2019 Millhouse Major League Baseball Awards

Photo of Alex Bregman - Taken by Daniel Millhouse

So, now that the season is done, it's that time of year for me to announce the winners of the Millhouse 2019 Major League Baseball Awards. Yes, I usually announce them before the official awards are announced, but I was pretty set on my picks and promise that I was not swayed by the official vote. I've also included a list of my preseason picks for comparison purposes.

To those that have won a Millhouse Award, feel free to email and the next time you're in the Menifee, California area, I will buy you a coffee or beer, your choice.

Also, worth noting, my preseason prediction for the World Series was the Houston Astros vs. Washington Nationals/Philadelphia Phillies during the preseason.

American League:
MVP - My pick is Alex Bregman. This one was a neck-to-neck one for me because Mike Trout deserved it just as much about. If you're a sabermetrics guy (which I am not), Trout let the American league in Offensive Wins Above Replacement (Offensive WAR), but Bregman led the American League in Overall WAR. Bregman played both third base and shortstop this season and was the most important position player on a star-studded team that nearly won the World Series. Trout had more homers (45 to Bregman's 41), but Bregman scored more runs, drove in more RBI's, and had a slightly higher batting average. 

Overall Picks - Alex Bregman, 2. Mike Trout, 3. DJ LaMahieu, 4. Marcus Semien, 5. George Springer

Preseason Picks - Alex Bregman, 2. Mike Trout, 3. Aaron Judge, 4. George Springer, 5. Mookie Betts.

Cy Young - Justin Verlander is my pick, but his teammate, Gerrit Cole, was pretty close to winning this one as well. Definitely one of the best one-two punches in the American League in the last several years, both pitchers were key to the Astros going to the World Series; between the two of them they started 77 of the 162 regular season games. Verlander nudges out the award over Cole, although Cole established himself as possibly the most desirable free agent this off-season.

Overall Picks - Justin Verlander, 2. Gerrit Cole, 3. Charlie Morton, 4. Shane Bieber, 5. Lucas Giolito

Preseason Picks - Justin Verlander, 2. Chris Sale, 3. Corey Kluber, 4. Charlie Morton, 5. Mike Clevinger

Rookie of the Year - Yordan Alvarez is my pick and was a pretty clear-cut winner for this one. I usually ding rookies who don't get a large portion of their first season on the Major League roster, but Alvarez squeezed a whole season worth of stats into his partial season. Called up in June, he still hit .313 with 27 homers and 78 RBI's.

Overall Picks - Yordan Alvarez, 2. John Means, 3. Eloy Jimenez, 4. Luis Arraez, 5. Brandon Lowe

Preseason Picks - Jesus Luzardo, 2. Yusei Kikuchi, 3. Vlad Guerrero Jr., 4. Eloy Jimenez, 5. Brandon Lowe

Fireman of the Year - Aroldis Chapman

Manager of the Year - Rocco Baldelli

Breakout Player of the Year - Tim Anderson (preseason pick - Tim Anderson)

Silver Sluggers - C Mitch Garver, 1B Jose Abreu, 2B DJ LaMhieu, 3B Alex Bregman, SS Marcus Semien, OF Mike Trout, George Springer, Mookie Betts, DH Nelson Cruz

National League:
MVP - Christian Yelich is my pick for the National League. He was a 40/30 player (homers/stolen bases) who led the National League with a .329 batting average, had 100 runs scored, 97 RBI's, and had an incredible .429 on base percentage. Bellinger won this award, but Yelich meant more for his team and carried them on his shoulders for a while.

Overall Picks - Christian Yelich, 2. Anthony Rendon, 3. Cody Bellinger, 4. Nolan Arenado, 5. Ronald Acuna Jr.

Preseason Picks - Nolan Arenado, 2. Christian Yelich, 3. Manny Machado, 4. Freddie Freeman, 5. David Peralta

Cy Young - Jacob deGrom is my pick. Not too many times you'll see a Cy Young Award winner with 11 wins unless he's a reliever, but deGrom pitched on the Mets and still put up great numbers. If he played on a playoff team, he would have put up more wins, easily.

Overall Picks - Jacob deGrom, 2. Kirby Yates, 3. Max Scherzer, 4. Hyun-Jin Ryu, 5. Jack Flaherty

Preseason Picks - Max Scherzer, 2. Aaron Nola, 3. Jacob deGrom, 4. Patrick Corbin, 5. Walker Buehler

Rookie of the Year - This was a pretty big no-brainer with Pete Alonso smacking 53 homers in his rookie season. The Polar Bear edges out Matt Soroka who would be one of my top-10 picks for the Cy Young this year. Breaking the rookie record for homers while having 120 RBI's pretty much solidified this for me.

