{"id":5766,"date":"2015-04-08T10:13:01","date_gmt":"2015-04-08T14:13:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=5766"},"modified":"2015-04-08T10:45:33","modified_gmt":"2015-04-08T14:45:33","slug":"2014-mlb-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=5766","title":{"rendered":"2014 MLB Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"

NOTE:\u00a0 This was written and intended to be published at the end of the 2014 MLB regular season, but due to technical difficulties, we couldn’t get it up until now.\u00a0 But, with the 2015 season upon us, it seems like a good time.<\/p>\n

++++++++++++++++++++++<\/p>\n

To get us warmed up, the BBWA has just announced their 2014 MLB Postseason Awards.\u00a0 And, that\u2019s cute and all, but let us get to the real awards:\u00a0 the 2014 BSB MLB Awards.\u00a0 We had an esteemed panel of 7 voters this year, who are very astute and knowledgeable baseball men, vote on 18 different awards.\u00a0 So, without further ado, let us reveal this year\u2019s winners.<\/p>\n

NL MOST VALUABLE PLAYER:\u00a0 Giancarlo Stanton<\/h1>\n

In one of the closest votes we have ever had here for the BSB Awards, Giancarlo Stanton edged out Pirates centerfielder, Andrew McCutcheon, by just 2 points.\u00a0 Those two were the only two that were on all seven ballots, and both received three first-place votes.\u00a0 In fact, these two were 1-2 on six of the seven ballots.\u00a0 The only difference was the one ballot that didn\u2019t have them 1-2 had Stanton #2 and McCutcheon #4.\u00a0 Even though the voting occurred before the postseason started, Buster Posey came in at #3, with the BBWA choice, Clayton Kershaw, finishing 4th<\/sup> (though, he did garner the only 1st<\/sup>-place vote not for one of the top two).<\/p>\n

\"\"

Mike Stanton was pretty good, but Giancarlo is incredible<\/p><\/div>\n

My ballot had McCutcheon #1 and Stanton #2.\u00a0 I followed that with a pair of catchers at #3 and #4\u2013 Jonathan Lucroy and Buster Posey.\u00a0 Nationals breakout star, Anthony Rendon, was my #5.\u00a0 And, I had to add Andrelton Simmons at #6 because he might be the only shortstop that I have ever seen that I would even mention in the same breath as Omar Vizquel and Ozzie Smith, defensively.\u00a0 I left off Clayton Kershaw because I feel strongly that you have to play more than one-fifth of your team\u2019s games to be considered the \u201cmost valuable player in the league.\u201d\u00a0 Period.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t alone on that, as two others also left Kershaw off completely.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Giancarlo Stanton (3) \u2013 66 (7)<\/li>\n
  2. Andrew McCutcheon (3) \u2013 64 (7)<\/li>\n
  3. Buster Posey \u2013 43 (6)<\/li>\n
  4. Clayton Kershaw (1) \u2013 34 (4)<\/li>\n
  5. Anthony Rendon \u2013 27 (4)<\/li>\n
  6. Jonathan Lucroy \u2013 21 (3)<\/li>\n
  7. Yasiel Puig \u2013 7 (1)<\/li>\n
  8. Todd Frazier \u2013 6 (1)<\/li>\n
  9. Josh Harrison \u2013 6 (1)<\/li>\n
  10. Anthony Rizzo \u2013 6 (1)<\/li>\n
  11. Andrelton Simmons \u2013 5 (1)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    AL MOST VALUABLE PLAYER:\u00a0 Mike Trout<\/h1>\n

    The best player on the planet fell one point short of a unanimous selection, garnering six 1st<\/sup>-place votes and one 2nd<\/sup>-place vote.\u00a0 Victor Martinez was a distant 2nd<\/sup> in the voting.\u00a0 Nelson Cruz finished 4th<\/sup>, but received the only non-Trout 1st<\/sup>-place vote, even though he only appeared on three of the seven ballots.\u00a0 There were a whole lot of entries here, as 15 different players appeared on at least one ballot, only two of whom made it on more than four.\u00a0 Yeonis Cespedes received a 5th<\/sup>-place vote for the sheer fact that the A\u2019s were the best team in the league with him and the worst team in the league without him \u2013 maybe he is the \u201cmost valuable\u201d player.<\/p>\n

    \"\"

