Monday, March 11, 2019

Predicting the 2019 Season: The Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman Award Winners



The best relief pitcher in the American League is now awarded the Mariano Rivera Award, while the best relief pitcher in the National League is given the Trevor Hoffman Award. Who will win each prestigious award in 2019? Keep reading…


Brad Hand of the Cleveland Indians is my pick for the Mariano Rivera Award. No, I’m not picking Aroldis Chapman, but I did seriously consider it to be completely honest. I just feel like Hand pitched extremely well for Cleveland after being traded from the Padres last season and I think that will translate to a strong 2019 campaign. Hand was splitting the closing duties with Cody Allen in 2018, but Allen has since departed via free agency at the time of this writing and will leave all the save opportunities to Hand. Hand has struck out at least 100 batters in three consecutive seasons and will look to make it a four-peat here in 2019.


Jeremy Jeffress of the Milwaukee Brewers is my pick to win the Trevor Hoffman Award for the National League. I have the Brewers making it to the World Series in 2019 and that cannot be done without a strong bullpen. I know some probably expected me to pick Josh Hader, if I was going to pick a Brewers player, or Edwin Diaz of the Mets, but I just had a gut feeling with Jeffress that I simply cannot ignore.

TGP Trivia and Fact of the Day for March 11th, 2019


Good morning Yankees family!

What Yankees player once pitched an inning wearing a cap of Babe Ruth's that he had bought for $35,000?

Leave your guesses below in the comments section and then highlight below to see if you're right!



David Wells, who came to the mound wearing a standard cap in the second inning after Joe Torre made him take off the Ruth hat. The Yankees lost the 1997 game to Cleveland. 



And a special good morning to my amazing wife, Kari. I know you're having a rough morning and you need to hear it, so I love you so very much. You're so special to me and I am so grateful to have you in my life.

Predicting the 2019 Season: The Managers of the Year



Some fans would say that a manager has very little to do with the overall outcome of a game. Some fans would argue that a manager has little-to-no outcome on the team’s wins and losses throughout the season. Some fans didn’t watch Aaron Boone fumble through the American League Division Series in 2018. Aaron Boone did not win Manager of the Year in 2018, despite his team winning 100 games and beating the Oakland Athletics in the AL Wild Card Game, but these two men here will likely win the award for their respective teams in 2019.


If you read my predictions post for the 2019 season these two Manager of the Year Award candidates should be simple to predict. In the American League, I had one team taking a huge step forward in their rebuild, adding a bunch of wins onto their total from the 2019 season. Rocco Baldelli of the Minnesota Twins, the youngest manager in Major League Baseball at just age 37, will lead this team into the 2019 season and will ultimately win the award in his first season at the helm.


If you read my standings, postseason, and World Series predictions you also know that I had a bit of a surprise team not only winning their division but winning the National League pennant as well. No team has ever won a NL Penannt, and I am assuming this, but I feel confident in saying it, without a great manager, and the Brewers won’t this season either without Craig Counsell. Congrats on the award and the trip to the Fall Classic.