A little project I'm thinking of doing (HGM's Historical MVP/Cy Young Choices)

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Originally Posted by HoustonGM

That's Hall of Famer Jesse Orosco to you!

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But never CY Young or MVP

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Originally Posted by RedsoxRockies

But never CY Young or MVP

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It was a joke, because metsguy has said that he'd vote for Orosco for the Hall of Fame.

One note on Joe Morgan - he joins Barry Bonds as the only player to win 4 consecutive MVP awards (and Bonds did it TWICE!).

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Originally Posted by HoustonGM

It was a joke, because metsguy has said that he'd vote for Orosco for the Hall of Fame.

One note on Joe Morgan - he joins Barry Bonds as the only player to win 4 consecutive MVP awards (and Bonds did it TWICE!).

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i really don't have time to scour this whole thread, but tell me metsguy didn't say Orosco is a HOF'er????

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Originally Posted by dickay

i really don't have time to scour this whole thread, but tell me metsguy didn't say Orosco is a HOF'er????

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He did a few months ago, so it would be hard to find.

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Originally Posted by dickay

i really don't have time to scour this whole thread, but tell me metsguy didn't say Orosco is a HOF'er????

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Him and asianinvasion voted for him in this poll. I can't find the post where metsguy listed Orosco's name as a Hall of Famer, though.

1972:

AL MVP: Dick Allen
NL MVP: Steve Carlton
AL Cy: Gaylord Perry
NL Cy: Steve Carlton

The only disagreement here came with the NL MVP. There was a handful of overqualified candidates for the award - Cesar Cedeno, Billy Williams, Willie Stargell, the BBWAA winner Johnny Bench, and my second-place finisher...the great Joe Morgan. However, Steve Carlton had one of the greatest pitching seasons in memory. Going 27-10 on a team that won just 59 games is absurd. He went the distance in 30 of his 41 starts, trouncing the rest of the league's pitchers in complete games (Bob Gibson and Fergie Jenkins were tied for second with 23). He posted a 182 ERA+ and a sub-1 WHIP. Truly a season of epic proportions. The Cy Young is Carlton's 4th HGM Cy, joining the elite company of greats Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, Roger Clemens, and Pedro Martinez.

1971:

AL MVP: Vida Blue
NL MVP: Joe Torre
AL Cy: Vida Blue
NL Cy: Tom Seaver

The lone disagreement here came with the NL Cy Young. Seaver placed second in the BBWAA voting to Fergie Jenkins, despite an ERA a full run lower. Seaver trailed Jenkins by about 40 innings, but the edge in quality was gigantic. I also gave strong consideration to Wilbur Wood for the AL Cy (and thus, the AL MVP), but Wood gave up 24 unearned runs, a huge amount, leading to a significant advantage for Vida Blue.

1970:

AL MVP: Carl Yastrzemski
NL MVP: Johnny Bench
AL Cy: Sam McDowell
NL Cy: Tom Seaver

The only agreement here was on the NL MVP, although I had a tough choice between the young Johnny Bench and slugger Willie McCovey. I decided to go with the catcher, though. In the AL, it was a close call between Carl Yastrzemski and the BBWAA winner Boog Powell. Powell was a better defender at first base, but Yaz trumps him offensively by a solid enough margin to make the call easy enough for me.

The AL Cy Young was hotly contested by the BBWAA, with 7 different pitchers receiving a first place vote, and 4 pitchers within 44-55 total points. My choice, Sam McDowell, placed 3rd, behind Jim Perry and Dave McNally. It really was an incredibly close race. McDowell, though, led the group in both innings and ERA+ (tied with Jim Palmer for the latter), while striking out 304 batters. It really could go to any of a number of pitchers, but I'm making the call in favor of McDowell.

In the NL, the BBWAA Cy Young went to Bob Gibson. Tom Seaver, however, despite a worse Won-Loss record pitched basically the same number of innings, but beat Gibson out in quality by a solid margin. Seaver, due to his 18-12 record, barely received any support amongst the BBWAA voters, finishing 7th in the balloting, and I do see it as very, very close between him and Gibson. A tough call, but Seaver it is.

