Award Season: WTF Award Winners of the MFS Years (or the Worst of the Best)

American League MVP: Willie Hernandez, 1984
Considering that the 1984 were easily one of the most dominant MLB teams of the last 30 years, it's ironic that it was Willie Hernandez that got his name etched in the record books as MVP of that season. I suppose the best of a no-so-great lot, Hernandez and Dan "The Quiz" Quisenberry sandwiched the tubby Kent Hrbek in the upper three of American League MVP voting, in a season where only five AL sluggers topped 30 home runs (Tony Armas led with 43) and only Don Mattingly topped 200 hits. Hernandez remains the only major award winner of the MFS to undergo a name change during his career (he was "reborn" under his birth name Guillermo in the late Eighties).

National League MVP: Ken Caminiti, 1996
The late Ken Caminiti put together a 1996 campaign that was the epitome of a career season... and shockingly, at the on-set of the so-called steroids era. The suddenly bulbous Caminti blasted 40 home runs for the Padres that summer, leading them to the post-season where they were summarily masticated by the St Louis Cardinals in the NLDS. Caminiti never hit even 30 home runs again and was found dead at the age of 41, somewhere in New York City in October 2004. As they say, cocaine is a helluva drug.

American League Cy Young: Steve Stone, 1980
Steve Stone is now best known as a broadcaster but once upon a potty, he twirled an insanely good season for the Baltimore Orioles, tallying 25 wins in 1980--a win total that has only been topped once in the years since (Bob Welch won 27 for the Oakland Athletics in 1990. Stone won an insanely forgettable 4 games the next season and threw in the towards after that strike shortened season, a victim of tendinitis and the 250 innings he hurled in 1980.


National League Cy Young: Mark Davis, 1988
A journeyman strikes gold in southern California and makes millions. A true American triumph of the human spirit... or the career trajectory of that lovable lefthander, Mark Davis. Davis was remarkably unremarkable during his 15 season. Except for 1988 and 1989 with the Padres, season whereby Davis transformed in the short term into the finest lefthanded closer in the land. Good timing since Davis cashed in as a free agent in late 1989 and signed a big money contract with the Kansas City Royal (checked out our Bret Saberhagen Trade Gauge for the fallout from KC's itchy trigger finger). A great example of why MLB closers are often a "right time, right place" proposition. Eric Gagne is the only National League relief pitcher to winner the award in the years since.

American League Rookie of the Year: Joe Charboneau, 1981
Joe Charboneau laid the groundwork for Kevin Maas, Shane Spencer and others who blasted a bunch of home runs early, "lost their smile" and were out of MLB before they began. An eccentric personality with a selfish long swing, Charboneau was primed to be one of the best AL sluggers of the Eighties before effing up him back with an errant headfirst slide in spring training 1981 and being out of the league by the end of 1982. To show you the brutal drop-off in power the Tribe had after Charboneau, back-up catch Bo Diaz paced the team with seven (....yes, seven) home runs in 1981. So pathetic, man!

National League Rookie of the Year: Jerome Walton, 1989
It was surprising to see that Jerome Walton played 10 seasons in MLB. Because seriously, he kinda sucked after that magical summer of 1989 with Cubs. Alongside fellow rookie Dwight Smith, Walton helped bring the post season to Wrigley Field for the first time in five years to close out the Eighties. It appeared the Cubbies had stumbled upon a real sparkplug to ignite their offense. Instead, Walton acted like a burnt-out light bulb for the rest of his career. Lucky for him, he got to play in four post season series for the Cincinatti Reds and Baltimore Orioles in the mid-Nineties... where he promptly went hitless in 14 at-bats. Ouch.

Award Season: The Dave Kingman Collectible Stein

The Dave Kingman Collectible Stein - Awarded to the top hitter with a batting average less than 0.250 for the 2010 season



American League
1. Jason Kubel, Minnesota Twins (0.249/0.323/0.427, 21 HR, 92 RBI)
2. Ty Wigginton, Baltimore Orioles (0.248/0.357/0.454, 22 HR, 76 RBI)
3. Carlos Quentin, Chicago White Sox (0.243/0.329/0.433, 26 HR, 87 RBI)
4. BJ Upton, Tampa Bay Rays (0.237/0.322/0.424, 18 HR, 62 RBI, 42 SB)
5. Curtis Granderson, New York Yankees (0.247/0.324/0.468, 24 HR, 67 RBI)
6. Jorge Posada, New York Yankees (0.248/0.357/0.454, 18 HR, 57 RBI)
7. Franklin Gutierrez, Seattle Mariners (0.245/0.303/0.363, 12 HR, 25 SB)
8. Jhonny Peralta, Detroit Tigers (0.249/0.311/0.392, 15 HR, 81 RBI)
9. Lyle Overbay, Toronto Blue Jays (0.243/0.329/0.433, 20 HR, 67 RBI)
10. Kevin Kouzmanoff, Oakland Athletics (0.247/0.283/0.396, 16 HR, 71 RBI)



