 2006 due to a social anxiety disorder. He has since made the cover of Sports Illustrated, was selected to the 2009 All-Star team, received the 2009 Bullet Rogan award, and also the player's choice Pitcher of the Year honor.

Funny, some folks in KC didn't get the memo. Be sure to check back tomorrow when the National League winner is announced. We hope that honor goes to the most adorable pothead in MLB, though it'll likely be handed to one of two St. Louis Cardinals hurlers.

[KC Star] | [Walkoff Walk] | [Kings of Kauffman]

Coghlan, Bailey Rookies of the Year

Awards Season the most exciting and anticipated time of the MLB offseason, and we're just getting started with Monday's announcement of the 2009 Rookies of the Year among a crowded field of new talent.

Florida Marlins left fielder Chris Coghlan and Oakland Athletics closer Andrew Bailey both had spectacular rookie seasons in the big leagues... so did Philadelphia Phillies pitcher J.A. Happ.

Continue reading and comment on this story at Sports Untapped.

Can We Please Give Derek Jeter Some More Awards?

Just some more shiny things for his trophy case would be great. If we could go ahead and embed some diamonds in there, too. Maybe some engraving would be nice, as well.

The New York Yankees shortstop, who is not even the best shortstop on his team, let alone the American League, received a Gold Glove for his position this season to go along with his 2009 Hank Aaron Award, handed out to the league’s top hitter… which sadly, was not him.

Continue reading and comment on this story at SportsUntapped. Have a great weekend!

Rawlings Hands Out Gold Glove Hardware

Even though baseball season is over, that doesn’t mean the excitement has gone along with it.

Rawlings has handed out their 2009 Gold Glove awards (they’ve been doing so since 1957) and a couple of them went to World Series Champion New York Yankees. Managers and coaches make selections before the season ends, but are not allowed to choose members of their own clubs, of course.

Continue reading and comment on this story at Sports Untapped.

It's Like Christmas in May!

MLB Roundup hands out the season awards 5 months early, which is always a great time.

J-Roll Tops Holliday for NL MVP

Philadelphia Phillies' switch-hitting shortstop, Jimmy Rollins was honored with the National League Most Valuable Player award Tuesday, edging runner-up Matt Holliday in a tight race after leading his club to its first playoff berth in 14 years.

The speedy and charismatic Rollins, a first-time Gold Glover, nabbed 16 of 32 first-place votes to finish with 353 points -- 17 ahead of the Colorado Rockies left fielder.

The pressure was on at the new year after Rollins made the bold prediction that the Phillies were "the team to beat" in the NL East. With a little help from the New York Mets historic falling-out, Philadelphia won the division on the very last day of the season.

Batting leadoff for the most part, J-Roll hit .296 with 30 bombs, 94 RBIs, 38 doubles, 20 triples, 41 steals and crossed the plate an NL-best 139 times. He became the first player in big league history to have at least 30 doubles, 20 triples, 30 homers and 30 steals in one season. Furthermore, no shortstop has ever had that many extra base hits.

Holliday, who led the way in Colorado's up-hill battle to the World Series, received 11 first-place votes while Milwaukee Brewers slugger Prince Fielder came in third, with five first-place votes and 284 points.

[Newsday]

Detroit Steals A-Rod's Thunder

Everyone's favorite Boras client snagged his third American League MVP Award (his second MVP in Yankee pinstripes) from the Baseball Writers Association of America yesterday, winning in a landslide over the other candidates. Alex Rodriguez is just the fifth AL player to win the award three times.

But the voting wasn't unanimous- A-Rod only garnered 26 of 28 first place votes. It seems that two rogue (hero?) writers out of the Detroit area managed to throw a little rain on A-Rod's parade by voting the Tigers' Magglio Ordonez in first place. Tom Gage of the Detroit News and Tim Hawkins of the Oakland Press (Pontiac, Mich.) prevented Rodriguez from being able to do a Unanimous Victory Dance- instead, A-Rod had to settle for just a Very Convincing Victory Dance.

"I saw Magglio play every day," Hawkins said. "What I saw was a player having an MVP year. I have no quarrel with anyone who voted for A-Rod. He also had an MVP year. But with the injuries the Tigers had and the effort and performance I saw from Magglio, there's no question he had an MVP year."

Am I allowed to enjoy the outrage of Yankees fans over the two Detroit writers who voted A-Rod in second, when there was no such outrage from them about the New York writer who left Josh Beckett completely off his Cy Young ballot altogether? What's good for the goose...

[Detroit News] | [LoHud Yankees Blog]