My 2020 IBWAA Awards Votes for AL and NL Managers of the Year

 Aaron Boone is not the American League's Manager of the Year. In fact, I didn't even list him on my ballot (and for good reason). The New York Yankees were supposed to steam roll the entire American League en-route to a trip to the World Series and an eventual 28th World Series Championship for the franchise. All these things could still happen, but it will have to come as the 6th seed in the American League playoffs. To quote the manager that Boone replaced, it's not what you want. 

American League Manager of the Year: Rick Renteria (CHW)

Not many had the Chicago White Sox shocking the world and making the postseason in 2020, but I did, and the reason for much of their success has to start at the top. Their management rebuilt from within and did it the right way, and dividends are starting to pay off for the team, the management, and for manager Rick Renteria. Renteria had the AL's top spot until the final weekend of the season and absolutely deserves the AL's top manager award in my opinion. The only other manager who could give Renteria a run for his money, in my opinion, is Kevin Cash of the Tampa Bay Rays. 

                        National League Manager of the Year: Don Mattingly (MIA)

The National League is a no-brainer for me, and not much needs to be said about it. Don Mattingly led the Miami Marlins, 60-game crazy season or not, to the postseason. David Ross and David Bell would have probably been frontrunners in any other season, but not in 2020. The undefeated (in the postseason) Miami Marlins enter the postseason ready to upset some people, and I am here for it. 

Remembering My 2018 Predictions: Managers of the Year

The original post was written on March 23, 2018 and it outlined my prediction that Ned Yost of the Kansas City Royals and Bruce Bochy of the San Francisco Giants would both win the American League and National League Managers of the Year Awards in their respective leagues. El wrongo, againo. 

Entering the weekend, the Kansas City Royals sat at 52-101 in last place in the American League Central Division race, a mere 33.5 games behind the Cleveland Indians. Meanwhile the Giants, after spending a ton of money and prospects acquiring Evan Longoria, Andrew McCutchen and others, find themselves entering the weekend with a 72-81 record, 13 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West.  

So far, we have predicted the New York Yankees winning their division en route to a World Series victory while the Washington Nationals will come up just a little short in Bryce Harper’s last hurrah. We have predicted a couple movements in the power rankings with strong showings this season by the Seattle Mariners and the Philadelphia Phillies, and we even predicted who would win the prestigious Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman Awards for the best relief pitcher in both of their respective leagues. None of that could be possible for any of these players or any of these teams though without a good manager, which is why the next award we will be predicting is the Manager of the Year Awards for the 2018 season.  

So, you would think since I specifically mentioned the Seattle Mariners and the Philadelphia Phillies not only in my previous paragraph but in my standings prediction as well that I would automatically go to that well again here for my managers prediction, right? Wrong! I like to shake things up a bit, and I don’t like to be predictable with my predictions, so keep reading. 

Once again, in my opinion, the New York Yankees have everything working against them here with another major award. Sure, the team has a new manager in Aaron Boone and sure, the team has a young nucleus of players that could get younger with the call ups of Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar, but the team is almost too good for their own good if you know what I mean. If the Yankees don’t win the World Series in 2018 it will be a huge disappointment to many, but if they do I can see many fans, writers and voters coming out with a feeling that they almost expected it. Like the Yankees are once again supposed to win every game, you know? So, sorry Aaron. I can’t see you winning the AL Manager of the Year Award, even if you should. Instead, that award will go to the Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost who will keep his team in the hunt for a playoff spot until the final week of the regular season, all without a major part of his core and his team that all left to free agency this winter. 

In the National League I have to go with the manager of the San Francisco Giants, Bruce Bochy. Bochy is nearing the end of his managerial career in my opinion and this may be Boche’s last true shot at not only this award, but at a World Series championship as well. Last season the Giants were horrible finishing with a 64-98 record, which was good for dead last in the National League West Division. I don’t feel like with just the additions of Evan Longoria, Andrew McCutchen and Austin Jackson that the team will be strides better than they were in 2017, but I also don’t believe that the likes of Jeff Samardzija, Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto and others can be as bad as they were in 2017 either. I think it will be a team effort and a collective effort that will not only bring the team back to the postseason, but it will also bring Boche an NL Manager of the Year Award as well. 