Overall Picks - Pete Alonso, 2. Matt Soroka, 3. Fernando Tatis Jr., 4. Dakota Hudson, 5. Bryan Reynolds

Preseason Picks - Chris Paddack,  2, Pete Alonso, 3. Brendan Rogers, 4. Victor Robles, 5. Luis Urias

Fireman of the Year - Kirby Yates

Manager of the Year - Craig Counsell

Breakout Player of the Year - Ketel Marte

Silver Sluggers - C JT Realmuto, 1B Freddie Freeman, 2B Ozzie Albies, 3B Anthony Rendon, SS Trevor Story, OF Christian Yelich, Cody Bellinger, Ronald Acuna Jr.

2019 Millhouse Baseball Hall of Fame Vote

2010 Topps National Chicle card of Roy Halladay

As with every year, a new crop of retired baseball players become eligible for the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. Of course, every year for about the last decade or so, the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) seems to mess up the vote. And how? Each writer has the ability to vote up to 10 players a year, and yet, they seem to leave out the most deserving. 

If I were given a vote for the class of 2019, I would vote the following:

1. Mariano Rivera - The all-time closer in Major League Baseball history. That should be enough said. He had so many saves in his career that he even had 42 more in post season play. He was a failed starter during his rookie season with a 5.51 ERA. The next season, he was third in the Cy Young Award vote with an 8-3 record, 130 strikeouts in a 107.2 innings, and he had a 2.09 ERA. He only had 5 saves that season, but after John Wetteland left the Yankees, Rivera never looked back.

2. Roy Halladay - He retired with 203 wins and 105 loses and had six seasons with under a 3 ERA. Halladay won the Cy Young Award twice and was in the top 5 of the Cy Young voting in 7 times. He also was voted an all-star 8 times. What should be noted is that he did the majority of this while playing for the Toronto Blue Jays, a team that not once made it to the post season while he was on their roster.

3. Andy Petite - Never one to be considered the headlining pitcher on his team, Petite quietly racked up 256 career wins and was in the top 6 in Cy Young Award voting 5 times in his career. In his 18 seasons, he only had less than 10 wins twice. Not that I buy into post season play being a factor in a player being voted to the Hall, but Petite did have a 19-11 record in postseason play.

4. Roger Clemens - Speaking of pitchers that have played for the Yankees and the Astros, there's Clemens. Perhaps the best pitcher of all-time, Clemens is still looking to get into the Hall of Fame. He's taken tons of drug tests, never failing one. His reputation was smeared by a former athletic trainer whose evidence would have never stood in court (he claimed to have keep cotton balls/swabs of injections he gave Clemens in a beer car underneath his kitchen sink). Did Clemens cheat on his wife with country music star, Mindy McCready? Yes, but that shouldn't preclude him from the Hall. He had 354 wins, was third all-time in strikeouts, won 7 Cy Young Awards, an MVP award, and had a career ERA of 3.12. 

5. Barry Bonds - Another one of the accused, and arguably one of the greatest hitters of all-time. He's the all-time homerun king, the all-time walks king, won 7 MVPs, 12 Silver Sluggers, and had 8 Gold Gloves. For the sabermetrics fans, he was also the number position player in wins above replacement. Is he the most trustworthy when it comes to reporting his earnings from baseball card show signings? No. Once again, this shouldn't preclude him from the Hall of Fame, nor should his standoffs with the press. If standing off with the press should count against you, then Donald Trump should have never been the President of the United States.

6. Fred McGriff - The Crime Dog was one of the few power hitters of his generation to not be accused of juicing. He hit 493 homers and received votes for MVP in 8 different seasons. Despite also having 2,490 career hits, McGriff seems to slipped under the shadow of other first baseman that played at the same time as him. What's even more tragic is that this is McGriff's ninth season on the ballot and he's never received over 24 percent of the vote.

7. Billy Wagner - The most dominant left-handed closer of all-time, hands down. He had 422 career saves, a 2.31 career ERA, a career WHIP of less than 1, and a career strikeouts-per-9-innings of 11.9. Only John Franco has more career saves as a lefty, but he wasn't as dominating as Wagner.

8. Mike Mussina - Other than his rookie year, Mussina was a double digit winner in every season he ever played, retiring after winning 20 games in his last season. Mussina won 270 wins overall and had 2,813 career strikeouts. He was a top six candidate for the Cy Young Award 8 times in his career, but Mussina never placed better than second. He had also won 7 Gold Gloves during his career. Mussina was the ace for the Yankees and Orioles during his career and is worthy of hall consideration.