National League
1. Matt Kemp, Los Angeles Dodgers (0.249/0.310/0.450, 28 HR, 89 RBI, 19 SB)
2. Juan Uribe, San Francisco Giants (0.248/0.310/0.440, 24 HR, 85 RBI)
3. Carlos Lee, Houston Astros (0.246/0.291/0.417, 24 HR, 89 RBI)
4. Garrett Jones, Pittsburgh Pirates (0.247/0.306/0.414, 21 HR, 86 RBI)
5. Aramis Ramirez, Chicago Cubs (0.241/0.294/0.452, 25 HR, 83 RBI)
6. Mark Reynolds, Arizona Diamondbacks (0.198/0.320/0.433, 32 HR, 85 RBI)
7. Casey Blake, Los Angeles Dodgers (0.248/0.320/0.407, 17 HR, 64 RBI)
8. Seth Smith, Colorado Rockies (0.246/0.314/0.469, 17 HR, 52 RBI)
9. Will Venable, San Diego Padres (0.245/0.324/0.408, 13 HR, 29 RBI)
10. Troy Glaus, Atlanta Braves (0.240/0.344/0.400, 16 HR, 71 RBI)

Award Season: The Rick Sutcliffe Branded Confectionary Dish

The Rick Sutcliffe Branded Confectionary Dish - Awarded to the top single season 4.00 ERA+ pitchers in the AL and NL


American League
1. Phil Hughes, New York Yankees (18-8/4.19/1.25, 146 SO)
2. Zack Greinke, Kansas City Royals (10-14/4.17/1.25, 181 SO)
3. Brett Cecil, Toronto Blue Jays (15-7/4.22/1.33, 117 SO)
4. Kevin Slowey, Minnesota Twins (13-6/4.45/1.29, 116 SO)
5. Jeff Nieman, Tampa Bay Rays (12-8/4.39/1.26, 131 SO)
6. Brandon Morrow, Toronto Blue Jays (10-7/4.49/1.38, 181 SO)
7. Bobby Jenks, Chicago White Sox (1-3/4.44/1.37, 27 SV)
8. Gavin Floyd, Chicago White Sox (10-13/4.08/1.38, 151 SO)
9. Wade Davis, Tampa Bay Rays (12-10/4.07/1.35, 113 SO)
10. Tony Sipp, Cleveland Indians (2-2/4.14/1.38, 70 G, 9.9 SO/9)


National League
1. Derek Lowe, Atlanta Braves (16-12/4.00/1.37, 136 SO)
2. Octavio Dotel, Colorado Rockies (3-4/4.08/1.31, 22 SV, 10.5 SO/9)
3. Jonathan Broxton, Los Angeles Dodgers (5-6/4.04/1.48, 22 SV, 10.5 SO/9)
4. Barry Zito, San Francisco Giants (9-14/4.15/1.34, 150 SO)
5. Randy Wolf, Milwaukee Brewers (13-12/4.17/1.39, 142 SO)
6. Jonathan Niese, New York Mets (9-10/4.20/1.46, 1.48 SO)
7. Jorge de la Rosa, Colorado Rockies (8-7/4.22/1.32, 8.4 SO/9)
8. Bill Bray, Cincinatti Reds (0-2/4.13/1.09, 9.5 SO/9)
9. Carlos Silva, Chicago Cubs (10-6/4.22/1.27, 80 SO)
10. Tom Gorzelanny, Chicago Cubs (7-9/4.09/1.50, 119 SO)

Award Season: The 2010 Walt Weiss Plush Wall Hanging

The Walt Weiss Plush Wall Hanging – Awarded to the top rookies in the AL and NL, boasting either a sub-0.250 average for hitters or 4.00 ERA+ for pitchers

American League
1. Wade Davis, Tampa Bay Rays (12-10/4.07/1.35, 113 SO)
2. Brian Matusz, Baltimore Orioles (10-12/4.30/1.34, 143 SO)
3. Alfredo Simon, Baltimore Orioles (4-2/4.93/1.54, 17 SV)
4. Mitch Talbot, Cleveland Indians (10-13/4.41/1.49, 88 SO)
5. Justin Smoak, Texas Rangers (0.218/0.307/0.371, 13 HR, 48 RBI)
6. David Pauley, Seattle Mariners (4-9/4.07/1.31, 51 SO)
7. Michael Brantley, Cleveland Indians (0.246/0.296/0.327, 38 R, 22 RBI, 10 SB)
8. Frank Herrmann, Cleveland Indians (0-1/4.03/1.28, 24 SO)
9. Alex Avila, Detroit Tigers (0.228/0.316/0.340, 7 HR, 31 RBI)
10. Blake Wood, Kansas City Royal (1-3/5.07/1.53, 15 HLD)