    The pride of Millville, NJ<\/p><\/div>\n

    Trout was, obviously, my pick for this award.\u00a0 I agree with the final results for 2nd<\/sup> and 3rd<\/sup>, as well, as I had Martinez at #2 and Brantley at #3.\u00a0 I swayed from the voters after that, going with the always-overlooked, Jose Bautista, at #4, the rookie sensation, Jose Abreu, at #5, followed by the breakout star (offensively and defensively), Josh Donaldson, at #6, and Robinson Cano at #7.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Mike Trout (6) \u2013 69 (7)<\/li>\n
    2. Victor Martinez \u2013 52 (6)<\/li>\n
    3. Michael Brantley \u2013 31 (4)<\/li>\n
    4. Nelson Cruz (1) \u2013 24 (3)<\/li>\n
    5. Jose Abreu \u2013 24 (3)<\/li>\n
    6. Robinson Cano \u2013 23 (3)<\/li>\n
    7. Josh Donaldson \u2013 18 (3)<\/li>\n
    8. Felix Hernandez \u2013 11 (2)<\/li>\n
    9. Alex Gordon \u2013 8 (1)<\/li>\n
    10. Jose Altuve \u2013 7 (1)<\/li>\n
    11. Jose Bautista \u2013 7 (1)<\/li>\n
    12. Adam Jones \u2013 7 (1)<\/li>\n
    13. Nelson Cruz\u2019s Doctors \u2013 7 (1)<\/li>\n
    14. Miguel Cabrera \u2013 6 (1)<\/li>\n
    15. Yeonis Cespedes \u2013 6 (1)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      NL CY YOUNG:\u00a0 Clayton Kershaw<\/h1>\n

      In a completely unanimous vote, Clayton Kershaw walks away with another Cy Young.\u00a0 Johnny Cueto, who was the only other pitcher to even appear on every ballot, finished 2nd<\/sup>.\u00a0 Adam Wainwright was 3rd<\/sup> in a race that was clearly only down to three guys.\u00a0 In fact, this was the most clear-cut race of all, as the top 5 guys were all on more than half the ballots, and only eight pitchers even received a vote.<\/p>\n

      \"\"

      The current totle holder of “Best Pitcher on the Planet”<\/p><\/div>\n

      I agree with the top 3, as I went Kershaw, Cueto, Wainwright as #1,2,3.\u00a0 I considered bumping Wainwright ahead of Cueto, but in the end, Cueto just had a better season.\u00a0 Madison Bumgarner (for his regular season performance) was 4th<\/sup> for me, as I value innings pitched immensely.\u00a0 Jordan Zimmermann and Cole Hamels rounded out my ballot.<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Clayton Kershaw (7) \u2013 70 (7)<\/li>\n
      2. Johnny Cueto \u2013 60 (7)<\/li>\n
      3. Adam Wainwright \u2013 51 (6)<\/li>\n
      4. Jordan Zimmermann \u2013 30 (5)<\/li>\n
      5. Madison Bumgarner \u2013 28 (4)<\/li>\n
      6. Zach Greinke \u2013 20 (3)<\/li>\n
      7. Cole Hamels \u2013 12 (2)<\/li>\n
      8. Doug Fister \u2013 7 (1)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        AL CY YOUNG:\u00a0 Felix Hernandez<\/h1>\n

        BSB disagrees with the BBWA on this one, as King Felix takes home our Cy Young Award in a race that wasn\u2019t really all that close.\u00a0 The King got five of the seven 1st<\/sup>-place votes and the other two votes were 2nd<\/sup>-place votes.\u00a0 In fact, BBWA choice, Cory Kluber, barely held off Chris Sale for 2nd<\/sup> place in our vote.\u00a0 Not that we didn\u2019t recognize the greatness of Kluber, as he, Felix and Sale were all on all seven ballots.\u00a0 Those three constituted, in some order, the three top spots on all seven ballots.\u00a0 Down the list, you can see the Bawlmer homerism, as Chris Tillman and Zack Britton both appear on Cy Young ballots.<\/p>\n

        \"\"

        This guy is either “muscle” for Gus Fring or a future Hall of Famer…hard to tell<\/p><\/div>\n

        Personally, I wanted to vote for Kluber because I really like him and love his stuff, but the season that King Felix put together was just way too good to vote for anyone else.\u00a0 I tried<\/em> to talk myself into Kluber, but couldn\u2019t.\u00a0 I did have Kluber 2nd<\/sup>, ahead of Sale, because of innings pitched.\u00a0 The top three were obvious.\u00a0 After that, I had Jon Lester at #4 and the 5\u201911\u201d Sonny Gray at #5.\u00a0 I also gave David Price (underrated season) a 6th<\/sup>-place vote and threw a bone to Phil Hughes at #7 for an incredibly under-the-radar season.<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Felix Hernandez (5) \u2013 68 (7)<\/li>\n
        2. Cory Kluber (1) \u2013 61 (7)<\/li>\n
        3. Chris Sale (1) \u2013 60 (7)<\/li>\n
        4. Jon Lester \u2013 27 (4)<\/li>\n
        5. \u00a0Garrett Richards \u2013 20 (3)<\/li>\n
        6. Sonny Gray \u2013 13 (2)<\/li>\n
        7. Max Scherzer \u2013 12 (2)<\/li>\n
        8. Chris Tillman \u2013 6 (1)<\/li>\n
        9. Zack Britton \u2013 5 (1)<\/li>\n
        10. David Price \u2013 5 (1)<\/li>\n
        11. Phil Hughes \u2013 4 (1)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          NL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR:\u00a0 Jacob de Grom<\/h1>\n

          The Mets rookie sensation, Jacob de Grom, burst on the scene this year and takes with him the coveted BSB NL Rookie of the Year award.\u00a0 de Grom received six of the seven first-place votes.\u00a0 Billy Hamilton was the only one even close, but he did not get a single first-place vote, as the one ballot on which de Grom was 2nd<\/sup>, he lost out to a rookie broadcaster.\u00a0 Nice to see Chris Zanzarella \u2013 a rookie BSB participant \u2013 get a vote, as well as Yours Truly.<\/p>\n