1969:

AL MVP: Reggie Jackson
NL MVP: Willie McCovey
AL Cy: Denny McLain
NL Cy: Bob Gibson

Reggie Jackson and Harmon Killebrew, the BBWAA AL MVP, both had great seasons, but I think Jackson's was just slightly better. He beat Killebrew in OPS+ and Batting Runs, while also providing better defense (albeit in the outfield instead of third base) and baserunning. Close, but it goes to Jackson. This was Jackson's best season of his career, in my opinion. The NL MVP was an easy choice, as McCovey just demolished the ball, but the BBWAA voting was real close between him and Tom Seaver, indicating that even as far back as 1969, the BBWAA loved a good story over actual value!

The AL Cy Young from the BBWAA was a tie between Denny McLain and Mike Cueller, so I'll call this one an agreement. While Bob Gibson lost his 1970 award to Tom Seaver in my picks, he steals 1969 away from Seaver. It was awfully close, as in 1970, but Gibson posted basically the same ERA+ while tossing more innings. Seaver has the "Miracle Mets" story line, but not the quantity.

1968:

AL MVP: Carl Yastrzemski
NL MVP: Bob Gibson
AL Cy: Denny McLain
NL Cy: Bob Gibson

The Year of the Pitcher. The two Cy Young winners were also given the MVP by the BBWAA, but I don't think McLain's season, 31 wins or not, was noteworthy enough to take the MVP over a position player. Carl Yastrzemski posted a .921 OPS, good for a 170 OPS+ in the offense-starved 1968, while playing fabulous defense in left field. He placed a lowly 9th in the BBWAA voting, but grabs the HGM MVP, his second.

It is debatable, but Carltons 1972 Season is probably the best pitching performance ever.

1967:

AL MVP: Carl Yastrzemski
NL MVP: Roberto Clemente
AL Cy: Joe Horlen
NL Cy: Jim Bunning

The only agreement here came with Carl Yastrzemski. In the NL, Orlando Cepeda was given the MVP by the BBWAA. He had a great season, but I have Hank Aaron, Ron Santo, and Roberto Clemente above him. Clemente combined a 171 OPS+ with excellent defense and a canon for an arm, earning him the HGM MVP.

The BBWAA AL Cy Young went to Jim Lonberg. Joe Horlen, however, had a 1 run advantage in ERA, and also posted a better ERA+. The advantage in quality beats out Lonberg's 15 inning advantage.

The BBWAA gave the NL Cy Young to Mike McCormick. Jim Bunning, though, tossed 40 more innings with a better ERA+. He went just 17-15, though, preventing him from taking home the award while McCormick went 22-10.

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Originally Posted by ragecage

It is debatable, but Carltons 1972 Season is probably the best pitching performance ever.

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I think when you adjust for era Pedro in '99 and '00 are better, but as you said, it's debatable.

1966:

AL MVP: Frank Robinson
NL MVP: Sandy Koufax
AL Cy: Jim Kaat
NL Cy: Sandy Koufax
MLB Cy: Sandy Koufax

1967 marked the first year that the BBWAA awarded a separate Cy Young award to each league, so for the next 10 years, back to the first year that the Cy Young was given out (1956), I will list my picks for both leagues, and then my pick for the MLB Cy Young, and it is that pick that I will use to compare my choices to the BBWAA choices.

Moving on, the disagreement here came with the NL MVP. Sandy Koufax placed a very close second to Roberto Clemente in the BBWAA voting, and even beat him out by one first place vote. I've gotta give it to Koufax. However, my second place pick, who I nearly gave the award to, goes to Ron Santo, another under-appreciated player in the mold of Bobby Grich from the 1970's. Santo played superb defense at third base, while posting an OPS+ over 160. Truly amazing season, but had the bad luck of having it when Sandy Koufax put up his best (and last) season.

I awarded the AL Cy Young to Jim Kaat. The AL was weird that year, in there was really a lack of pitchers that combined both excellent quality with quantity. Kaat led the league with 304.2 innings, a full 40 innings over the next best. He had a 131 ERA+, giving him the HGM Cy.

