Every year the baseball bloggers here at SB Nation get together and vote on the major post-season awards, using the same format and distribution system as the BBWAA. This year, in addition to my vote, site moderator and contributor "NYRoyal" also voted in the American League contests.
First, the unimportant National League results:
| National League | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geovany Soto | 18 | 1 | - | 93 |
| Joey Votto | - | 10 | 8 | 38 |
| Jair Jurrjens | 1 | 6 | 6 | 29 |
| Edinson Volquez | - | 1 | - | 3 |
| Jay Bruce | - | 1 | - | 3 |
| Ian Stewart | - | - | 2 | 4 |
| John Bowker | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| Johnny Cueto | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| Blake DeWitt | - | - | 1 | 1 |
Alright, I don't follow the National League that closely, but I have no idea who John Bowker is. I don't even feel like I should look it up either. Somehow, that's a suitable punishment.
Now for the American League results:
| American League | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evan Longoria | 15 | 1 | - | 78 |
| Mike Aviles | 1 | 5 | 4 | 24 |
| Alexei Ramirez | 1 | 2 | 3 | 14 |
| Armando Galarraga | - | 3 | 3 | 12 |
| Joba Chamberlain | - | 3 | 1 | 10 |
| Jacoby Ellsbury | - | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Brad Ziegler | - | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| David Murphy | - | 1 | - | 3 |
| Denard Span | - | - | 2 | 2 |
| Chris Davis | - | - | 1 | 1 |
I failed Mike Aviles, and my lack of homerism has played a small role in him not winning this coveted internet award. I feel pretty bad about it.
I voted 1) Longoria 2) Aviles 3) Chamberlain who not coincidentally had the three highest VORP totals for American League Rookies. Aviles actually caught and passed Longoria (35.0) to (34.8) due to a much higher per at bat quality. Honestly, somewhat to my surprise, Longoria and Aviles looks like a coin-flip, since there is something to be said for Longoria being around to contribute much longer.
Then again, Aviles ended up being more valuable in less time. In the end, I gave a slight edge to Longoria based on his additional time on the Big League roster and some possibly incorrect evaluation of him as a slightly superior defensive player. If I had to vote again, I'd probably go Aviles. Or Longoria. Or Aviles. Who knows...
It won't happen, but Aviles/Longoria could have turned into one of the most interesting Award debates of all time, and the rare one that wasn't the endless replay of the team success v. individual stats argument either.
I don't really understand the love for some of these down-ballot guys (David Murphy?), and really don't see how you can fill out a three-person vote and include some of them. Chalk it up to Aviles's obscurity and some connfusion as to Joba's status I presume.