          \"\"

          This guy? Seriously?<\/p><\/div>\n

          I voted for de Grom at #1, but actually had future Phils closer, Ken Giles, at #2.\u00a0 I then went with Kyle Hendricks, who may have only started 13 games for the Cubbies, but he was dominant<\/em> in those 13.\u00a0 Billy Hamilton and his sub-.300 OBP was 4th<\/sup>, followed by Kolten Wong and Ender Inciarte.<\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Jacob de Grom (6) \u2013 69 (7)<\/li>\n
          2. Billy Hamilton \u2013 60 (6)<\/li>\n
          3. Ken Giles \u2013 31 (4)<\/li>\n
          4. Kolten Wong \u2013 21 (3)<\/li>\n
          5. Kyle Hendricks \u2013 16 (2)<\/li>\n
          6. Gregory Polanco \u2013 16 (2)<\/li>\n
          7. Ender Inciarte \u2013 11 (2)<\/li>\n
          8. Steve Berthiaume (1) \u2013 10 (1)<\/li>\n
          9. Chris Zanzarella \u2013 7 (1)<\/li>\n
          10. David Buchanan \u2013 6 (1)<\/li>\n
          11. Bryan Cimorelli \u2013 6 (1)<\/li>\n
          12. Jorge Soler \u2013 6 (1)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            AL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR:\u00a0 Jose Abreu<\/h1>\n

            In the only unanimous vote other than Kershaw, Jose Abreu walks away with the AL Rookie of the Year award without contest.\u00a0 In fact, his 19-point margin over 2nd<\/sup>-place Masahiro Tanaka was the 2nd<\/sup>-largest margin of victory in any award this year behind only AL Manager of the Year.\u00a0 After Abreu, it was a slew of hurlers, as 2nd<\/sup> through 6th<\/sup> place were all pitchers.\u00a0 Tanaka was the only other player to make it to all seven ballots.\u00a0 Yordani Ventura fell one short, landing on six of the seven.\u00a0 This was actually a pretty clean election, as there were only 8 players that received votes, seven of whom showing up on at least three ballots.<\/p>\n

            \"\"

            I’d say he had an “okay” rookie year…<\/p><\/div>\n

            Abreu led my 7-person ballot.\u00a0 I actually considered going Matt Shoemaker ahead of Abreu, considering he was the ace of the best team in baseball, but Abreu\u2019s numbers were insane.\u00a0 Shoemaker was my #2 followed by future Astros ace, Colin McHugh, current Yankees ace, Masahiro Tanaka, future Royals ace, Yordani Ventura (who is definitely my favorite rookie to watch), and future Yanks closer, Dellin Betances.\u00a0 The Twins\u2019 .313-hitter, Danny Santana, rounded out my ballot.<\/p>\n

              \n
            1. Jose Abreu (7) \u2013 70 (7)<\/li>\n
            2. Masahiro Tanaka \u2013 52 (7)<\/li>\n
            3. Yordani Ventura \u2013 45 (6)<\/li>\n
            4. Colin McHugh \u2013 31 (4)<\/li>\n
            5. Dellin Betances \u2013 28 (4)<\/li>\n
            6. Matt Shoemaker \u2013 21 (3)<\/li>\n
            7. Danny Santana \u2013 17 (3)<\/li>\n
            8. George Springer \u2013 8 (1)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              NL MANAGER OF THE YEAR:\u00a0 Clint Hurdle<\/h1>\n

              A pretty hotly contested Manager of the Year race here in the NL ends with Clint Hurdle of the Pirates winning the award thanks to being on five of the seven ballots with three first-place votes (both highs for anyone).\u00a0 World Champion, Bruce Bochy, finishes second, though Boot made a good point in his ballot as to why he was voting for Bochy (and, this was before the postseason run): \u00a0\u201cIn 15 years, we will look back at the Giants\u2019 rosters and say Posey is a HOF\u2019er, and that may be it\u2026\u201d \u00a0Rookie manager, Matt Williams, finished 3rd<\/sup> followed by Cards 2nd<\/sup>-year man, Mike Matheny.\u00a0 Interestingly, though there were only 15 NL managers from which to choose, the seven ballots still tabbed four different managers as their top choice.\u00a0 We also had \u201cnegative\u201d votes for Don Mattingly and Kirk Gibson \u2013 apparently, they should be 14th<\/sup> and 15th<\/sup>, respectively, in the NL manager pecking order.<\/p>\n

              \"\"<\/p>\n

              I did vote for Hurdle as my #1, but I went Matheny #2.\u00a0 I originally had Ron Roenicke at #3, but Boot\u2019s comment above swayed me to throw my 3rd<\/sup>-place vote to Bochy.<\/p>\n