9. Gary Sheffield - The nephew of Dwight Gooden, Sheffield hit 509 career homers and drove in 1,676 RBI's. Sporting a .292 career batting average, Sheffield won five Silver Sluggers and was the cleanup hitter on the Florida Marlins team that defeated the Cleveland Indians in the World Series in 1997. Sheffield was also in the top 10 in MVP votes 6 times in his career. Sheffield also played at least 300 games at third base, left field, right field, and designated hitter. This will be Sheffield's fourth attempt at being voted in.

10. Michael Young - That's right, Michael Young. A career .300 hitter who collected 200 or more hits in a season 6 times, made 7 all-star games, and was a star at second base, shortstop, and third base during his career. No, he was never a major power guy, but he was the guy that got on base so his teammates could drive in the runs.

2018 Major League Baseball Millhouse Awards

Mike Trout - Photo taken by Daniel Millhouse

Before all the awards are announced and I fall too far behind the media outlets, I give you the 2018 Major League Baseball Millhouse Awards. As a bonus, I give you a comparison of my pre-season compared to what actually happened.

American League:

MVP: J.D. Martinez...Admittedly, I did not see Martinez being in competition for a possible triple crown in the American League. He had the power, but I did not foresee his average being so high.

Runners Up: 2. Mookie Betts, 3. Jose Altuve, 4. Mike Trout, 5. Francisco Lindor.

Preseason Prediction: 1. Manny Machado, 2. Mike Trout, 3. Aaron Judge, 4. Francisco Lindor, 5. Mookie Betts...Looking at my preseason predictions, I didn't do so bad. Aaron Judge's injury knocked him out of contention. Being traded to the Dodgers took out Machado's chances.

Cy Young: Blake Snell...Definitely didn't see him challenging for the Cy Young Award, especially pitching for Tampa Ray. In any other season Verlander would have been the front runner.

Runners Up: 2. Justin Verlander, 3. Gerrit Cole, 4. Edwin Diaz, 5. Corey Kluber.

Preseason Prediction: 1. Corey Kluber, 2. Justin Verlander, 3. Chris Sale, 4. Luis Severino, 5. Gerrit Cole...I was pretty spot on with Verlander, Kluber, and Cole. Severino would probably be the sixth or seventh place guy if I went that deep. 

Rookie of the Year: Miguel Andujar...Just missed hitting .300 with 30 homers and he plays in one of the toughest cities for a rookie to start their career in. To top it off, Andujar wasn't the top projected Yankee rookie prior to the season.

Runners Up: 2. Shohei Ohtani, 3. Gleyber Torres, 4. Joey Wendle, 5. Daniel Palka.

Preseason Prediction: 1. Gleyber Torres, 2. Willy Adames, 3. Joey Wendle...This was definitely the year of impact rookies. Gleyber Torres's stats would have won a Rookie of the Year award in most seasons. Adames did well, but didn't play a full enough season. Ohtani, as predicted, ended up hurting himself while pitching.

Fireman of the Year: Edwin Diaz...I would not have predicted that he would be even one of the top five closers, let alone a top 10. I was wrong 57 saves later.

Runners Up: 2. Blake Treinen, 3. Aroldis Chapman, 4. Craig Kimbrell, 5. Jose Leclerc 

Manager of the Year: 1. Bob Melvin...He got so much out of the lowest payroll in baseball.

Runners Up: 2. AJ Hinch, 3. Kevin Cash, 4. Alex Cora, 5. Aaron Boone

Most Improved Player: Whit Merrifield...He hit .304, stole 45 bases, scored 88 runs, and hit 12 homers. And no one noticed.

Silver Sluggers: C - Yan Gomes, 1B - Edwin Encarnacion, 2B - Jose Altuve, 3B - Alex Bregman, SS - Francisco Lindor, OF - Mookie Betts, Mike Trout, Khris Davis , DH - J.D. Martinez

League Review: The majority of my runners up predictions came true. The award winner for each category came out of nowhere. I think anyone would be lying if they said that they saw Ian Snell being in contention of the Cy Young. I believe Mookie Betts is the front runner to win with the baseball writers, but how can you write off a hitter who almost won the triple crown? As far as Andujar possibly winning the Rookie of the Year, I would have thought his teammate was the more likely candidate to win the award. 