Hello… Predictions!

Good morning Yankees family and welcome back to the blog. This morning and all weekend long I wanted to take a look back at some of the predictions that I made before the season to see just how well I did. Spoiler alert, without looking I am sure I did terrible. I usually do, but I am okay with that, so enjoy the predictions and the fun at my expense, and definitely enjoy your weekend. Much love to you all.

And much more love to you, my Kari Ann. You are my world and everything that is good in it, and I love you more today than I did yesterday… and I will love you more tomorrow than I do today until there are no more days left on this planet. I love you!

Looking Back at TGP’s 2017 Predictions: Managers of the Year

How much does an MLB manager actually impact the game? I asked that same question below when this post was originally posted and yet I still don’t have a true or concrete answer to it so I’ll ask it again. Does anyone know? I know if you ask a Yankees fan every loss is on the back and decision making of Joe Girardi while every win is just the talent of the players outweighing the bad decision making of Girardi but I wanted to ask a broader spectrum. Does anyone have any thoughts? Leave them below as you check out my predictions on the 2017 AL and NL Manager of the Year Award winners.

TGP 2017 MLB Predictions: Managers of the Year

Some have argued that the actual impact and importance of a manager is as insignificant as it gets while others swear by the decision making of their favorite team's skipper. Those fans obviously have never had to deal with Joe Girardi and his magical all-knowing binder that has since turned into an iPad but regardless of whether the manger has a true impact or not the awards are given out every year so let's predict the winners. We can always have the debate of whether the manager actually has a bearing on the outcome of a game at another time, remind me. 

American League Manager of the Year: Terry Francona

I have real high hopes for the defending American League Champions this season because somehow I think the team is better than they were a year ago. Cleveland has a full season of Andrew Miller in their bullpen and they have added an absolute huge bat in Edwin Encarnacion to the middle of their lineup. All this should equate to more victories and more air time for the Indians and their manager. Plus, and not to say Francona is going to win it by default as he is an incredible manager, but no other managers really stand out to me aside from maybe AJ Hinch. Maybe. 

National League Manager of the Year: Bud Black

I truly believe the Colorado Rockies are going to be a force to be reckoned with in the National League West this season. I honestly wouldn't be surprised to see this team finish as high as second in the division and at least in the discussion for one of the final Wild Card spots in the league. For that reason I can see their manager Bud Black winning the National League Manager of the Year Award while Nolan Arenado, his third baseman, tears up the National League at the plate and in the field. 

TGP 2017 MLB Predictions: Managers of the Year

Some have argued that the actual impact and importance of a manager is as insignificant as it gets while others swear by the decision making of their favorite team's skipper. Those fans obviously have never had to deal with Joe Girardi and his magical all-knowing binder that has since turned into an iPad but regardless of whether the manger has a true impact or not the awards are given out every year so let's predict the winners. We can always have the debate of whether the manager actually has a bearing on the outcome of a game at another time, remind me. 

American League Manager of the Year: Terry Francona

I have real high hopes for the defending American League Champions this season because somehow I think the team is better than they were a year ago. Cleveland has a full season of Andrew Miller in their bullpen and they have added an absolute huge bat in Edwin Encarnacion to the middle of their lineup. All this should equate to more victories and more air time for the Indians and their manager. Plus, and not to say Francona is going to win it by default as he is an incredible manager, but no other managers really stand out to me aside from maybe AJ Hinch. Maybe. 

National League Manager of the Year: Bud Black

I truly believe the Colorado Rockies are going to be a force to be reckoned with in the National League West this season. I honestly wouldn't be surprised to see this team finish as high as second in the division and at least in the discussion for one of the final Wild Card spots in the league. For that reason I can see their manager Bud Black winning the National League Manager of the Year Award while Nolan Arenado, his third baseman, tears up the National League at the plate and in the field. 