1965:

AL MVP: Zoilo Versalles
NL MVP: Willie Mays
AL Cy: Sam McDowell
NL Cy: Sandy Koufax
MLB Cy: Sandy Koufax

No disagreements with the BBWAA here. Zoilo Versalles is often mentioned when discussing the "worst players to ever win an MVP", and while that may be a deserved title since he fell off sharply after his MVP season, his MVP was deserved. There was a distinct lack of top level talent in the American League in 1965, and Versalles led the league in VORP and WARP, combining excellent offense for a shortstop with excellent defense. For the AL Cy Young, I awarded it to Sam McDowell, who led the league in ERA+ and placed 2nd in innings.

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Originally Posted by HoustonGM

1965:

AL MVP: Zoilo Versalles
NL MVP: Willie Mays
AL Cy: Sam McDowell
NL Cy: Sandy Koufax
MLB Cy: Sandy Koufax

No disagreements with the BBWAA here. Zoilo Versalles is often mentioned when discussing the "worst players to ever win an MVP", and while that may be a deserved title since he fell off sharply after his MVP season, his MVP was deserved. There was a distinct lack of top level talent in the American League in 1965, and Versalles led the league in VORP and WARP, combining excellent offense for a shortstop with excellent defense. For the AL Cy Young, I awarded it to Sam McDowell, who led the league in ERA+ and placed 2nd in innings.

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Come on man, I'm not even doing my "Say things that I don't believe are even remotely true to get attention" thing here: there are probably about 15 better candidates for that award.

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Originally Posted by metsguy234

Come on man, I'm not even doing my "Say things that I don't believe are even remotely true to get attention" thing here: there are probably about 15 better candidates for that award.

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You just fail to understand that just because Zoilo Versalles is a relative no-name in baseball history, with a pretty funny sounding name to begin with, doesn't mean he's incapable of having a very good season. I bet you haven't even looked at the full group of players in the 1965 American League, let alone analyzed his numbers relative to position, his defense, etc. and you're just basing this on...well...nothing except for his name.

eh, just ignore him Houston. We all know that he's just a troll, albeit a "good" one.
I wouldn't dignify his posts with a reply (and I won't).

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Originally Posted by HoustonGM

You just fail to understand that just because Zoilo Versalles is a relative no-name in baseball history, with a pretty funny sounding name to begin with, doesn't mean he's incapable of having a very good season. I bet you haven't even looked at the full group of players in the 1965 American League, let alone analyzed his numbers relative to position, his defense, etc. and you're just basing this on...well...nothing except for his name.

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No, I actually looked at them somewhere near the beginning of this thread (I brought him up at one point)

And without further ado, here are 15 people (in no specific order) who deserved that MVP more than Mr. Versailles

1. Tony Oliva
2. Brooks Robinson
3. Jimmie Hall
4. Carl Yastrzemski
5. Tom Tresh
6. Willie Horton
7. Rocky Colavito
8. Tony Conigliaro
9. Fred Whitfield
10. Mudcat Grant
11. Eddie Fisher
12. Stu Miller
13. Harmon Killebrew
14. Frank Howard
15. Mel Stottlemyre

Judging from that list full of corner players and poor defenders, I highly doubt you incorporated offense relative to position, as well as defense, and baserunning.

So, I'll go with ohms suggestion on this.

1964:

AL MVP: Brooks Robinson
NL MVP: Willie Mays
AL Cy: Dean Chance
NL Cy: Don Drysdale
MLB Cy: Dean Chance

Mickey Mantle really trounced the league in offense this year, but Robinson had a gigantic edge in defensive value while also putting up numbers relative to his position close to Mantle's, so I think the BBWAA got this one right.

Over in the NL though, they seemed to go a bit overboard with the "good offensive third basemen with good defense" mantra, while ignoring Willie Mays and his awesome offense and incredible center field defense. Mays nabs his second consecutive HGM MVP.