As far as the American League standings, I did fairly well if you take a look at my preseason predictions. The Mariners were a surprise and the A's doing as well as they did was also a surprise. But I did have the Yankees, Red Sox, Astros, and Indians all going to the playoffs. 

National League:

MVP: Christian Yellich...I had in in my preseason top five and drafted him in my fantasy leagues. He even did better than expected, taking a triple crown race to the final game of the season. He hit .326, 36 homers, 110 RBI's, and stole 22 bases. 

Runners Up: 2. Nolan Arenado, 3. Javy Baez, 4. Trevor Story, 5. Max Scherzer.

Preseason Prediction: 1. Nolan Arenado, 2. Paul Goldschmidt, 3. Bryce Harper, 4. Christian Yellich, 5. Max Scherzer...Goldschmidt would probably be sixth if I went that deep. He still had a great season. Bryce Harper fell off from a batting average standpoint, dropping his MVP candidacy. Yellich's homers surprised me and Trevor Story challenging his teammate, Arenado, for best player on the Rockies was a bit surprising too.

Cy Young: Max Scherzer...This is the closest race for an award this season. It was a coin flip between deGrom and Scherzer, but I felt Scherzer edges him out because of his dominance. He had 300 strike outs exactly, leading the league. Scherzer also led the league in wins on a team that underachieved, led the league in WHIP, and was third in ERA. 

Runners Up: 2. Jacob deGrom, 3. Aaron Nola, 4. Kyle Freeland, 5. Miles Mikolas.

Preseason Prediction: 1. Max Scherzer, 2. Clayton Kershaw, 3. Jacob deGrom, 4. Aaron Nola, 5. Robbie Ray...It really didn't surprise me that Kershaw ended up having injuries that knocked him out of the top five. Scherzer, deGrom, and Nola still remained in the top five at the end of the season. A Rockies pitcher (Freeland) was the pleasant surprise and one that I cheer about. I tend to secretly root for Rockies pitchers, although, I'm not a big fan of theirs. I just want someone to succeed in pitching in the Colorado air.

Rookie of the Year: Ronald Acuna Jr...This was the preseason favorite prediction for so many news outlets and it looks like he lived up to the hype. I just didn't foresee that a 19-year-old would challenge him so closely.

Runners Up: 2. Juan Soto, 3. Harrison Bader, 4. Franmil Reyes, 5. Jorge Alfaro.

Preseason Predictions: 1. Lewis Brinson, 2. Ronald Acuna Jr., 3. Jorge Alfaro...Being a fan of the Lake Elsinore Storm, I was happy that alumnus, Franmil Reyes, did so well in his time in the Majors.

Fireman of the Year: Raisel Iglesias...Some may argue about this choice, but he still managed to rack up 30 saves on a team that performed horribly. He had a 2.38 ERA and had a 1.07 WHIP. 

Runners Up: 2. Josh Bader (yes, I know he's not a full-time closer), 3. Felipe Vazquez, 4. Sean Doolittle, 5. Kenley Jansen.

Manager of the Year: Craig Counsell...Look how far he took a team that still needed a little help in their starting pitcher before being considered a contender for the National League title winner.

Runners Up: 2. Brian Snitker, 3. Bud Black, 4. Joe Madden, 5. Mike Schildt

Most Improved Player: David Peralta...He hit 30 homers, nearly hit .300, and had 87 RBI's, all while in the shadow of his teammate, Paul Goldschmidt. Max Muncy is a close second, hitting 35 homers after not even playing in the majors in 2017.

Silver Sluggers: C - J.T. Realmuto, 1B - Jesus Aguilar, 2B - Scooter Gennett, 3B - Nolan Arenado, SS - Trevor Story, OF - Christian Yellich, David Peralta, Charlie Blackmon

League Review: The National League had some surprises for the season. A 19-year-old who played like a veteran, several Rockies players vying for awards (Story and Freeland), Christian Yellich nearly winning the triple crown (where did that power come from?), and the Atlanta Braves youngsters playing like veterans and earning a playoff spot. It should be noted that my preseason prediction blog posting even featured a photo I took of Christian Yellich while he was a Marlin. Oh, just in case Yellich was so bored that he came across my season predictions while surfing the internet on a sleepless night, I apologize for the typo (I accidentally referred to him as Christina Yellich, which was by total error on my part since I'm a fan of his and not trying to stir up controversy like Jim Rome - see Jim "Chris" Everett footage on YouTube). 

2018 Millhouse Major League Baseball Predictions

Christian Yellich joins the Brewers to form the strongest outfield in the MLB in 2018; photo by Daniel Millhouse

It's that time of year again! The Millhouse predictions for the 2018 Major League Baseball season.

