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| Photo by Daniel Millhouse; AJ Pollock, Jake Lamb, and Paul Goldschmidt |
The World Series is all tied up and it looks like it will be a promising end to the 2017 season. For those who remember the 2017 Millhouse MLB predictions, I had the Houston Astros winning it all. Looks like I could be right. With that said, let's take a look at the Millhouse award-winning players for the 2017 season.
American League:
MVP - Aaron Judge: In fairness, this was an extremely close vote for me. On any given day, Jose Altuve could have been the MVP. For me, Judge wins this by a hair. He led the American League in home runs, breaking the rookie record in the process. He led the league in runs scored, was second in RBI's, hit .284, had the highest on-base percentage among players who played over 120 games, and even had nine stolen bases. Judge even played above average defense.
Trust me, this was a hard vote for me. Altuve led the league in batting average, hit 24 homers, 81 RBI's, and was third in the league in stolen bases.
Also, if Mike Trout had been able to play a complete season, he may have made this a three-way tie for the MVP race.
Cy Young - Corey Kluber: At the mid-season point, it looked like Chris Sale would take this award. Unfortunately for Sale, his ERA went north of three after the all-star break and Kluber became the favorite. An 18-4 record with an ERA of 2.25. He also only allowed hitters a batting average of .193 and combined this with a WHIP of 0.87.
Rookie of the Year - Aaron Judge: This should be a no-brainer since he won my MVP award. Although in any other season, Andrew Benintendi, Matt Olsen, and Trey Mancini would have been favorites in the race.
Manager of the Year - Paul Molitor: While A.J. Hinch would seem like the favorite on the surface, Molitor did more with less. The Twins weren't even thought to be in the hunt for a playoff spot before the season started. They ended up taking second place in the Central, only losing out to the Indians. The Twins organization even traded away players before the trade deadline and they still made a race for the playoffs.
Fireman of the Year - Craig Kimbrel: He had 12 fewer saves than the AL leader, Alex Colome, but Kimbrel had a 0.68 WHIP, allowed a .140 batting average, and had 126 strikeouts in 69 innings.
Breakout Player - Marwin Gonzalez: On the verge of being pushed out of the roster, Gonzalez became a super-utility player. He can play almost every position except catcher and pitcher. He also found himself hittin 23 homers with over a .300 batting average.
Silver Sluggers: Catcher - Gary Sanchez; 1B - Jose Abreu; 2B - Jose Altuve; 3B - Jose Ramirez; SS - Francisco Lindor; OF - Aaron Judge, Mike Trout, George Springer; DH - Nelson Cruz
The Aces: Corey Kluber, Chris Sale, Luis Severino, Dallas Keuchel, Ervin Santana
National League:
MVP - Giancarlo Stanton: Aaron Judge's national league counterpart, Giancarlo "Don't call me Mike" Stanton hit 59 homers while hitting .281. He also scored 123 runs and drove in 132 RBI's. Charlie Blackmon and Nolan Arenado put up a good race too, but Stanton was by and far the best hitter this season in the National League.
Cy Young - Matt Scherzer: Edging out Clayton Kershaw, Scherzer had a better WHIP, stuck out more hitters, and his batting average against was lower than the Dodgers' ace. Scherzer was second in the league with a 2.51 ERA and had a record of 16-6.
Rookie of the Year - Cody Bellinger: Judge wasn't the only rookie breaking a rookie record for homers. Bellinger broke the National League rookie record for homers with 39.
Manager of the Year - Torey Lovullo: Lovullo led the Diamondbacks to 93 wins, giving the Dodgers a run for their money at one point. Not a team that should have made the playoffs, Lovullo managed to get the best out of his players that were ready to break out. Paul Goldschmidt was joined by Jake Lamb, AJ Pollock, and David Peralta, in giving opposing pitchers problems.
Fireman of the Year - Kenley Jensen: He converted 41 of his 42 save opportunities, had a 0.75 WHIP, and allowed hitters a .177 ERA. Jensen edged out Cory Knebel of the Brewers who had similar numbers and more strikeouts.
Breakout Player - Scooter Gennett: A good hitting second baseman who showed potential for being a .300 hitter, Gennett hit 27 homers, something no one foresaw.
Silver Sluggers: Catcher - Wilson Contreras; 1B - Paul Goldschmidt; 2B - Scooter Gennett; 3B - Nolan Arenado; SS - Zach Cozart; OF - Giancarlo Stanton, Marcel Ozuna, Charlie Blackmon; Pitcher - Madison Bumgarner
The Aces: Max Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Robbie Ray, Stephen Strasburg