                \n
              1. Clint Hurdle (3) \u2013 23 (5)<\/li>\n
              2. Bruce Bochy (2) \u2013 19 (5)<\/li>\n
              3. Matt Williams (1) \u2013 16 (4)<\/li>\n
              4. Mike Matheny (1) \u2013 12 (3)<\/li>\n
              5. Terry Collins \u2013 4 (1)<\/li>\n
              6. Don Mattingly \u2013 3 (1)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                AL MANAGER OF THE YEAR:\u00a0 Buck Showalter<\/h1>\n

                BSB agrees with the BBWA here, as Uncle Buck wins this award in a landslide.\u00a0 Garnering six of the seven 1st<\/sup>-place votes, with the only non-1st<\/sup> as a 2nd<\/sup>-place vote, Buck had, by far, the largest margin of victory here, as his 21-point victory came in an award that only granted 5 points for 1st<\/sup> instead of the usual 10.\u00a0 Terry Francona finished a distant 2nd<\/sup> with Ned Yost coming in 3rd<\/sup> with the only other 1st<\/sup>-place vote.<\/p>\n

                \"\"

                Uncle Buck<\/p><\/div>\n

                I went with Buck at #1 and Yost at #2 (even though I don\u2019t really support Neddy\u2019s managing style, you have to hand it to him in accomplishing that much with such sparse resources).\u00a0 My 3rd<\/sup> choice was Lloyd McClendon, who did a great job out in Seattle this year.\u00a0 I strongly considered Terry Francona, but I think McClendon had a harder time turning around that franchise, but it is close.<\/p>\n

                  \n
                1. Buck Showalter (6) \u2013 34 (7)<\/li>\n
                2. Terry Francona \u2013 13 (4)<\/li>\n
                3. Ned Yost (1) \u2013 13 (3)<\/li>\n
                4. Lloyd McClendon \u2013 7 (2)<\/li>\n
                5. Joe Girardi \u2013 6 (2)<\/li>\n
                6. Mike Scioscia \u2013 4 (1)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                  NL BIGGEST SURPRISE:\u00a0 Josh Harrison<\/h1>\n

                  A BSB category here, as we all voted on who we thought were the biggest surprises of the year in the Senior Circuit.\u00a0 There are always some interesting answers to this one, and a lot of different choices.\u00a0 There is no real stated criteria, which makes it fun and interesting.\u00a0 The Pirates\u2019 Josh Harrison and Nats\u2019 Anthony Rendon both appeared on five of the seven ballots and finished 1-2 here in our voting.\u00a0 Harrison was the only player to get multiple 1st<\/sup>-place votes, as he received three of them.\u00a0 Rendon did not have any.\u00a0 Four others received one 1st<\/sup>-place vote each, including Ryan Howard, who got one for not being \u201ccompletely finished.\u201d\u00a0 Doogan pegged Justin Turner in the 5-spot, which forced me to look up his numbers only to learn the kid hit .340 this year with a .404 OBP.\u00a0 Wow\u2026who knew?!?<\/p>\n

                  \"\"

                  The Josh of All Trades<\/p><\/div>\n

                  I was the one who voted Jonathan Lucroy at #1, as he became a total star, and I never <\/em>saw that coming.\u00a0 Rendon and Harrison followed at #2 and #3 for me.\u00a0 Corey Dickerson, #4 for me, had a .931 OPS over nearly 500 PAs and seems to be completely anonymous (maybe it\u2019s the Coors factor).\u00a0 The Mets\u2019 shortstop, Juan Lagares, who came out of nowhere to flash as one of the best defensive SSs in the game (and had a OBP 30 points higher than the esteemed Billy Hamilton), was #5 for me.\u00a0 Anthony Rizzo, who finally showed his real potential was #6, while Phils surprise, Marlon Byrd, cracked my list at #7.<\/p>\n

                    \n
                  1. Josh Harrison (3) \u2013 47 (5)<\/li>\n
                  2. Anthony Rendon \u2013 41 (5)<\/li>\n
                  3. Jonathan Lucroy (1) \u2013 31 (4)<\/li>\n
                  4. Anthony Rizzo (1) \u2013 22 (3)<\/li>\n
                  5. Devin Mesoraco \u2013 14 (2)<\/li>\n
                  6. Juan Lagares \u2013 12 (2)<\/li>\n
                  7. Johnny Cueto (1) \u2013 10 (1)<\/li>\n
                  8. Ryan Howard (1) \u2013 10 (1)<\/li>\n
                  9. Marlon Byrd \u2013 9 (2)<\/li>\n
                  10. Charlie Blackmon \u2013 9 (1)<\/li>\n
                  11. Lucas Duda \u2013 9 (1)<\/li>\n
                  12. Matt Kemp \u2013 8 (1)<\/li>\n
                  13. Ben Revere \u2013 8 (1)<\/li>\n
                  14. Corey Dickerson \u2013 7 (1)<\/li>\n
                  15. Tim Hudson \u2013 7 (1)<\/li>\n
                  16. Tanner Roark \u2013 7 (1)<\/li>\n
                  17. Denard Span \u2013 7 (1)<\/li>\n
                  18. Justin Turner \u2013 6 (1)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                    AL BIGGEST SURPRISE:\u00a0 Phil Hughes<\/h1>\n

