2008 Sports Mogul Awards - The Winners

[HoustonGM]

First off, thank you to all the members that participated in the vote. I didn't get quite the turn-out I would've liked, but it was good nonetheless. I received a varying number of ballots for each award, so I've listed the number of ballots in parenthesis after each award. There are links provided to view the full voting results of each award

Without further ado, I'd like to present to you the winners of this year's Sports Mogul awards.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER (23)
For full AL results, click here.
For full NL results, click here.

American League - The AL MVP voting was incredibly varied with 8 different players receiving first-place votes, and 6 of those 8 receiving multiple first place votes. Ultimately, Boston Red Sox second basemen Dustin Pedroia won the vote on the back of a .326/.376/.493 (122 OPS+) batting line and Gold Glove second base defense.

National League - There was no competition for the award in the National League, with St. Louis Cardinals first basemen Albert Pujols winning the award unanimously. Pujols had what was arguably the best year of his career, batting .357/.462/.653 (190 OPS+) with 37 HR and 116 RBI.

CY YOUNG (23)
For full results, click here.

American League - As with the NL MVP award, this award was won uncontested. Cliff Lee of the Cleveland Indians took home the award unanimously on the strength of a 22-3 record to go along with a league-leading 2.54 ERA (168 ERA+) and a fabulous K:BB ratio of 5:1.

National League - There was a little more competition for the NL Cy Young, with 4 pitchers receiving 1st place votes, but young San Francisco Giants ace Tim Lincecum takes home the award with 17 of the 23 first place votes. Lincecum, despite being backed up by a poor defense and offense, went 18-5 with a 2.62 ERA (169 ERA+) and led the majors with 265 strikeouts.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR (21)
For full results, click here.

American League - The Tampa Bay Rays were baseball's feel-good story of the year by winning the toughest division in baseball, the American League East, after not ever approaching .500 in any year of their history prior to this one. Their third basemen, and this year's AL Rookie of the Year winner Evan Longoria was a big part of the team's emergence. Longoria hit .272/.343/.531 (127 OPS+) with 27 HR and 85 RBI while playing a fantastic third base.

National League - As with the AL, the NL's Rookie of the Year winner was also an integral part to his team's division title. Chicago Cubs catcher Geovany Soto takes home the award. Soto handled the pitching staff well, and also packed a punch at the plate, hitting .285/.364/.504 (118 OPS+) with 23 HR and 86 RBI.

RELIEF PITCHER OF THE YEAR (20)
For full results, click here.

American League - On the strength of breaking the all-time record for saves in a season and setting a new mark of 62, Los Angeles Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez takes home this year's AL Relief Pitcher of the Year award.

National League - Philadelphia Phillies closer Brad Lidge takes home the NL Relief Pitcher of the Year award with ease, making good on all 41 of his save opportunities, the only closer in the majors to post a perfect 100% save percentage.

COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR (17)
For full results, click here.

American League - To go along with his unanimous Cy Young award, Cleveland Indians pitcher Cliff Lee also unanimously won this year's Comeback Player of the Year award. Midway through the 2007 season, Lee was sent to AAA due to his struggles on the mound. In 2008, he posted one of the strongest pitching seasons in recent memory.

National League - Former Chicago Cubs phenom Kerry Wood is known mostly for his highly-publicized battles with injury ever since 2004. In 2008, he returned at full-strength as the Cubs closer, racking up 34 saves for the NL Central division champions, and takes home this year's Comeback Player of the Year award.

MANAGER OF THE YEAR (20)
For full results, click here.

American League - There was little competition for the AL Manager of the Year award as the jump-start Tampa Bay Rays skipper Joe Maddon took home the award with ease.

National League - The NL Manager of the Year award featured a wide array of opinions. 8 managers received votes, and all 8 of them also received at least 1 first-place vote. In the end, Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella received the most support.

GENERAL MANAGER OF THE YEAR (15)
For full results, click here.

American League - Tampa Bay Rays general manager Andrew Friedman paired with his manager Joe Maddon to take home both of the management awards. Friedman was awarded for his great drafts in previous years, along with his acquisition of complementary talent to lead the Rays to the AL East division championship.

National League - In the National League, the winner of the GM of the Year award is Milwaukee Brewers GM Doug Melvin. This year's Brewers assembled by Doug Melvin, bolstered by the in-season acquisition of dominant lefty C.C. Sabathia, reached the playoffs for the first time since 1982.

GOLD GLOVES (11)
For full AL results, click here.
For full NL results, click here.