MLB Award Finalists & the New York Yankees

Major League Baseball has announced the finalists for the major awards in the league and a member of the New York Yankees showed up on the list. The Baseball Writers’ Association of America announced the top three vote-getters in each category on Monday and here they are.

Nov. 14

AL ROY
Michael Fulmer, Tigers
Tyler Naquin, Indians
Gary Sanchez, Yankees

NL ROY
Kenta Maeda, Dodgers
Cory Seager, Dodgers
Trea Turner, Nationals

Nov. 15

AL Manager of the Year

Jeff Banister, Rangers
Terry Francona, Indians
Buck Showalter, Orioles

NL Manager of the Year

Dusty Baker, Nationals
Joe Maddon, Cubs
Dave Roberts, Dodgers

Nov. 16

AL Cy Young
Corey Kluber, Indians
Rick Porcello, Red Sox
Justin Verlander, Tigers

NL Cy Young
Kyle Hendricks, Cubs
Jon Lester, Cubs
Max Scherzer, Nationals

AL MVP
Jose Altuve, Astros
Mookie Betts, Red Sox
Mike Trout, Angels    

NL MVP
Kris Bryant, Cubs
Daniel Murphy, Nationals
Corey Seager, Dodgers

The awards will be handed out next week on MLB Network. 

ICYMI: Yankees Youth Movement Only Needs One More Thing….

Get your pitchforks out Yankees family, we’re about to have a bonfire and a pig roast because the New York Yankees and their newfound youth movement need just one more thing. A new manager. I know, I know, I’ve been one of the bigger Joe Girardi supporters during his tenure here in New York and while the binder, now turned iPad, has frustrated the hell out of me his bullpen management has been and remains to be one of the better bullpen management in Major League Baseball. The Yankees have the kids up now and nothing to play for yet players like Ronald Torreyes, Tyler Austin and others remain on the bench in big games. Why? Because Girardi needs to go, that’s why.


Before you bring up his Manager of the Year Award with like 17 players who couldn’t even legally buy beer yet in Miami let me stop you. First of all that was a long time ago and secondly that’s all he had at his disposal. Girardi does great with managing and managing young kids but he only does so when his hand is forced and the New York Yankees will never force his hand in my opinion. They will always have that veteran option either down in Triple-A or on the MLB roster “just in case.” The problem here is Girardi uses his “just in case” options far more than he should and it’s really, really annoying and frustrating to watch as a fan who is devoted to this rebuild.


I mean look at it this way. Brian Cashman traded away Carlos Beltran and that is the ONLY reason we saw Aaron Judge. Aaron Hicks got injured and that is the ONLY reason we saw Mason Williams. Ben Gamel was great for us yet the sample size is too small to really jump up and down about because he was hardly ever used leading to him being traded to the Seattle Mariners. He wasn’t even good enough in the Yankees eyes to use as a stolen base guy off the bench despite having comparable numbers to the guy they traded for, Eric Young Jr. of the Milwaukee Brewers, and gave his roster spot to in less at bats and opportunities. But Young is a veteran.


You know what the biggest problem is? Talent bails out Girardi more times than not and Wednesday night was the perfect example of that. On Tuesday night Tyler Austin has a three-hit game including a game winning home run so what does Girardi do in his infinite wisdom? Sits him the next day in lieu of Mark Teixeira. Sure, Teixeira hit the game winning walk-off grand slam in the game which stopped all the questions from the media after the game but what if he didn’t? What if that’s never an issue if Austin starts the game and the Yankees offense actually scores before the 9th inning?


Joe Girardi is just frustrating me right now and I just don’t think he is the right fit for this team anymore. Does that mean he’s a bad manager? No, hell no in fact, but I also don’t think he is going to be able to get out of his own way with the veterans still on this club. He may not be the manager for the youth movement, at least in my opinion.


Oh, and FREE REFSNYDER! You almost made it a prospects post without hearing about him.

Yankees Youth Movement Only Needs One More Thing….

