Manager of the Year - With the highly coveted Commissioner's Trophy being handed out earlier this month to one of the most unlikeliest candidates coming into Spring Training (the San Francisco Giants), the 2010 Baseball season officially came to an end. However, there would still be much to look forward to as players and managers alike awaited the announcements of this year's award winners. While both Bud Black of the Padres (90-72) and Ron Gardenhire of the Twins (94-68) won the Manager of the Year Award in each of their leagues respectively, most of the other handful of awards would be somewhat more of a surprise.
Cy Young Award - Leading the debate was the Cy Young Award. While Philadelphia's ace Roy Halladay pretty much had the NL Cy Young Award won before the season concluded, tossing only the second no-hitter in Postseason history to go along with a regular season perfect game and career highs in wins and strikeouts, the race in the AL would end much closer. Finishing the year with a 13-12 record, Seattle's Felix Hernandez beat out his competition (C.C. Sabathia and David Price) by way of almost every other statistical category possible, both traditional and sabermetrical. Despite finishing behind the pack in wins, Hernandez placed atop the charts in ERA (2.27), innings pitched (249 2/3), and came one strikeout shy of tying the Angels' Jared Weaver for tops in the league. Granted only 10 pitchers have led their league in those three categories since the Cy Young Award was introduced in 1956 (all winning the award), it was only fitting Hernandez also took home the hardware.
Much to blame for King Felix's poor win-loss record, was the atrocious run support he was given by the Mariners offense, which scored the fewest runs per game of any major league team since the DH was adopted to the AL in 1973. Hernandez' 13 wins were the fewest by a starter to win the award in a non-interrupted season, surpassing Tim Lincecum's 2009 total of 15 wins he logged for the Giants. Hernandez' mediocre 13 victories proved once again that wins are an overrated stat when it comes to starting pitchers as 17 others in the American League alone finished the season with more victories than the Mariners ace. While the lack of runs proves to be the case more often than others, the bullpen is obviously another issue starters have to deal with, which is something San Francisco's Matt Cain would be able to tell you a little about.
Most Valuable Player Award - Sticking with the AL, Josh Hamilton of the American League Champion Texas Rangers beat out Miguel Cabrera, and Robinson Cano for the MVP Award. Posting 32 home runs, 100 RBI's, 95 runs scored, and 40 doubles to go along with his league leading .359 batting average, Hamilton helped the Rangers reach the Fall Classic for the first time in franchise history, despite missing 29 games due to a bruised rib cage. For what it's worth, the 29 year old Hamilton added to his MVP campaign by leading the league in slugging and on-base percentage.
Meanwhile in the NL, Reds first baseman Joey Votto beat out Colorado's Carlos Gonzales and St. Louis' Albert Pujols in an almost unanimous vote by the Baseball Writers Association of America, falling one first place vote shy of the sweep. In spite of not being named to the All-Star team in July and trailing the opposition in both home runs and RBI's, Votto edged the Cardinals slugger who was aiming for a third consecutive MVP Award and fourth overall. Most importantly, Votto's efforts helped Cincinnati clinch a Playoff berth for the first time in 15 years, and although they fell short in the NLDS getting swept by the Phillies, the Reds gave us a sneak peek of how just much talent their young team has.
Rookie of the Year Award - As for the award I anxiously awaited the most, the Rookie of the Year Award, Giants rookie sensation Buster Posey won the hardware in the NL, outlasting fellow Georgia native Jason Heyward who placed second in the voting. Prospects Jaime Garcia (St. Louis) and Gaby Sanchez (Florida) came in a distant third and fourth place. In my eyes, Posey won the award before the season even ended, considering the quick turnaround the Giants made when he was entered into the lineup. However, many would argue that he had a slight disadvantage, only playing two thirds of the season in the Majors (108 games), opposed to Heyward who appeared in 38 games more than Posey (142 games). Regardless of the extra month Heyward had over Posey, the Giants catcher had him beat in just about every major offensive statistic, except for RBI's, finishing with 67, five shy of Heyward's 72.