They got the Cy Young award right with Dean Chance. In the NL, Sandy Koufax put up an injury-shortened year that was quite excellent, but teammate Don Drysdale almost matched him in quality while throwing 100 more innings, earning himself the HGM NL Cy Young.

1963:

AL MVP: Bob Allison
NL MVP: Hank Aaron
AL Cy: Gary Peters
NL Cy: Sandy Koufax
MLB Cy: Sandy Koufax

Disagreements happened on both the MVP awards. The BBWAA awarded Yankee catcher Elston Howard the AL MVP award, and he was a very deserving candidate. After much deliberation, I decided upon Bob Allison, right fielder of the Twins. Allison led the league with a 151 OPS+ and was an excellent fielder, the combination of which, I believe, beats out Howard's advantage as a catcher.

In the NL, the BBWAA gave the award to Sandy Koufax. However, 1963 was the year that Koufax benefited most from his home park, and while he was more than deserving of the Cy Young, Hank Aaron and Willie Mays were forces to be reckoned with for the MVP. Hank Aaron's baserunning advantage and slight offensive advantage trumped the advantage Mays has as a center fielder, although the two were ridiculously close.

BBWAA Rookie of the Year Gary Peters received my AL Cy Young award, putting up a 149 ERA+ in 243 innings.

1962:

AL MVP: Mickey Mantle
NL MVP: Willie Mays
AL Cy: Whitey Ford
NL Cy: Bob Purkey
MLB Cy: Bob Purkey

The AL MVP was a pretty easy call, although Brooks Robinson gave Mickey Mantle a run for his money. The NL, though, was extremely tough. Of course, the BBWAA pick was absolutely silly, as Maury Wills won it thanks to his 104 stolen bases, despite sucking at everything else. The NL at this time period had three of the greatest players to ever step into a batter's box in Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, and Frank Robinson, and in 1962, they were all extraordinarily close in value. The positional and defensive difference between them, though, led me to give this one to Mays after a lot of deliberating.

Don Drysdale won the BBWAA Cy Young award, but back then, they didn't do much adjusting, if any, for park factors, which really drops Drysdale down. Bob Purkey of the Reds was tied for 2nd in ERA+ while finishing 2nd behind Drysdale in innings, earning him the NL Cy Young award from me, and also the Major League one, as he beat out AL winner Whitey Ford. It was extremely close between Ford and Jim Kaat. It could really be decided by a coin flip.

1961:

AL MVP: Mickey Mantle
NL MVP: Frank Robinson
AL Cy: Whitey Ford
NL Cy: Warren Spahn
MLB Cy: Whitey Ford

1961 was the year that Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth's home run record, so it's easy to see why he was given the MVP award. However, in terms of value, teammate Mickey Mantle trounced him. Mantle played center field, and out-OPS'd him by nearly 150 points. Norm Cash also had a ridiculously good season, but Mantle beats him out on positional differences.

The NL MVP award was once again an incredibly tough decision. The triumvirate of Robinson, Mays, and Aaron, was truly astounding. Now, you all probably know that I hate using teammate performance in player evaluation. However, I have said before that I think it's acceptable to use it as a tie-breaker. All the way back in 1961, I finally have come across a situation in which using the importance of one's season, as measured by team performance in the standings, is necessary to separate the players, and Robinson's performance on the pennant-winning Reds puts him ahead of Aaron and Mays for this award.

The BBWAA awarded the Cy Young to Whitey Ford, and I agree with that. For my NL Cy Young, 40 year old Warren Spahn nabs it with his 21-13 performance, posting a 123 ERA+ in 262.2 innings.

1960:

AL MVP: Mickey Mantle
NL MVP: Willie Mays
AL Cy: Jim Bunning
NL Cy: Don Drysdale
MLB Cy: Don Drysdale

Disagreements all over here. Roger Maris won the BBWAA AL MVP award, again narrowly edging out Mantle. This year, though, it was legitimately very close between the two, but I give the award to Mantle because, as has been the case the past few years, his offense from center field is more valuable than that of similar offense from a corner outfielder.