Get your pitchforks out Yankees family, we’re about to have a bonfire and a pig roast because the New York Yankees and their newfound youth movement need just one more thing. A new manager. I know, I know, I’ve been one of the bigger Joe Girardi supporters during his tenure here in New York and while the binder, now turned iPad, has frustrated the hell out of me his bullpen management has been and remains to be one of the better bullpen management in Major League Baseball. The Yankees have the kids up now and nothing to play for yet players like Ronald Torreyes, Tyler Austin and others remain on the bench in big games. Why? Because Girardi needs to go, that’s why. 

Before you bring up his Manager of the Year Award with like 17 players who couldn’t even legally buy beer yet in Miami let me stop you. First of all that was a long time ago and secondly that’s all he had at his disposal. Girardi does great with managing and managing young kids but he only does so when his hand is forced and the New York Yankees will never force his hand in my opinion. They will always have that veteran option either down in Triple-A or on the MLB roster “just in case.” The problem here is Girardi uses his “just in case” options far more than he should and it’s really, really annoying and frustrating to watch as a fan who is devoted to this rebuild. 

I mean look at it this way. Brian Cashman traded away Carlos Beltran and that is the ONLY reason we saw Aaron Judge. Aaron Hicks got injured and that is the ONLY reason we saw Mason Williams. Ben Gamel was great for us yet the sample size is too small to really jump up and down about because he was hardly ever used leading to him being traded to the Seattle Mariners. He wasn’t even good enough in the Yankees eyes to use as a stolen base guy off the bench despite having comparable numbers to the guy they traded for, Eric Young Jr. of the Milwaukee Brewers, and gave his roster spot to in less at bats and opportunities. But Young is a veteran. 

You know what the biggest problem is? Talent bails out Girardi more times than not and Wednesday night was the perfect example of that. On Tuesday night Tyler Austin has a three-hit game including a game winning home run so what does Girardi do in his infinite wisdom? Sits him the next day in lieu of Mark Teixeira. Sure, Teixeira hit the game winning walk-off grand slam in the game which stopped all the questions from the media after the game but what if he didn’t? What if that’s never an issue if Austin starts the game and the Yankees offense actually scores before the 9^th inning? 

Joe Girardi is just frustrating me right now and I just don’t think he is the right fit for this team anymore. Does that mean he’s a bad manager? No, hell no in fact, but I also don’t think he is going to be able to get out of his own way with the veterans still on this club. He may not be the manager for the youth movement, at least in my opinion.

Oh, and FREE REFSNYDER! You almost made it a prospects post without hearing about him. 

Pat Osborne Named FSL Manager of the Year

Pat Osborn Named FSL Manager of the Year Zack Zehner Selected to FSL Post-Season All-Star Team

Tampa, Fla. - The Florida State League announced its 2016 "Post-Season All-Star Team" on Thursday. Field Managers, Official Scorers, and Club Sports Writers, representing the twelve (12) teams in the league, voted for the honorees.   Pat Osborn was named "Manager of the Year" after leading the Tampa Yankees to their first playoff birth since 2010. In his first season as skipper of the T-Yanks, Osborn managed the club to a first-half North Division title with a 42-27 record.   Zack Zehner earned a spot on the team as the utility outfielder. As of September 1st, the 24-year-old has hit .282 with a team-high 24 doubles, two triples, three homeruns, 35 RBI and 50 runs scored in a 107 games with the Tampa Yankees. Zehner also is fourth in the league with a .382 on-base percentage.   Osborn is in his third season with Yankees organization after previously managing short-season, Single-A Staten Island in 2015 and the GCL Yankees 2 in 2014, taking both teams into the post-season. Zehner is in his second season of professional baseball after being selected by the New York Yankees in the 18th round in the 2015 First-Year Player Draft out of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The Tampa Yankees are the Single-A Advanced Affiliate of the New York Yankees. For more information about the Tampa Yankees call (813) 673-3055 or visitwww.tybaseball.com.