                    Do you know that, with 186 strikeouts and only 16 walks in 2014, Phil Hughes set the all-time Major League record for K:BB ratio in a single season?\u00a0 Ya, me neither.\u00a0 Well, that sure constitutes a \u201csurprise,\u201d and he won the AL\u2019s Biggest Surprise award here in 2014, grabbing two 1st<\/sup>-place votes and appearing on five ballots.\u00a0 Cory Kluber (one 1st<\/sup>-place vote) was also on five ballots, while Jose Altuve also garnered a pair of 1st<\/sup>-place votes.\u00a0 Michael Brantley and Albert Pujols received the other 1st<\/sup>-place votes.<\/p>\n

                    \"\"

                    Weird there was a failed Yankees prospect that looked just like him…<\/p><\/div>\n

                    Phil Hughes was my runaway pick for this, as I always thought he was terrible, so this year was quite the shock for me.\u00a0 JD Martinez was my #2 for the importance he provided \u2013 out of nowhere \u2013 for the Tigers.\u00a0 A couple of MVP candidates followed with Michael Brantley at #3, Jose Abreu at #4, and Jose Altuve at #5.\u00a0 Brandon McCarthy was #6 because he looked finished before going to the Yanks.\u00a0 And, finally, I had Cory Kluber at #7.\u00a0 He was only so low because I am not that surprised he is this good, I am just surprised he is this good this soon.<\/p>\n

                      \n
                    1. Phil Hughes (2) \u2013 39 (5)<\/li>\n
                    2. Cory Kluber (1) \u2013 36 (5)<\/li>\n
                    3. Jose Altuve (2) \u2013 32 (4)<\/li>\n
                    4. Nelson Cruz \u2013 27 (3)<\/li>\n
                    5. Michael Brantley (1) \u2013 26 (3)<\/li>\n
                    6. JD Martinez \u2013 22 (3)<\/li>\n
                    7. Steve Pearce \u2013 17 (2)<\/li>\n
                    8. Jose Abreu \u2013 15 (2)<\/li>\n
                    9. Albert Pujols (1) \u2013 10 (1)<\/li>\n
                    10. Brock Holt \u2013 9 (1)<\/li>\n
                    11. Matt Shoemaker \u2013 9 (1)<\/li>\n
                    12. Miguel Cabrera \u2013 8 (1)<\/li>\n
                    13. Chris Carter \u2013 8 (1)<\/li>\n
                    14. Derek Jeter \u2013 7 (1)<\/li>\n
                    15. Carlos Carrasco \u2013 6 (1)<\/li>\n
                    16. Chris Young \u2013 6 (1)<\/li>\n
                    17. Brandon McCarthy \u2013 5 (1)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                      NL BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT:\u00a0 B.J. Upton<\/h1>\n

                      In the closest race of all, BJ Upton edges division rival, Dom Brown, for the NL\u2019s biggest disappointment.\u00a0 It is hard to argue with either, as they were both absolutely dreadful.\u00a0 The top two were the only two to appear on more than half the ballots, with Upton pacing the field with three 1st<\/sup>-place votes.\u00a0 Pedro Alvarez edged Jay Bruce for 3rd<\/sup>.\u00a0 \u201cBeards\u201d got a write-in vote for this category, as Boot feels very disappointed with the abundance of facial hair in the National League these days.\u00a0 Surprisingly, Ryan Howard was only on one ballot, in 3rd<\/sup> place.\u00a0 I guess the expectations for him are pretty low these days.\u00a0 After the top 4, Joey Votto was the only other player to receive a first-place vote.\u00a0 Interestingly, one of my MVP votes, Andrelton Simmons, received a 3rd<\/sup>-place vote here.\u00a0 Thoughtful minds really can disagree, though I totally understand the rationale.\u00a0 Obviously, someone is either a huge Tony Cingrani fan or had him on their fantasy team and felt very let-down.<\/p>\n

                      \"\"

                      An all-too-common sight for Braves fans<\/p><\/div>\n

                      With a 1-point difference, every ballot with Upton over Brown was the deciding factor, but I definitely played a part here, as I had Upton #1 and Brown #2.\u00a0 I followed the voters and went Alvarez #3.\u00a0 I had David Wright #4 because why isn\u2019t this guy a star?\u00a0 Jonathan Papelbon \u2013 for many, many, many reasons \u2013 got my 5th<\/sup>-place vote.<\/p>\n

                        \n
                      1. BJ Upton (3) \u2013 36 (4)<\/li>\n
                      2. Dom Brown (1) \u2013 35 (4)<\/li>\n
                      3. Pedro Alvarez (1) \u2013 27 (3)<\/li>\n
                      4. Jay Bruce (1) \u2013 26 (3)<\/li>\n
                      5. Allen Craig \u2013 16 (2)<\/li>\n
                      6. Curtis Granderson \u2013 14 (2)<\/li>\n
                      7. David Wright \u2013 14 (2)<\/li>\n
                      8. Joey Votto (1) \u2013 10 (1)<\/li>\n
                      9. beards \u2013 9 (1)<\/li>\n
                      10. Justin Masterson \u2013 9 (1)<\/li>\n
                      11. Jean Segura \u2013 9 (1)<\/li>\n
                      12. Ryan Howard \u2013 8 (1)<\/li>\n
                      13. Andrelton Simmons \u2013 8 (1)<\/li>\n
                      14. Tony Cingrani \u2013 7 (1)<\/li>\n
                      15. AJ Burnett \u2013 6 (1)<\/li>\n
                      16. Shelby Miller \u2013 6 (1)<\/li>\n
                      17. Jonathan Papelbon \u2013 6 (1)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                        AL BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT:\u00a0 Chris Davis<\/h1>\n