The NL MVP was somehow awarded to Dick Groat, with Groat's infield mate Don Hoak picking up some first place consideration, despite Ernie Banks having a phenomenally better season and playing the same position. However, my pick goes to third place finisher, Willie Mays, who seems to have really been unappreciated in his years when it comes to the MVP voting. It was another very close year between the three star outfielders, with Ernie Banks and Eddie Mathews added to the mix, as well.

The BBWAA gave the Cy Young to Vern Law, another Pittsburgh Pirate. I guess they really placed a heavy premium on team performance! Anyway, my AL choice is Jim Bunning, who led the league in ERA+ while placing 4th in innings. My NL (and MLB) choice goes to Don Drysdale, making up for me taking away his 1962 award.

1959:

AL MVP: Mickey Mantle
NL MVP: Ernie Banks
AL Cy: Hoyt Wilhelm
NL Cy: Sam Jones
MLB Cy: Hoyt Wilhelm

More disagreements! The MVP voters really had a middle-infield fetish around this time period, as Nellie Fox won the award, with Luis Aparicio coming in second and picking up first place votes. Mantle, who inexplicably placed 17th, was tied for the league lead with Al Kaline in OPS+ with 151, and, of course, played center field. Mantle wins his 4th consecutive HGM MVP award, joining Joe Morgan and Barry Bonds (twice) as the only players to accomplish that feat so far. Ernie Banks in the NL I agreed with, but Eddie Matthews and Hank Aaron both put up ridiculously awesome seasons as well.

The BBWAA Cy Young was awarded to Early Wynn. Sam Jones got two votes, even though he compiled more innings with a lower ERA...winning just 21 to Wynn's 22 games did him in! Jones, who shuttled between the rotation and the pen, making 15 appearances in relief, gets my NL pick. In the AL, Hoyt Wilhelm, in his last full season as a starting pitcher, put up an awesome 173 ERA+. Despite a lack of innings compared to some other starters, the huge gap in quality gives him both the AL and the MLB award.

1958:

AL MVP: Mickey Mantle
NL MVP: Willie Mays
AL Cy: Frank Lary
NL Cy: Warren Spahn
MLB Cy: Frank Lary

Disagreed everywhere here. Mantle was again snubbed by the voters, placing 5th in the MVP voting and not receiving a single first place vote. Boston right fielder Jackie Jensen won the award, despite worse offense AND defense. Mantle now becomes the first player to ever win 5 consecutive HGM MVP's.

In the NL, Ernie Banks was given the award by the BBWAA, and I can't really argue it, but I think Willie Mays was just ever-so-slightly ahead. Mays was a better center fielder than Banks was a shortstop, and while Banks' offense was better in comparison to his position than Mays's was, the defensive edge makes me give this to Mays.

Bob Turley was awarded the Cy Young award, and also finished a close 2nd to Jensen in the AL MVP voting. I'm not seeing it. Turley posted a 119 ERA+ in 245 innings, a very good season. My pick, Frank Lary, despite a mediocre 16-15 record, recorded a 139 ERA+ in 260 innings, a large advantage. Warren Spahn got his second NL Cy Young, but Lary beats him out for the MLB award.

1957:

AL MVP: Mickey Mantle
NL MVP: Willie Mays
AL Cy: Jim Bunning
NL Cy: Warren Spahn
MLB Cy: Warren Spahn

The BBWAA finally gave Mickey Mantle a deserved MVP award, and he's now won a record 6 consecutive HGM MVP's. Ted Williams gave him a run for his money, but Mantle's advantage in playing time, position, and huge advantage on defense, means he deserved this one.

Hank Aaron won the BBWAA NL MVP, and, as with every year, he had a great season. I've got Mays very slightly ahead of him, on the basis of defense, once again.

I think the BBWAA got the Warren Spahn selection correct. For the AL, I gave it to Jim Bunning.

