Oct
16
2011

2011 Regular Season Awards

An article by Craig Lerner

Before the hardware starts getting handed out, here’s my take on who earned the top honors for the 2011 regular season.

National League MVP

Ryan Braun, OF, Milwaukee Brewers

Jose Reyes may have won the batting title, but Braun earns the National League’s top award after batting .332 with 33 home runs and 111 RBIs this season. He led the league with a .594 SLG and .994 OPS and did I mention his 33 stolen bases and solid defense?

Honorable Mention: Matt Kemp, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers (Close, but no cigar.)

American League MVP

Jacoby Elsbury, CF, Boston Red Sox

I’m sure I’ll get killed for this one, but I have to go with Elsbury over Cabrera, Bautista or A-Gon. Sure those three had tremendous seasons, but the way I see it Elsbury had a better all-around season with a .321/.376/.552 slash in 729 PA. He slugged 32 home runs, scored 119 runs and drove in 105 while leading the league with 364 total bases. Plus he stole 39 bases and plays a more demanding position than the other three.

Honorable Mention: Miguel Cabrera, 1B, Detroit Tigers

National League Cy Young

Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers

Clayton Kershaw had a magical season in 2011 going 21-5 with a league leading 2.28 ERA, .098 WHIP and 238 strikeouts to nail down the Pitching Triple Crown. The 23-year old phenom also had the best BAA and get this, he allowed one earned run or none 18 times this season. That’s sick! No complaints here, right?

Honorable Mention: Pick any Phillies starter, Halladay, Lee, Hamels. (I’m gonna puke.)

American League Cy Young

Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

Where do I begin, Justin Verlander was All-World finishing with a 24-5 record and leading the American League with a 2.40 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 250 strikeouts. We may have witnessed one of the best AL pitching performances in the last quarter century. Two Pitching Triple Crowns in the same season, that’s amazing!

Honorable Mention: James Shields, SP Tampa Bay Rays (Sorry Weaver, Shields did it against the Blue Jays, Yankees and Red Sox)

National League Rookie Of The Year

Craig Kimbrel, RP, Atlanta Braves

Kimbrel had an absolute monster season period and wasn’t just a top rookie, he was the top closer. He set a rookie record for saves with a league leading 46, while posting a 2.10 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. In 77 innings Kimbrel struck out 127 batters – that’s a 14.8 strikeout rate!

Honorable Mention: Freddie Freeman, OF, Braves (DAMN BRAVOS!)

American League Rookie Of The Year

Jeremy Hellickson, SP, Tampa Bay Rays

Some may argue this call, but I found Hellickson to be the most deserving. The Rays rookie went 13-10 with a 2.95 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP in 29 starts. Not nearly as overpowering as Kimbrel, the young right-hander posted a 5.1 K/9 and a 3.4 BB/9 so it remains to be seen if he can repeat this success. He did have an impressive .214 BAA, so there’s also that.

Honorable Mention: Mark Trumbo, 1B, Los Angeles Angels (Tough call.)

National League Manager Of The Year

Kirk Gibson, MGR, Arizona Diamondbacks

He took over one of the worst teams in the league and then led them to a division leading 94-68 record and a play-off berth.

Honorable Mention: Ron Roenicke, Milwaukee Brewers (He inherited a better team and had more to work with.)

American League Manager Of The Year

Joe Maddon, MGR, Tampa Bay Rays

He loses Carl Crawford, Matt Garza, Rafael Soriano and Carlos Pena and his team roars back into the post season and knocks the Boston Red Sox into the Twilight Zone.

Honorable Mention: Jim Leyland, Detroit Tigers (One of the all-time greats.)

About the Author: Craig Lerner

I'm a data analyst and researcher for a leading news agency who loves life and is hooked on the Mets. I love following the Amateur Draft and have a particular fondness for the Mets Minor Leagues who I follow each day. Give me a cold beer, a summer day, and a Mets game, and I'm good to go.

8 Comments + Add Comment

francis October 16, 2011 at 10:05 am

As a Met fan, it hurts to say it, but Granderson had more of an MVP year than Ellsbury.

I would put Miggy on top, Granderson second.

I also think Kemp was better than Braun when you consider that Braun had Fielder protecting him and Kemp had Juan Uribe, Jay Gibbons, and Juan Rivera to name a few.
- francis October 16, 2011 at 10:07 am
  
  PS – Good calls on Kershaw and Hellickson, who went completely under the radar.
XtreemIcon October 16, 2011 at 1:07 pm

I like everything except AL MVP. Has to be Verlander. You’re on point with everything else.
- jessep October 16, 2011 at 1:12 pm
  
  I disagree. I’m not anti a pitcher getting the MVP but it takes a few things to occur for me to think a P deserves it. One of those things is no other real great candidates and frankly there are several and 1 of them is on Verlanders team.
  - XtreemIcon October 16, 2011 at 2:22 pm
    
    I think Cabrera is easily the best hitter in the league and probably in the game, but the word “value” means different things to different people. The Tigers aren’t anywhere without Verlander. Maybe not without Cabrera, either. We’ll never know. But the Tigers have Martinez, Avila, Peralta, a nice year out of Boesch. After Verlander, what’s there? Fister was a very late addition, so Scherzer’s 4.43 ERA is the second best ERA on the team. The pitching staff ranked 7th in the AL with an ERA over 4. That’s the WHOLE staff, including him. I think he meant more to that division title than Cabrera did.
jessep October 16, 2011 at 12:20 pm

If it were me I’d go

Matt Kemp MVP, I know he wasn’t on a playoff team but he had a very MVP caliber year
Kershaw I agree
Kimbrel I agree

I agree with above that Miggy should be MVP
Obviously Verlander for Cy
I’ve got Pineda but I think you’re right Hellickson should win. Hosmer deserves attention too though.
Met Maniac October 16, 2011 at 11:35 pm

Jacoby Elsbury?? Are you on crack? Plus Lucas Duda blows Freddy Freeman out of the water any day. Freeman got more at-bats if Duda wasn’t losing playing time to dead wood like Hairston and Harris this wouldn’t even be a debate. Do you ever have anything good to say about the Mets players? Not the GM, Minor League Director or Asst. GM, I’m talking about the players. Do you ever have anything positive to say about them?
alex68 October 18, 2011 at 7:25 am

Freeman honorable mention?? how about dillon Gee and lucas duda?!!? damn man, you a mets fans.. or so you say.. just honorable, jeez..
jacoby elsbury MVP!?!? Really!?!? Miguel Cabrera will be the MVP..
Pretty much agree on all picks, most of them seem obvious though.. anyways, Next year hopefully be out turn with harvey or familia cracking the rotation and having 13 wins for us!!!

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