                        I guess a guy who hits 50 HRs one year and then has a sub-.200 average the next can be seen as a bit of a disappointment.\u00a0 Davis and Myers were the the only two to appear on more than half the ballots, though he they received one first-place vote between them.\u00a0 Clay Bucholz, who was only on two ballots, got two first-place votes.\u00a0 Justin Verlander was 3rd<\/sup> on this list.\u00a0 \u201cBeards\u201d were also a problem in the AL, but only for a 3rd<\/sup>-place vote from Boot.\u00a0 Instead, the \u201cmedia\u201d received the 2nd<\/sup>-place vote for endlessly covering the swan song of Derek Jeter, but COMPLETELY ignoring the final year of Paul Konerko\u2019s career (which, by the way, is a FANTASTIC point \u2013 Konerko might be the most underappreciated player of our generation).\u00a0 Justin Masterson \u2013 impressively \u2013 showed up on the disappointment lists in both leagues.<\/p>\n

                        \"\"

                        Are we now expecting our stars to hit at least .200 EVERY year? Seems a bit unreasonable<\/p><\/div>\n

                        I was the only one to vote for Evan Longoria, but I had him #1.\u00a0 What a mediocre year for a guy who should be anything but mediocre.\u00a0 Verlander was 2nd<\/sup> for me, followed by Xander Boegarts, Wil Myers, and Justin Masterson (who I thought was more disappointing for Cleveland than St. Louis) was 5th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

                          \n
                        1. Chris Davis (1) \u2013 32 (4)<\/li>\n
                        2. Wil Myers \u2013 30 (4)<\/li>\n
                        3. Justin Verlander (1) \u2013 28 (3)<\/li>\n
                        4. Clay Bucholz (2) \u2013 20 (2)<\/li>\n
                        5. Brian McCann (1) \u2013 19 (2)<\/li>\n
                        6. Xander Boegarts \u2013 17 (2)<\/li>\n
                        7. Prince Fielder (1) \u2013 16 (2)<\/li>\n
                        8. Jim Johnson \u2013 15 (2)<\/li>\n
                        9. CC Sabathia \u2013 14 (2)<\/li>\n
                        10. Evan Longoria (1) \u2013 10 (1)<\/li>\n
                        11. Josh Hamilton \u2013 9 (1)<\/li>\n
                        12. the media \u2013 9 (1)<\/li>\n
                        13. beards \u2013 8 (1)<\/li>\n
                        14. Joe Nathan \u2013 8 (1)<\/li>\n
                        15. Sin-Soo Choo \u2013 7 (1)<\/li>\n
                        16. Jason Kipnis \u2013 7 (1)<\/li>\n
                        17. Justin Masterson \u2013 6 (1)<\/li>\n
                        18. Mark Teixeira \u2013 6 (1)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                          NL BIGGEST SURPRISE (team):\u00a0 Miami Marlins<\/h1>\n

                          The Marlins were supposed to be dreadful.\u00a0 They weren\u2019t.\u00a0 That was surprising.\u00a0 They have a stable of young fireballers, so they might be a real handful in the NL East for years to come.\u00a0 Those pesky Pirates finished right behind the Marlins, followed by the Brewers \u2013 all of whom were on 4 ballots.\u00a0 No other team even cracked more than one ballot.\u00a0 Apparently, one of our voters is still stuck in 2012, as the Astros received a vote here in the NL. The Giants got a 15th<\/sup>-place \u201cnot surprised at all vote\u201d because \u201cthey are always good every other year.\u201d<\/p>\n

                          \"\"

                          Those 800 fans must be pretty excited<\/p><\/div>\n

                          Personally, I thought the Brewers were the most surprising team.\u00a0 They had a really bad last month and a half, but were the NL\u2019s best team for a long stretch with basically no one.\u00a0 Not sure if I believe in them going forward, but they had a solid 2014, in my opinion.\u00a0 I put the Pirates 2nd<\/sup>, as I was impressed by their follow-up season after prosperity.\u00a0 The Marlins were 3rd<\/sup> for me.\u00a0 Maybe I just had heard of all these arms and wasn\u2019t shocked by their slightly ahead-of-schedule arrival.\u00a0 Still a scary team, though.<\/p>\n