1956:

AL MVP: Mickey Mantle
NL MVP: Duke Snider
AL Cy: Early Wynn
NL Cy: Don Newcombe
MLB Cy: Early Wynn

I agreed on Mantle as he nabs his 7th consecutive HGM MVP, a truly remarkable run. In the NL, the BBWAA gave the MVP to pitcher Don Newcombe, but I don't see Newcombe's season as truly remarkable enough to warrant an MVP. Duke Snider and Willie Mays topped the league, with Snider slightly ahead on offense, giving him the award.

The BBWAA gave the MLB Cy Young to Don Newcombe. While I do think he was the best pitcher in the National League, I think my pick for AL Cy Young, Early Wynn, trumps him. 27 wins will lead to you being overvalued, even if it's just slightly, though.

I've now gone through all the years in which the BBWAA awarded Cy Young's. I will continue to award Cy Young's for previous years. However, before I move on to 1955, I'm going to run some comparisons between my choices and the BBWAA picks. Look for that later on tonight, as I'm about to head out :).

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Originally Posted by HoustonGM

1978:

AL MVP: Ron Guidry
NL MVP: Dave Parker
AL Cy: Ron Guidry
NL Cy: Phil Niekro

Two agreements here, NL MVP and AL Cy. I've got to apologize to Jim Rice. This was really THE season responsible for his soon induction into the Hall of Fame, and he was easily the best position player in the AL, but Ron Guidry just happened to have an epic pitching season, and I've got to give the MVP to him. As for the NL Cy Young, Phil Niekro had nearly a 60 inning edge over any other NL pitcher AND was tied for second in the league with Steve Rogers with a 142 ERA+. Rogers threw nearly 90 innings less, though, and the first place finisher, Craig Swan, trailed Niekro by over 100 innings. Niekro had an ugly 19-18 record, but it's unquestionable that the Braves got more value out of Niekro than any other NL team did with any other pitcher in 1978.

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The 1st place finisher Craig Swan? Craig Swan, according to B-R.com has never even gotten a Cy vote, much less won the award.

1st place in ERA+

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Originally Posted by SoulMan

1st place in ERA+

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Ah...

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Originally Posted by metsguy234

Ah...

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quit being a troll

The BBWAA began awarding the Cy Young award in 1956. From then through the 1966 season, the BBWAA awarded just one award, given to the best pitcher in the entire MLB (as determined by the voters). From 1967 to the modern day, the BBWAA has awarded two awards per season, one to each league. In all, they've awarded 95 Cy Young's.

For this comparison, I've taken both my winners for the 1967-2008 period, as well as my MLB choice for the 1956-1966 period. I agreed with the BBWAA a total of 56 times, or about 59% of the time.

As previously stated, I'm going to continue awarding Cy Young awards to each league, along with the MVPs. After completing 1931, the first year in which the BBWAA handed out MVP awards, I will run a comparison, like I just did for the Cy Young, to see how often I agreed with them on those decisions. I will then continue my awards back to 1901, at which point I may decide to go back further, or cut off there. Whether I end at 1901 or earlier, I will then compile a list of all award winners, and rank them by the number of awards they won. For the MVP, I am also thinking of compiling a breakdown of the number of awards own by each defensive position.

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Originally Posted by HoustonGM

1988:

NL MVP: Will Clark

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No way... That award belongs to Strawberry or Hershiser. I'd put Clark third.

But I agree, it's forgotten sometimes just how great a player Will Clark was.

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Originally Posted by justanewguy

No way... That award belongs to Strawberry or Hershiser. I'd put Clark third.

But I agree, it's forgotten sometimes just how great a player Will Clark was.

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Clark: 162 games, .282/.386/.508, 160 OPS+, 29 HR, 109 RBI, 9 SB/1 CS
Strawberry: 153 games, .269/.366/.545. 165 OPS+, 39 HR, 101 RBI, 29 SB/14 CS

I don't think Hershiser's year was anywhere close to the level a starting pitcher has to pitch at to get the MVP, particularly given there was multiple excellent position player candidates, so let's just look at those two.