National League
1. Jonathan Niese, New York Mets (9-10/4.20/1.46, 1.48 SO)
2. Alcides Escobar, Milwaukee Brewers (0.235/0.288/0.326, 119 H, 41 RBI, 10 SB)
3. Mike Leake, Cincinatti Reds (8-4/4.23/1.50, 91 SO)
4. Roger Bernadina, Washington Nationals (0.246/0.307/0.384, 11 HR, 47 RBI)
5. Carlos Monasterios, Los Angeles Dodgers (3-5/4.38/1.45, 32 G, 13 GS)
6. Eric Young Jr, Colorado Rockies (0.244/0.312/0285, 17 SB)
7. Andrew Cashner, Chicago Cubs (2-6/4.80/1.56, 53 G, 50 SO)
8. Allen Craig, St Louis Cardinals (0.246/0.298/0.412, 4 HR, 18 RBI)
9. James Russell, Chicago Cubs (1-1/4.96/1.35, 54 G)
10. Raul Valdes, New York Mets (3-3/4.91/1.47, 38 G)

Book Report: The First Annual MFS Awards of Indifference

In Major League Baseball, as in all sports, there will always be a time and place for players that are just... OK. Good but not great. Serviceable. Role players. A nice person. Whatever backhanded adjective you use, these types of single season performances ain’t going anywhere so best to embrace them than ward them off with a bayonet. Incidentally, it’s amazing that bayonets were actual a tool of war at one point. I’m not sure who thought it’d be a good way to kill the enemy, by effectively jabbing them to death.

Anyway, MFS will be presenting the 2010 MLB Awards of Indifference in the coming weeks, naming the top players, pitchers and rookies for the 2010 regular season. Two caveats: hitters must end the season with less than 0.250 batting average and pitchers, with ERAs over 4.00.

Here is the further breakdown...
• The Dave Kingman Collectible Stein – Awarded to the top single season sub-0.250 hitters in the AL and NL (Kingman finished his career with a 0.236 average)
• The Rick Sutcliffe Branded Confectionary Dish- Awarded to the top single season 4.00 ERA+ pitchers in the AL and NL (Sutcliffe finished his career with a 4.08 ERA)
• The Walt Weiss Plush Wall Hanging – Awarded to the top rookies in the AL and NL, boasting either a sub-0.250 average for hitters or 4.00 ERA+ for pitchers (Weiss was simply one of the more pedestrian Rookies of the Year in recent memory)

Enjoy.

Book Report: Top Five WTF Most Valuable Player Candidates

With 2010 MVP voting now in the books (and belated “Hey, nice job” to Toronto’s own Joey Votto), it’s time to reflect on some “head scratchers” in past MVP votes—players who received consideration in spite of otherwise pedestrian careers. These no doubt made sense at the time but appear dubious out of context.



5. Dick Schofield, SS, California Angels, 1986
Schofield was a good (not great) fielder and a good (not great) base stealer during his career. The Angels won their division in 1986 and Schofield was one of four Angels to receive MVP votes that year (Wally Joyner, Doug DeCinces and Mike Witt were the others). 13 home runs and 23 steals are actually decent for a shortstop. A 0.249 average—not so much. Side note: I once saw Schofield and ex-teammate Kirk McCaskill checking out a Toronto Maple Leaf hockey game at Maple Leaf Gardens. They shared popcorn.

4. Bill Almon, SS, Chicago White Sox, 1981
A career year for a middling shortstop in a strike shortened season apparently translates to MVP consideration. Almon was a versatile stop gap for a number of teams that never did anything and somehow dazzled voters in 1981 with a career high 0.301 batting average, ignoring a less impressive 4 home runs, 0.341 OBP, etc.

3. Deivi Cruz, SS, Detroit Tigers, 1997
Third and final shortstop on the list. Please pick up on the trend of me picking on shortstops. Perhaps these were sympathy votes since his parents butchered the spelling of Deivi/Davey. Whatever the case, Cruz impressively managed to factor into most the MVP and ROY discussion while wielding a truly forgettable 0.241/0.263/0.314 resume. Again, I’m assuming sympathy.

2. Lew Ford, OF, Minnesota Twins, 2004
Considering Ford played recently, I remember next to nothing about this guy. Something of a “late bloomer”, Ford put together a solid rookie campaign in 2004 (15 home runs, 72 RBIs, a 0.299/0.381/0.446 line) and followed that up by not doing much to follow up in future seasons. Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel gobbled up Ford’s at-bats and he faded to black after the 2007 season at age 30. He spent the 2010 playing for Guerreros de Oaxaca in the Mexican League, swatting 5 home runs as the token “Gringo”.

1. Scott Eyre, RP, San Francisco Giants, 2005
It’s amazing that a man who averaged just over 2/3 innings/appearance would merit chatter as the MVP of the National League. But noted “Loogy” Scott Eyre turned the trick in 2005 for the Giants. He had a great season, leading the circuit with 86 games, striking out almost a batter/inning and keeping hitters off balance with a 1.083 WHIP. But seriously. This is ridiculous. Somewhere, Rob Murphy and Buddy Groom are fighting back tears.