                            \n
                          1. Marlins (3) \u2013 22 (4)<\/li>\n
                          2. Pirates (1) \u2013 20 (4)<\/li>\n
                          3. Brewers (2) \u2013 16 (4)<\/li>\n
                          4. Astros (1) \u2013 5 (1)<\/li>\n
                          5. Padres (1) \u2013 5 (1)<\/li>\n
                          6. Giants \u2013 4 (1)<\/li>\n
                          7. Nationals \u2013 4 (1)<\/li>\n
                          8. Rockies \u2013 4 (1)<\/li>\n
                          9. Mets \u2013 3 (1)<\/li>\n
                          10. Giants \u2013 negative 5 (1)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                            AL BIGGEST SURPRISE (team):\u00a0 Kansas City Royals<\/h1>\n

                            Even before the thrilling playoff run (as these ballots were cast before the playoffs started), the Royals were the runaway choice for this award, appearing on all seven ballots with five first-place votes.\u00a0 The Orioles were on six ballots and got the other two 1st<\/sup>-place votes as no other team was even close to these two.<\/p>\n

                            \"\"

                            Wait, the Royals did what?!?<\/p><\/div>\n

                            I was a part of this belief, as I had the Royals at #1 and the O\u2019s at #2.\u00a0 My 3rd<\/sup> choice was the Mariners because I just found their contention in a really tough division a little more surprising than some of the other teams around the Junior Circuit.<\/p>\n

                              \n
                            1. Royals (5) \u2013 33 (7)<\/li>\n
                            2. Orioles (2) \u2013 23 (6)<\/li>\n
                            3. Yankees \u2013 8 (2)<\/li>\n
                            4. Indians \u2013 7 (2)<\/li>\n
                            5. Angels \u2013 4 (1)<\/li>\n
                            6. Mariners \u2013 3 (1)<\/li>\n
                            7. Red Sox \u2013 3 (1)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                              NL BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT (team):\u00a0 Atlanta Braves<\/h1>\n

                              Picked by many to win the East and most to make the playoffs, the Braves were barely even competitive.\u00a0 They have a ton of talent, but couldn\u2019t put it together.\u00a0 It was a bad year in Hotlanta, and I loved it.\u00a0 They appeared on six of the seven ballots and got two 1st<\/sup>-place votes here.\u00a0 The Reds actually got three 1st<\/sup>-place votes, but were only on five ballots and finished 2nd<\/sup>.\u00a0 The Phillies were a distant 3rd<\/sup> (surprisingly, without a single 1st<\/sup>-place vote \u2013 kind of shows the lack of expectations for this last-place bunch).\u00a0 The two other 1st<\/sup>-place votes actually went to my \u201cbiggest surprise,\u201d the Brewers, and my pick in this category, the D\u2019backs.<\/p>\n

                              \"\"

                              Surprising that the Upton brothers couldn’t pull the team together…<\/p><\/div>\n

                              As much as I hate the Braves and love that they won this, I think the absolutely terribleness of the D\u2019backs (a team that some thought might compete) was my biggest disappointment.\u00a0 I mean, the Braves were at least around .500.\u00a0 The D\u2019backs were AWFUL.\u00a0 The Braves got my #2 vote and my Phillies were my #3.<\/p>\n

                                \n
                              1. Braves (2) \u2013 26 (6)<\/li>\n
                              2. Reds (3) \u2013 22 (5)<\/li>\n
                              3. Phillies \u2013 10 (3)<\/li>\n
                              4. Brewers (1) \u2013 8 (2)<\/li>\n
                              5. D\u2019backs (1) \u2013 8 (2)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                                AL BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT (team):\u00a0 Boston Red Sox<\/h1>\n

                                I guess it\u2019s pretty hard to argue when a team wins the World Series one year and is among the worst teams in all of baseball the next that they are the biggest disappointment.\u00a0 So, it seems like the BSB voters got this one right.\u00a0 The Sox were on six of the seven ballots with five 1st<\/sup>-place votes.\u00a0 The Rangers and A\u2019s got the other two 1st<\/sup>-place votes, while the Rays and Yankees were both on more than half of the ballots.\u00a0 Interestingly, the Yankees were on four ballots for most disappointing and two ballots for biggest surprise.\u00a0 There is nothing in between when it comes to people\u2019s opinions of the Bombers.<\/p>\n

                                \"\"

                                One-Year Grace Period…right, Beantown?<\/p><\/div>\n

                                I actually went Rangers here because they were so bad, so fast, that a very promising season was done by May.\u00a0 The Red Sox were quite disappointing, for sure, and got my 2nd<\/sup>-place vote, though I strongly considered the Rays (my 3rd<\/sup>-place vote) as even more disappointing, for some reason.\u00a0 It was a strong field for this award this year.<\/p>\n

                                  \n
                                1. Red Sox (5) \u2013 29 (6)<\/li>\n
                                2. Rangers (1) \u2013 19 (5)<\/li>\n
                                3. Rays \u2013 13 (4)<\/li>\n
                                4. A\u2019s (1) \u2013 8 (2)<\/li>\n
                                5. Yankees \u2013 4 (4)<\/li>\n
                                6. Blue Jays \u2013 4 (1)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                                  MLB BRIGHTEST FUTURE:\u00a0 Los Angeles Dodgers<\/h1>\n