IBWAA SELECTS MADDON, BANISTER IN MANAGER OF THE YEAR VOTE

IBWAA SELECTS MADDON, BANISTER IN MANAGER OF THE YEAR VOTE

 

Los Angeles – The Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) announced the winners in its Manager of the Year category Tuesday, with the Chicago Cubs’ Joe Maddon winning the group’s National League award, and Jeff Banister, of the Texas Rangers, being selected in the American League.

 

Maddon received 111 first-place votes (62.71%) and 700 points while being named on 170 of 177 ballots (94.44%). Others receiving first-place votes include Terry Collins (39), Mike Matheny (17) and Clint Hurdle (6).

 

Banister received 60 first-place votes (34.09%) and 440 points while being named on 124 of 176 ballots (70.45%). Others receiving first-place votes include A.J. Hinch (43), John Gibbons (33), Ned Yost (17) and Paul Molitor (13).

 

Election results are as follows:

 

AL Manager:

 

1^st Place:                  Jeff Banister, Texas Rangers – 440 points
2^nd Place:                 A.J. Hinch, Houston Astros – 415 
3^rd Place:                  John Gibbons, Toronto Blue Jays – 271

 

NL Manager:

 

1^st Place:                  Joe Maddon, Chicago Cubs – 700 points
2^nd Place:                 Terry Collins, New York Mets – 406 
3^rd Place:                  Mike Matheny, St. Louis Cardinals – 227

 

Ballot tabulations by Brian Wittig & Associates, using the Borda Method.

 

The IBWAA was established July 4, 2009 to organize and promote the growing online baseball media, and to serve as a digital alternative to the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA). Voting for full season awards takes place in September of each year, with selections being announced in November. The IBWAA also holds a Hall of Fame election in December of each year, with results being announced the following January.

 

In 2010, the IBWAA began voting in its own relief pitcher category, establishing the Rollie Fingers American League Relief Pitcher of the Year and the Hoyt Wilhelm National League Relief Pitcher of the Year Awards.

Among approximately 400 others, IBWAA members include Jim Bowden, Jim Caple, David Schoenfield and Mark A. Simon of ESPN.com; Tim Brown, Yahoo! Sports; Craig Calcaterra, NBC Sports Hardball Talk; Bill Chuck, GammonsDaily.com; Derrick Goold, St. Louis Post-Dispatch; King Kaufman, Bleacher Report; Kevin Kennedy; Kostya Kennedy, Sports Illustrated; Will Leitch, Sports on Earth; Bruce Markusen, Hardball Times; Ross Newhan; Dayn Perry and Matt Snyder, CBSSports.com; Mark Purdy, San Jose Mercury News; Tom Hoffarth and J.P. Hoornstra Los Angeles Daily News; Pedro Moura, Orange County Register; Tracy Ringolsby, MLB.com; Ken Rosenthal, FoxSports.com; Eno Sarris, FanGraphs; Dan Schlossberg, USA Today; Jesse Spector, Sporting News and Wendy Thurm.

 

Association membership is open to any and all Internet baseball writers, with a yearly fee of $20, or $35 lifetime. Discounts for groups and scholarships are available. Members must be 18 years of age to apply.

For more information please visit www.ibwaa.com.

Contact:

 

Howard Cole
Founding Director, IBWAAbaseballsavvy@aol.com

Predicting the BBWAA Award Winners for 2015

The 2015 Baseball Writers Association of America announced their finalists for the major awards this week on MLB Network. To no one’s surprise there was not a single member of the New York Yankees listed, although if Mark Teixeira doesn’t miss a chunk of August and all of September and October you have to think he is in the thick of things for American League MVP, and there are a ton of new faces vying for the awards. Here is who I personally think will win the awards, not that I think they deserve to win the award necessarily. You know how the voting goes though, sometimes it’s a popularity contest and sometimes they get it right. That’s baseball.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Most Valuable Player