Clark has a slight advantage in games, as he appeared in every game for the Giants. Strawberry obviously has the advantage in power. Clark's got the advantage in not making outs. Baseball Prospectus's Equivalent Average, which uses the same scale as batting average and takes into account all aspects of hitting plus stolen bases/caught stealing and adjusts for park, has Will Clark at .339 and Strawberry at .335. Very close, slight edge to Clark which I would agree with, even though I hadn't looked at EQA until just now. OBP is more valuable than SLG, so the relative difference between their OBP's makes up for the relative difference between their SLG's, and I think it put Clark ever so slightly above.

Strawberry stole more bases, but did so at a terrible percentage, while Clark stole just 9 but only got caught once. Unfortunately, I don't have any other baserunning metrics from that period, so I'll call it a push on the bases.

Fielding-wise, Clark comes out, in Fielding Runs, as 4 above average and 18 above replacement. Strawberry comes out as 3 above average and 19 above replacement. (Strawberry was slightly less above average, but slightly more above replacement, because the replacement right fielder is a more valuable defender than the replacement first basemen). Close enough to call that a push.

Given that they were damn close in nearly everything, I gave it to Clark for appearing in all 162 games, really. It was INCREDIBLY close. I disagree that it "No way" should go to Clark, obviously. I certainly see why you disagree with my choice to give it to Clark, because both players have excellent arguments, but I don't think it's as obvious as you seemingly made it out to be.

1955:

AL MVP: Mickey Mantle
NL MVP: Willie Mays
AL Cy: Billy Pierce
NL Cy: Robin Roberts

The BBWAA MVP's both went to catchers - Yogi Berra in the AL and Roy Campanella in the NL. Both had strong seasons, but Mantle and Mays put up a regular season for them, which is part of the reason, I think, neither fared well in many MVP's. These awesome performances were expected from them. One of two things had to happen for them to get really strong consideration - they had to go above and beyond their regular numbers, or the league itself had to be relatively weak. For Mantle, this is his 8th consecutive HGM MVP, a truly remarkable run, doubling the amount of consecutive MVP's that any other player has won.

I gave the AL Cy Young award to Billy Pierce. Despite just getting over the 200 inning mark, he put up silly numbers - a 201 ERA+. In the NL, I gave it to Robin Roberts, who led the league in innings by a wide margin while putting up a 121 ERA+.

1954:

AL MVP: Bobby Avila
NL MVP: Willie Mays
AL Cy: Mike Garcia
NL Cy: Johnny Antonelli

Bobby Avila breaks Mickey Mantle's record streak of HGM MVP's. Yogi Berra was given the AL MVP by the BBWAA in 1954, as well as 1955, but I've got Avila over him this year. Avila combined excellent offense and superb second base defense. Ted Williams would've gotten this award if it wasn't for defense factoring into the equation, because he had a truly awesome offensive season, and nobody was all that close. I agreed with the BBWAA on Willie Mays in the NL, although Duke Snider would've taken it if it wasn't for Willie Mays's defensive advantage.

The AL Cy Young battle had a few pitchers separated by barely a hair. In the end I went with the guy that won the ERA+ title, Mike Garcia. My NL Cy Young pick, Johnny Antonelli, placed 3rd in the BBWAA NL MVP balloting on the strength of a 2.30 ERA (177 ERA+) in 259 innings.

This might sound corny but if I had one wish, it would be to see the games these players played back in the 50's and prior. I think it would be something amazing to see. Ok I am drunk, but get over it, compared to a lot of people I am of drinking age.

1953:

AL MVP: Al Rosen
NL MVP: Roy Campanella
AL Cy: Billy Pierce
NL Cy: Robin Roberts

Al Rosen in the AL was an easy call, so the BBWAA and I agreed on that one. I also agreed on the NL with Roy Campanella, but nearly gave my pick to Eddie Mathews.

My AL Cy Young went to Billy Pierce, who takes home his 2nd HGM Cy. Pierce was 2nd in the league with a 148 ERA+, while finishing 3rd with 271 innings and leading the league in strikeouts with 186. In the NL, it was close between Warren Spahn, who had a 188 ERA+ and Robin Roberts, who had a 152. Roberts bested Spahn by roughly 80 innings, though, a gap in quantity that's hard to overlook.