American League:

AL East: 1. New York Yankees, 2. Boston Red Sox, 3. Baltimore Orioles, 4. Toronto Blue Jay's, 5. Tampa Bay DEVIL Ray's...The Yankees have bounced back from rebuilding mode to top of the class. With the addition of Judge's doppelganger, Giancarlo Stanton, the Yankees feature immense power and feature one of the best bullpens in baseball.

AL Central: 1. Cleveland Indians 2. Minnesota Twins 3. Chicago White Sox, 4. Detroit Tigers, 5. Kansas City Royals...it shouldn't be a surprise that the Indians should take the Central. What should be noted is that the Royals have fallen so far within such a short amount of time.

AL West: 1. Houston Astros, 2. Texas Rangers, 3. Oakland A's, 4. ANAHEIM Angels, 5. Seattle Mariners...It looks like the Astros have gotten even better than they were last year. They bolstered their starting staff with Gerrit Cole and with the addition of Justin Verlander last season. Their young players have a little more experience under their belts, as well. 

AL Award Winners

MVP: 1. Manny Machado, 2. Mike Trout, 3. Aaron Judge, 4. Francisco Lindor, 5. Mookie Betts....Machado is already in the conversation of being one of the best players in baseball. Thrown in the fact that it's a contract year and he's playing shortstop and he should be a front runner for the MVP. 

Cy Young: 1. Corey Kluber, 2. Justin Verlander, 3. Chris Sale, 4. Luis Severino, 5. Gerrit Cole...Kluber is the odds on favorite. He's in his prime and he plays for a winning team, which the voters love.

Rookie of the Year: 1. Gleyber Torres 2. Willy Adames, 3. Joey Wendle...There is no clear front runner. Some will ask where is Shohei Ohtani? He could be a winner as long as he has a solid season at hitting or pitching, but I'm not counting on his arm holding up a complete season.

National League:

NL East: 1. Washington Nationals, 2. Philadelphia Phillies, 3. Atlanta Braves, 4. New York Mets, 5. Miami Marlins...The Nationals should take this division. The Marlins are in full rebuilding mode, the Braves have a ton of young talent that is a year or two from developing into star players, and the Phillies are climbing but are not quite not there. The Mets don't have the offense, though their pitching could jump them up a spot or two if it holds up.

NL Central: 1. Chicago Cubs, 2. Milwaukee Brewers, 3. St. Louis Cardinals, 4. Pittsburgh Pirates, 5. Cincinnati Reds...This may be the toughest division in baseball this season. The Cubs are strong again, but the Brewers had an extremely strong off-season to the point that Ryan Braun is no longer considered a full-time starter. With the additions of Christina Yellich and Lorenzo Cain, the Brewers could be a season away from being the top dog in the Central.

NL West: 1. Arizona Diamondbacks, 2. Los Angeles Dodgers of Silver Lake, 3. Colorado Rockies, 4. San Francisco Giants, 5. San Diego Padres...The Diamondbacks have slowly improved each season, putting together a formidable roster that could challenge for the league title. The Dodgers will make a run for the title as well, but may not have enough to hold off the Diamondbacks.

MVP: 1. Nolan Arenado, 2. Paul Goldschmidt, 3. Bryce Harper, 4. Christin Yellich, 5. Max Scherzer...Mike Schmidt praised Arenado as possibly being one of the best third basemen of all-time. He not only can hit, but is also the best fielding third baseman in the National League.

Cy Young: 1. Max Scherzer, 2. Clayton Kershaw, 3. Jacob deGrom, 4. Aaron Nola, 5. Robbie Ray...Scherzer and Kershaw are arguably the top two pitchers in all of baseball. Scherzer gets the edge as he is less injury prone and is more likely to be a voter favorite because he pitches for the Nats.

Rookie of the Year: 1. Lewis Brinson, 2. Ronald Acuna Jr., 3. Jorge Alfaro... Everyone is predicting Acuna to win this award, but Brinson is being overlooked. Acuna will start the season on the minors and Brinson will have a better chance to play the whole season as he plays for the Marlins.

Playoffs:

AL: Wildcards - Minnesota Twins and the Boston Red Sox; League Winner - Houston Astros...It may be a repeat of last year's ALCS of Astros versus Yankees.

NL: Wildcards - Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers of Silver Lake; League Winner - Washington Nationals...The Nationals felt the sting of losing in the NLCS last year when they should have gone on to their first World Series. This roster is too strong not to make at least one World Series run.

World Series: Houston Astros over Washington Nationals in six games.