It is baseball award time not only for the national press, but at Ground Rule Double as well. Here are the 1st annual Groundie Award winners.
National League
Hitter of the Year: Matt Holliday OF Colorado Rockies
Holliday had a career year finishing first in batting average (.340), runs batted in (137), hits (216) and doubles (50). He also finished in the top five in home runs (36) and runs (120). The spark plug for the Colorado Rockies he is the main reason they are still playing in October.
Pitcher of the Year: Jake Peavy San Diego Padres
Aside from the disappointment of the Wild Card tiebreaker Peavy was the most dominant starting pitcher in the National League. He won the pitching triple crown finishing the season first in wins (19), ERA (2.54) and strikeouts (240).
Rookie of the Year: Troy Tulowitzki SS Colorado Rockies
Great first full season for Tulowitzki who batted .291 wuth 24 HR and 99 RBIs.
Manager of the Year: Bob Melvin Arizona Diamondbacks
Did anyone do so much with so little? No batter hitting over .300, and only one pitcher with more than 15 wins yet the Diamondbacks won the NL West with a 90-72 record. A young club that Melvin managed well, and should for years to come.
National League All-Star Team
C: Russell Martin Los Angeles Dodgers
1B: Prince Fielder Milwaukee Brewers
2B: Chase Utley Philadelphia Phillies
3B: David Wright New York Mets
SS: Jimmy Rollins Philadelphia Phillies
OF: Matt Holliday Colorado Rockies
OF: Carlos Lee Houston Astros
OF: Adam Dunn Cincinnati Reds
SP: Jake Peavy San Diego Padres
RP: Jose Valverde Arizona Diamondbacks
American League
Hitter of the Year: Magglio Ordonez OF Detroit Tigers
Call me a homer all you want, but Magglio Ordonez was the best hitter this season in the American League. Led the league in batting (.363) and doubles (54). He was also in the top five in RBIs (139), runs (117), and hits (216). Add to that 28 HRs and you have the best hitter in the AL.
Pitcher of the Year: CC Sabathia Cleveland Indians
Sabathia finished with 19 wins, an ERA of 3.21 and 209 strikeouts all good enough for the top five. He also pitched the most innings in the AL (241) and had four complete games.
Rookie of the Year: Delmon Young OF Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Young made many forget about his bat-flinging outburst in the minors a year ago with a stellar season. He hit .288 with 13 HR and 93 RBIs.
Manager of the Year: Eric Wedge Cleveland Indians
Did anyone notice the Indians quietly end the season tied for the best record in baseball? When the Detroit Tigers appeared to be staying with the Indians all season the club put it into another gear and ran away with the AL Central.
American League All-Star Team
C: Victor Martinez Cleveland Indians
1B: Carlos Pena Tampa Bay Devil Rays
2B: Placido Polanco Detroit Tigers
3B: Alex Rodriguez New York Yankees
SS: Derek Jeter New York Yankees
OF: Magglio Ordonez Detroit Tigers
OF: Ichiro Suzuki Seattle Mariners
OF: Vladimir Guerrero Los Angeles Angels
SP: CC Sabathia Cleveland Indians
RP: Bobby Jenks Chicago White Sox
Other News:
- The Pittsburgh Pirates have decided to not bring manager Jim Tracy back for the final season of his contract. Tracy was 135-189 (.417) in his two seasons with the Pirates.