American League -
P - Kenny Rogers (DET)
C - Joe Mauer (MIN)
1B - Lyle Overbay (TOR)
2B - Dustin Pedroia (BOS)
3B - Adrian Beltre (SEA)
SS - Orlando Cabrera (CHW)
OF - Torii Hunter (LAA)
OF - Grady Sizemore (CLE)
OF - Carlos Gomez (MIN)

National League -
P - Greg Maddux (SDP/LAD)
C - Jason Kendall (MIL)
1B - Albert Pujols (STL)
2B - Brandon Phillips (CIN)
3B - Troy Glaus (STL)
SS - Jimmy Rollins (PHI)
OF - Carlos Beltran (NYM)
OF - Aaron Rowand (SFG)
OF - Hunter Pence (HOU)

SILVER SLUGGERS (14)
For full AL results, click here.
For full NL results, click here.

American League -
DH - Milton Bradley (TEX)
C - Joe Mauer (MIN)
1B - Kevin Youkilis (BOS)
2B - Dustin Pedroia (BOS)
3B - Alex Rodriguez (NYY)
SS - Jhonny Peralta (CLE)
OF - Carlos Quentin (CHW)
OF - Josh Hamilton (TEX)
OF - Grady Sizemore (CLE)

National League -
P - Carlos Zambrano (CHC)
C - Brian McCann (ATL)
1B - Albert Pujols (STL)
2B - Chase Utley (PHI)
3B - Chipper Jones (ATL)
SS - Hanley Ramirez (FLA)
OF - Ryan Ludwick (STL)
OF - Matt Holliday (COL)
OF - Ryan Braun (MIL)

[metsguy234]

Wow... Pedroia in the AL was a bad pick but the rest of the picks we made were actually pretty good!

[HoustonGM]

I don't think Pedroia was a bad pick. I think he'll win the real award.

Granted, he wasn't my #1 pick, but he certainly wasn't a bad pick. There was no clear winner in the AL this year.

[justanewguy]

Very good picks all around. Not a single surprise.

Pedroia is a solid choice for AL MVP, though I personally had him down on the list a bit. Really, there's a good 7 or so AL players that could win this award or the real life award and it'd make sense. I changed my ballot around on that one many, many times, and switched my #1 about 5 times.

The full results are interesting.

Thanks again, HGM.

[BINGLEBOP]

Agreed, great job.

[TheNamelessPoet]

Agreed... I think we hit the nail on the head with every pick

[HoustonGM]

I didn't AGREE with every pick, but I don't think we made ANY bad picks.

And I'm incredibly happy that Albert Pujols won unanimously. He's highly unlikely to pull that off in real life. What's it say about the BBWAA when ~20 random people of varying ages on the internet can pick an award winner better than 30 reporters that have been following baseball for at least a decade?

[RedsoxRockies]

Wow, all my bvotes accept for Neal Huntington won the awards, not counting Silver Slug and Gold Glove

[Moot]

Too many Red Sox fans here.

[HoustonGM]

Too many Red Sox fans here.

Knowing what I know of the people that voted, there were only 3-4 Red Sox fans that voted, maybe 5.

[HoustonGM]

metsguy, just curious...you had Dustin Pedroia #2 on your AL MVP ballot...how do you think he was a BAD pick then?

[TheNamelessPoet]

Too many Red Sox fans here.

why because pedroia won???

there is no reason hamilton should have won ahead of him...

Most VALUABLE Player... would Boston be in there if not for Pedroia. NO
Would Texas still have sucked without Hamilton... yes.

I think pedroia won more games for Boston than Hamilton won for Texas. Which in my opinion makes him more valuable than Hamilton

[HoustonGM]

Most VALUABLE Player... would Boston be in there if not for Pedroia. NO
Would Texas still have sucked without Hamilton... yes.

I don't think that's a good rationale for determining value. It's not Josh Hamilton's fault that Texas has a horrible pitching staff, and there's nothing Josh Hamilton can do about that.

I think pedroia won more games for Boston than Hamilton won for Texas. Which in my opinion makes him more valuable than Hamilton

It's arguable, but then you also have to adjust for things like position, so even if Hamilton DID win more games for Texas than Pedroia won for Boston, the fact that Pedroia did it as a second basemen would put him ahead of Josh Hamilton in terms of value (assuming they were close, of course, which, by any measure, they were).

[Moot]

why because pedroia won???

there is no reason hamilton should have won ahead of him...

Most VALUABLE Player... would Boston be in there if not for Pedroia. NO
Would Texas still have sucked without Hamilton... yes.

I think pedroia won more games for Boston than Hamilton won for Texas. Which in my opinion makes him more valuable than Hamilton

Most ignorant statement ever. The best player IS the most valuble. If the Rangers didn't have Hamilton, they'd have about 10 more losses, or more. The only reason Pedroia won is because he's on a good team. Is it Josh Hamilton's fault Texas has no pitching? You people make me sick.

[rogue9]

I'm a Giants fan and all, but... how does Rowand win a GG? I was really unimpressed with him in the outfield this year. His arm doesn't seem that great, especially in CF. I think they should move him to LF and let one of the younger guys play CF. He just wasn't that impressive to me.

Anyone who voted for him care to explain?