                                  This category was defined as the team that will have the most WS titles between 2015 and 2035.\u00a0 The Dodgers barely edged the terrible 2014 Red Sox.\u00a0 The terrible 2014 Cubs finished 3rd<\/sup>..\u00a0 The Cardinals were the only team to get more than one 1st<\/sup>-place vote, as they appeared on two ballots, but were #1 on both of them.\u00a0 In general, the voting was all over the place here.\u00a0 This was a very interesting category.\u00a0 And, despite the polarized feeling about the Yankees, they were only on one ballot and were 4th<\/sup> place on that ballot.<\/p>\n

                                  \"\"

                                  Money can’t buy you…ah, never mind<\/p><\/div>\n

                                  I was one of the two people to vote for the Cardinals.\u00a0 They are the best-run franchise in baseball (and maybe all of sports).\u00a0 They build from within, know when to walk away, but aren\u2019t afraid of paying what it takes to keep\/acquire the right player.\u00a0 They just do it right, and I don\u2019t see why that would change, particularly as they play in a division without a lot of big-spenders or well-run organizations.\u00a0 I had to go with the Dodgers 2nd<\/sup> just because of the enormous bankroll they seem to have.\u00a0 The Angels were my 3rd<\/sup> pick because of the money they throw around.\u00a0 The Giants \u2013 the 2nd<\/sup>-best run organization in the sport \u2013 got my 4th<\/sup>-place vote.\u00a0 I did throw in the Red Sox and Cubs at the end of my ballot because they both have a ton of money and ELITE farm systems.<\/p>\n

                                    \n
                                  1. Dodgers (1) \u2013 32 (4)<\/li>\n
                                  2. Red Sox (1) \u2013 31 (4)<\/li>\n
                                  3. Cubs \u2013 27 (4)<\/li>\n
                                  4. Nationals (1) \u2013 25 (3)<\/li>\n
                                  5. Cardinals (2) \u2013 20 (2)<\/li>\n
                                  6. Royals \u2013 17 (2)<\/li>\n
                                  7. Astros (1) \u2013 16 (2)<\/li>\n
                                  8. Angels \u2013 16 (2)<\/li>\n
                                  9. Giants \u2013 14 (2)<\/li>\n
                                  10. Orioles (1) \u2013 10 (1)<\/li>\n
                                  11. Indians \u2013 8 (1)<\/li>\n
                                  12. Twins \u2013 8 (1)<\/li>\n
                                  13. Mariners \u2013 7 (1)<\/li>\n
                                  14. Yankees \u2013 7 (1)<\/li>\n
                                  15. Mets \u2013 6 (1)<\/li>\n
                                  16. White Sox \u2013 6 (1)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                                    MLB BIGGEST REBUILD:\u00a0 Arizona Diamondbacks<\/h1>\n

                                    The final category was defined as \u201cthe team that will go the longest without its next World Series title.\u201d\u00a0 This was also a very interesting category.\u00a0 It drew a lot fewer responses than the brightest future and the top was more closely packed together.\u00a0 In fact, the D\u2019backs edged the Phillies by a single point, even though the Phightins were the only team with more than one 1st<\/sup>-place vote.\u00a0 The Twins, White Sox, and Yankees were the only three teams to appear on both lists.<\/p>\n

                                    \"\"

                                    It might be a long, hard climb, Boot<\/p><\/div>\n

                                    My ballot here started with the Rays.\u00a0 I think they had their shot and now they will drift back into being the worst franchise in baseball.\u00a0 They have no money, and they lost their front office braintrust.\u00a0 It was fun, but it\u2019s over.\u00a0 The Rockies were my second choice because I do not think they are bright enough to overcome the challenge of building a winner in that cartoon ballpark.\u00a0 The Padres won\u2019t win because they\u2019re cheap, so they got my 3rd<\/sup>-place vote.\u00a0 The Brewers are also somewhat cheap and poorly run, so they were 4th<\/sup> for me.\u00a0 And, the D\u2019backs got my 5th<\/sup>-place vote because I just don\u2019t see their plan.<\/p>\n

                                      \n
                                    1. D\u2019backs (1) \u2013 30 (5)<\/li>\n
                                    2. Phillies (2) \u2013 29 (3)<\/li>\n
                                    3. White Sox \u2013 27 (4)<\/li>\n
                                    4. Padres (1) \u2013 27 (3)<\/li>\n
                                    5. Twins \u2013 23 (3)<\/li>\n
                                    6. Blue Jays \u2013 22 (3)<\/li>\n
                                    7. Brewers \u2013 22 (3)<\/li>\n
                                    8. Yankees (1) \u2013 19 (2)<\/li>\n
                                    9. Rangers (1) \u2013 16 (2)<\/li>\n
                                    10. Rays (1) \u2013 16 (2)<\/li>\n
                                    11. Rockies \u2013 9 (1)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                                      NOTE:\u00a0 This was written and intended to be published at the end of the 2014 MLB regular season, but due to technical difficulties, we couldn’t get it up until now.\u00a0 But, with the 2015 season upon us, it seems like … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mlb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5766"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5766\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5767,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5766\/revisions\/5767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}