Lorenzo Cain

• ·         Josh Donaldson

Mike Trout

Cy Young

Sonny Gray

• ·         Dallas Keuchel

David Price

Rookie of the Year

• ·         Carlos Correa

Francisco Lindor

Miguel Sano

Manager of the Year

• ·         Jeff Banister

A.J. Hinch

Paul Molitor

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Most Valuable Player

Paul Goldschmidt

• ·         Bryce Harper

Joey Votto

Cy Young

• ·         Jake Arrieta

Zack Greinke

Clayton Kershaw

Rookie of the Year

• ·         Kris Bryant

Matt Duffy

Jung Ho Kang

Manager of the Year

Terry Collins

• ·         Joe Maddon

Mike Matheny

BBWAA Finalists Announced

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Most Valuable Player
Lorenzo Cain
Josh Donaldson
Mike Trout

Cy Young
Sonny Gray
Dallas Keuchel
David Price

Rookie of the Year
Carlos Correa
Francisco Lindor
Miguel Sano

Manager of the Year
Jeff Banister
A.J. Hinch
Paul Molitor

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Most Valuable Player
Paul Goldschmidt
Bryce Harper
Joey Votto

Cy Young
Jake Arrieta
Zack Greinke
Clayton Kershaw

Rookie of the Year
Kris Bryant
Matt Duffy
Jung Ho Kang

Manager of the Year
Terry Collins
Joe Maddon
Mike Matheny

My IBWAA Season Awards Ballot

As a member of the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America I get the priviledge and duty of casting my ballot for the American League and National League MVP Awards, Cy Young Awards, Rookie of the Year Awards, Manager of the Year Awards and an award that is exclusive to the IBWAA, the Rollie Fingers American League Relief Pitcher of the Year Award and the Hoyt Wilhelm National League Relief Pitcher of the Year Award (labeled AL and NL Reliever on this ballot). Here is my ballot.

Did I snub anyone? What would you do different? Leave it below in the comments section.

Awards: IBWAA vs. BBWAA

As you know I am a member of the Internet Baseball Writer's Association of America, or the IBWAA, and we vote for all the major awards just like the Baseball Writer's Association of America (BBWAA) do. All this week I have posted the results from the IBWAA and I wanted to take a minute to compare them to the BBWAA results to see if we got them right. Enjoy.

		2014 Awards - IBWAA vs. BBWAA
		AL		NL
Rookie of the Year		Abreu/ Abreu		deGrom/deGrom
Manager of the Year		Showalter/Showalter		Williams/Williams
Cy Young Award		Hernandez/ Kluber		Kershaw/Kershaw
MVP Award		Trout/ Trout		Kershaw/Kershaw
IBWAA pick on the left
BBWAA pick on the right

IBWAA SELECTS SHOWALTER, WILLIAMS IN MANAGER OF THE YEAR VOTE

Los Angeles – The Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) announced the winners in its Manager of the Year category Tuesday, with Buck Showalter, of the Baltimore Orioles winning the American League award, and Matt Williams, of the Washington Nationals, being selected in the National League.

 

Election results are as follows:

 

AL Manager of the Year

 

1^st Place:                  Buck Showalter, Baltimore Orioles
2^nd Place:                 Mike Scioscia, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

3^rd Place:                  Ned Yost, Kansas City Royals

 

NL Manager of the Year

 

1^st Place:                  Matt Williams, Washington Nationals
2^nd Place:                 Clint Hurdle, Pittsburgh Pirates
3^rd Place:                  Bruce Bochy, San Francisco Giants

 

Showalter received 98 first-place votes and 605 points. Scioscia managed 17 first-place votes and 281 points, while being named on 103 ballots. Yost received 30 first-place votes, 261 points, and was named on 81 ballots.

 

Williams received 61 first-place votes and 414 points. Hurdle garnered 40 first-place votes and 330 points. Bochy received 23 first-place votes and 226 points.

 

Ballot tabulations by Brian Wittig & Associates, using the Borda Method.

 

Below is the remaining IBWAA Awards announcement schedule:

 

Cy Young, Wednesday, November 12, 2014, 11:00 a.m. PST.

MVP, Thursday, November 13, 2014, 11:00 a.m. PST.

 

The IBWAA was established July 4, 2009 to organize and promote the growing online baseball media, and to serve as a digital alternative to the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA). Voting for full season awards takes place in September of each year, with selections being announced in November. The IBWAA also holds a Hall of Fame election in December of each year, with results being announced the following January.