Posey, who was promoted by the Giants in July as the everyday catcher once Bengie Molina was shipped to Texas, was given no easy task, and was fed to the lions early having to catch the Giants' All-Star pitching staff, not to mention hit in the heart of a Giants order that wasn't known very well for its offensive abilities prior to what they showed in the World Series. Regardless, Posey made his presence felt right away, starting his magical ROTY campaign off with a 21-game hitting streak, falling one game short of tying the Giants' franchise record held by Hall of Famer Willie McCovey. For what it's worth, the 23 year old catcher also caught the attention of voters by getting the job done defensively, successfully throwing out 37% of those who tried stealing bases. If you ask me, I'd say no words and or award can describe just how much Posey meant to the Giants organization and their first crack at bringing home a World title to the bay area.
On the American League side of things, Neftali Feliz joined teammate Josh Hamilton in the award category, earning Rookie of the Year honors, and becoming the first Texas Ranger to win the award since 1974, ending a 36-year drought, the longest dry spell of any team to ever win the award. Though the AL ROTY race wasn't as competitive as its counterpart in the NL, Feliz exceeded Detroit's Austin Jackson by a total of 12 first-place votes and 24 points overall. At the early age of 22, Feliz set a Major League record for most saves by a rookie, with 40, surpassing the previous total of 37 saves collected by Seattle's Kazuhiro Sasaka who won the award in 2000.
With a win-loss record of 4-3, Feliz finished the season with 71 strikeouts in 69 1/3 innings while allowing 43 hits and 18 walks, all leading to a 2.73 ERA. The stat I found to be the most interesting regarding Feliz' All-Star season, was of the 127 Major League pitchers to compile at least 40 saves in a season, he's just one of 23 who had three or fewer blown saves. More importantly, he played a major role in me winning my Fantasy Team this season (Along with Posey and Hernandez)! :-)
Doctober - In spite of being arguably the best pitcher in all of baseball for several years now, Roy Halladay has never made a single Postseason appearance in his illustrious career, due to being stuck in the powerhouse that is the AL East. Although the Toronto Blue Jays put together a few decent teams, none were ever able to surpass the Yankees and Red Sox in the standings during Halladay's tenure. So when it came time, Halladay burst onto the Playoff scene like the future Hall of Famer that he is. Leading up to the fourth straight division tittle for the Philadelphia Phillies, Halladay made his transition to the National League in a huge way by throwing a perfect game against the Florida Marlins in late May. The rest of Halladay's 2010 campaign would be nothing short of magical as he went on to set career highs in wins (21), strikeouts (219), and tied carer highs in complete games (9), and shutouts (4). 
However, none of the following would be the highlight of Doc's outstanding season. What would be though, is what Halladay put together in his first ever Postseason outing. With every baseball enthusiast expecting a slight bit of Postseason jitters even from one of the games greats, the 7-time All-Star and former AL Cy Young Award winner proved there would be none of that. The moment he had been awaiting some 12 years in the making, Halladay went on to throw only the second no-hitter in Postseason history. The first of coarse would come some 54 years earlier when New York Yankees pitcher Don Larsen threw a perfect game in the 1956 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers. Not only does Halladay's gem stick out because it was his first ever Postseason outing, but also because it was thrown against the best hitting team in the entire National League. Halladay's only fault during the 4-0 victory, would come with 2-outs in the fifth inning, when he surrendered a walk to the potential NL MVP -- Joey Votto.
When being asked in the clubhouse about Hallday's dominant outing, Votto gave the Doc his props by saying, "It was like swinging at nothing." Votto's teammate and Reds shortstop Orlando Cabrera on the other hand, showed some bitterness and believes Halladay benefited from a generous strike-zone and said, "Another umpire and Halladay wouldn't have thrown a game like that." Whether or not the ump played a role in helping Doc make history, Halladay pounded the strike-zone all night long as some 85% of his pitches were for strikes. Game 2, which takes place at Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park on Friday, will feature another Roy, as Roy Oswalt is slated to take the mound with Cincy aiming to counter with Bronson Arroyo in what looks to be a battle of righties.
And unless someone throws a perfect-game this Postseason, I think it's clear Doc's no-no will be the talk of the season. Now, the only thing missing on Halladay's track record is a World Series ring. And as much as I'd like to see him hoist one before his career is over, I just hope it won't be in a Phillies uniform.
