Strat-O-Matic Report
AL Cy Young Award: Josh Beckett, BOS (24-2, 2.01 ERA, 212 K)
No surprise here, as Beckett was head and shoulders above all other pitchers in the entire majors in 2007. Beckett was 16-0 when he finally lost for the first time in late July. His ERA was below 2.00 for the entire season until an uncharacteristic 7 earned runs allowed in his final start. He allowed more than 3 runs in a game just 3 times all season! The league's other 20 game winner, Johan Santana of the Twins, finishes 2nd (22-6, 2.18, 256 K). Two of Beckett's teammates were 3rd and 4th in the voting: Jonathan Papelbon (3-4, 2.36, 47 saves) and Tim Wakefield (18-6, 2.30, 119 K). Erik Bedard of the Orioles (15-8, 2.98, 252 K) was 5th in the voting.
AL MVP: Josh Beckett, BOS
Yes, Beckett's season was good enough to earn MVP honors as well. This is my 7th replay, and my 7th Red Sox AL MVP. Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees finished 2nd in the voting thanks to a .305/51/158 season. Red Sox teammates in 3rd and 4th in this one as well: David Ortiz (.319/40/108) and Mike Lowell (.338/21/105). Ortiz was the reigning MVP for 3 years running. Torii Hunter of the Twins placed 5th in the voting thanks to a .300/38/119 season. Missing from the voting is Carlos Pena of the Devil Rays, who tied A-Rod for the league lead in homers with 51 and had a .278 BA and 134 RBI's to go along with it. Guess that's the difference between playing for a playoff team and a last place team!
NL Cy Young Award: Manny Corpas, COL (10-3, 2.55, 23 SV)
Who? Corpas wasn't even the Rockies full time closer, as teammate Brian Fuentes also had 22 saves. Still, the lack of a Beckett-esque starter in the NL opens the Cy up to a closer. Jake Peavy of the Padres finishes 2nd in the voting thanks to a 17-10/3.18/241 K season. It's all Rockies and Padres to round out the top 5 in voting: Jeff Francis of the Rockies finishes 3rd (19-10, 3.85, 167 K) with Chris Young of the Padres 4th (13-10, 2.26, 200 K). The aforementioned Brian Fuentes was 5th (3-0, 2.00, 22 SV). Tim Hudson of the Braves tied Francis for the NL lead in wins with 19, going 19-7 with a 3.13 ERA.
NL MVP: Matt Holiday, COL (.335/40/131)
It's a Colorado sweep for the NL awards, and again the Rockies put 3 players in the top 5. Todd Helton (.360/22/109) rides his NL batting title to 3rd in the voting, with teammate Garrett Atkins (309/33/127) in 4th. Last year's MVP, Jimmy Rollins of the Phillies, finishes 2nd this year with a .313/34/102/33 steal season. Rollins and Hanley Ramirez of the Marlins are the league's 30/30 men. Ramirez hit 32 homers and stole 61 bases while hitting .331, but it is his teammate Miguel Cabrera who rounds out the top 5 in MVP voting with his .337/40/123 season.
The Rockies and Red Sox don't stop at Cy Young and MVP in their domination of postseason awards. Managers Clint Hurdle and Terry Francona are the NL and AL manager of the year, respectively.
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