 

In 2010, the IBWAA began voting in its own relief pitcher category, establishing the Rollie Fingers American League Relief Pitcher of the Year and the Hoyt Wilhelm National League Relief Pitcher of the Year Awards.

 

Among others, IBWAA members include Jim Bowden, Jim Caple, Mike Petriello, David Schoenfield, Mark A. Simon andDan Szymborski, ESPN.com; Kevin Baxter Los Angeles Times; Tim Brown, Yahoo! Sports; Craig Calcaterra, NBC Sports Hardball Talk; Bill Chuck, GammonsDaily.com; Derrick Goold, St. Louis Post-Dispatch; King Kaufman, Bleacher Report; Kevin Kennedy, Kostya Kennedy, Sports Illustrated; Jonah Keri, Grantland; Vlae Kershner, SFGate.com; Chuck Culpepper and Will Leitch, Sports on Earth; Jill Painter Lopez, FoxSportsWest.com, Bruce Markusen, Hardball Times; Ross Newhan; Dayn Perry and Matt Snyder, CBSSports.com; Mark Purdy, San Jose Mercury News; Eno Sarris and Wendy Thurm, FanGraphs; Tom Hoffarth and J.P. Hoornstra Los Angeles Daily News; Pedro Moura, Orange County Register; Neil Payne, FiveThirtyEight.com, Tracy Ringolsby, MLB.com, Ken Rosenthal, FoxSports.com, Dan Schlossberg, USA Today and Jesse Spector, Sporting News.

 

Association membership is open to any and all Internet baseball writers, with a yearly fee of $20, or $35 lifetime. Discounts for groups and scholarships are available. Members must be 18 years of age to apply.

For more information please visit www.ibwaa.com.

Contact:

 

Howard Cole
Founding Director, IBWAAbaseballsavvy@aol.com

A Hat Tip to Buck Showalter

As we saw this morning in the TGP Daily Poll the American League and National League Managers of the Year Awards will be handed out today by the BBWAA. The finalists for the American League are Buck Showalter from the Orioles, Mike Scioscia for the Angels, and Ned Yost from the Royals. In the National League Bruce Bochy from the Giants, Clint Hurdle from the Pirates, and Matt Williams from the Nationals are up for the award. Good luck to all six of these men tonight as all of them are definitely deserving of the award.

If Showalter wanted something to feel confident about going into tonight he can remember back on this day in 2004 when Buck won his second AL Manager of the Year Award. Showalter managed the Texas Rangers to a 89-73 record which was an 18 game improvement over the previous season. The first time Buck won the award was with the New York Yankees in the strike shortened 1994 season.

I think Buck wins his third Manager of the Year Award tonight with the Orioles as much as that pains me to admit. Good luck Buck and thank the writers that they don't take douchiness into account.

TGP Daily Poll: Predicting the Managers of the Year

I predict that Buck Showalter of the Baltimore Orioles will win the American League Manager of the Year Award while Bruce Bochy of the San Francisco Giants will win the National League Manager of the Year Award.

Vote in our poll.

My Predictions for the Major Awards

Major League Baseball announced their finalists for the major awards from the 2014 season and I will take a stab at predicting who will win each individual award. Agree or disagree tell me about it in the comments section. Thanks guys! Enjoy.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
American League: Jose Abreu, Dellin Betances, Matt Shoemaker
National League: Jacob DeGrom, Billy Hamilton, Kolten Wong

MANAGER OF THE YEAR
American League: Mike Scioscia, Buck Showalter, Ned Yost
National League: Clint Hurdle, Bruce Bochy, Matt Williams

CY YOUNG
American League: Felix Hernandez, Corey Kluber, Chris Sale
National League: Johnny Cueto, Clayton Kershaw, Adam Wainwright

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
American League: Michael Brantley, Victor Martinez, Mike Trout
National League: Clayton Kershaw, Andrew McCutchen, Giancarlo Stanton

*The winners have been bolded and changed to RED.