Florida's Get Rich Quick Scheme - Just 20 days after Oakland's Dallas Braden threw his magical Mother's Day masterpiece, one of the game's best put his name in the hat to become a potential future Hall of Famer. On the road against the Florida Marlins in Miami, Roy Halladay pitched the 20th perfect game in Major League history by taking a much different approach than that of Braden. While the Oakland A's southpaw earned his perfecto by mainly getting batters to pop up or fly out, Halladay owned the strike zone by compiling a total of 11 K's compared to Braden's 6. The former 2003 AL Cy Young Award winner for the Toronto Blue Jays added to his already lengthy resume which includes 6-All-Star appearances and 49-complete games. The only thing missing? A World Series ring.With only half of the seats in Florida's Land Shark Stadium filled with fans to witness the remarkable feat, the Marlins are hoping to make money off of the fans that weren't in attendance. How so? Through the stadium's box office and website, the team will be reselling tickets to the game that featured Doc Halladay's no-hit performance which took place on Saturday May 29th. The cost? Tickets will be sold at face value from the cheap seats -- $12, to the field-level -- $25 and of coarse, those much closer to the action and behind home plate -- $300. As an amenity, they'll even count you in the game's official attendance. What better way to brag to all your buddies than lie to them and not only tell them you seen Roy Halladay's perfect game in person, but also have the proof of a ticket stub. Talk about the ultimate souvenir.Keep in mind the Marlins are doing this despite their 1-0 loss and their own team being blanked. If it was a Marlins pitcher who threw the gem and not the opposing team's pitcher, it would be a little bit more understandable. If you asked me, I'd say it's sort of a cheesy strategy to profit money and would usually oppose the whole idea. But given it's the Florida Marlins, the team who's currently at the bottom of the NL in attendance and always seem to be struggling to fill seats regardless of how well or poorly they're playing, I can't knock their hustle. In fact, I encourage them to take similar action in the future. This isn't the first time this has been done however. After Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle pitched his perfect game last July, the team sold the remainder of the tickets as souvenirs. With two perfect games and one no-hitter already in the books this early on in the season, could this be proof of the post-steroid era?
The Perfecto Bandito - Considering there's never been a time in the modern era of Major League Baseball where two pitchers threw perfect games in a single season prior to Halladay's gem, how crazy would it be if there three in a single season? And if that's not crazy enough, how about all three of those perfect games taking place within a single month? Although the third never happened, it should have.Bad calls have become somewhat symbolic in all of sports, but none as bad as those made or not made in baseball. One call in particular that will forever be remembered above all others is the one that took place most recently. Last Wednesday in a game against the visiting Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga was just one out away from making the history books. That was until Indians rookie Jason Donald hit a ground ball to first baseman Miguel Cabrera who underhanded the ball to the covering Galarraga in what looked to be the 27th out of the ball game. However, first base umpire Jim Joyce called the runner safe in what would go down in the history of bad calls. This wasn't just any other wrong call, instead it cost the right-handed Venezuelan born pitcher a perfect game.
Just how bad was the call you ask? After viewing the replay from the clubhouse, Joyce admitted his wrongdoing soon after. As for the man who was robbed of a spot in the record books, Galarraga was a class act about the whole thing and didn't complain or throw a fit like I know most pitchers would do nowadays. Although umpire Jim Joyce missed the call, commissioner Bud Selig had all the power in the world to overturn the mistake and decided not to. But I bet if it was a Brewer who pitched the gem, Selig would've thought otherwise considering he's a Milwaukee native and was once upon a time the owner of the Brew Crew. A day after the mess, Joyce was scheduled to serve as the home plate umpire where he received boo's from the Detroit crowd when being introduced over the stadium speakers. Tigers skipper Jim Leyland who argued the call that cost his pitcher a place in Cooperstown, had Galarraga hand Joyce the game's starting line-up. Joyce was then seen with tears running down his face as the two patted one another on the back and shook hands.Even though he was robbed of becoming the 21st pitcher in Major League history to throw a perfecto, Galarraga didn't come out empty handed. Given Detroit is the Motor City, GMC honored the 28 year old pitcher and donated a 2010 Corvette. Days after discussion and reviewing the film, Commissioner Selig continued to stick to his guns and said he was pleased with how his decision to not honor Galarraga with a perfect game worked out. He went on to say expanded instant replay is unlikely this year if at all. The decision to not expand instant replay is something I actually agree with that has come from the brain of Bud Selig. As for the unlucky Jim Joyce, he's fortunate enough to keep his job in my opinion. He's also probably the most hated man in the Motor City now, dethroning the spot of Ron Artest who took place in the infamous 'Malice in the Palace'. Galarraga later forgave Joyce and called him a nice man. But although he's forgiven, I think someone better keep an eye on Mr. Joyce, he's definitely on suicide watch.
