Different sport, but Wendel Clark losing out on the Calder to Kjell Dahlen. I remember thinking that it was a huge snow job.

'Course. I was like. 10 at the time :)

Pedro losing the MVP to Pudge in 1999 because a few people left Pedro off the ballot entirely.

I also thought that Ichiro winning over Giambi in 2001 was rediculous.

FWIW, the last 8 AL MVPs have been from the AL West. And that's with an east coast bias.

http://www.mathesond.mindsay.com
I remember Bob Welch winning the CY Young and thinking "Poor Dave Stewart, always the bridesmaid, never the bride" (although Roger Clemens put up a great line that season, beating Welch in ERA by over a run, WHIP, and K's by a wide margin. But 27 wins wins trumps 21)

I also remember Eckersley winning the MVP and thinking "not bad for a role player". Looking at the voting results, I find it hard to believe that Frank Thomas' .323 avg. and .975 OPS were only good enough for 8th - behind Mike Devereaux! Heck, McGwire hit 42 home runs with a .970 OPS and that got him 4th.

LaMarr Hoyt's 1983 Cy Young. Dave Stieb was probably the best starter in the league that year, but that Quiz was denied his due is bizarre. Hoyt threw 260 innings with a 3.66 ERA and a 115 ERA+. He went 24-10 due to fabulous run support. Quiz threw 139 innings with a 1.94 ERA and a 210 ERA+. He saved 45 games due to his excellence.

Incidentally, I wasn't conscious of this at the time, but Quiz was able to succeed over quite a period with historically low K rates.

Roger Clemens winning the NL Cy Young in 2004 is a crime.

Roger Clemens winning the NL Cy Young in 2004 is a crime.

You can't even be serious. Clemens has a very good case to be the second-best pitcher in the NL, and he was very close to being the best.

I know the QOTD is supposed to be about awards that have already occured, but if Bonds is not the unanimous choice for 2004 NL MVP, then that's my choice. :)

When are those announced, anyways?

I remember Bob Welch winning the CY Young and thinking "Poor Dave Stewart, always the bridesmaid, never the bride" (although Roger Clemens put up a great line that season, beating Welch in ERA by over a run, WHIP, and K's by a wide margin. But 27 wins wins trumps 21)

I remember Bob Welch winning Cy as well... I thought that was travesty, since I was die hard Clemens fan, who mimicked his pitching routines in high school baseball team, (I'm still Clemens fan, but more of die soft kind) since he had better pitching numbers other than wins. I also seem to remember A's that season had 3 pitchers with 20+ wins... correct me if I'm wrong, and other 2 had better pitching stats than Welch.

Clemens has a very good case to be the second-best pitcher in the NL, and he was very close to being the best.

So what's your beef with the criticism of the Clemens Cy? Second best doesn't sound like a worthy Cy Young winner to me. I think you just like to harrumph.

I think the word "crime" might have something to do with it. I personally think that there is somewhat more distance between Johnson and Clemens than Craig does, but I agree that Clemens was clearly the 2nd best pitcher in the league.

If that's a crime, then what do you call LaMarr Hoyt or Pete Vukovich.
Hoyt certainly was not among the top 3 in the league and might not have been in the top 10.

Wendel Clark losing out on the Calder to Kjell Dahlen.

Actually, it was Gary Suter who won the Calder that year. Surprising everyone in both Montreal and Toronto.

Oh no...not Suter!

(obscure Simpsons reference of the day)

Oh no...not Suter!

I'm knitting my "Get Well Soon, Suter" pillowcase to continue the obscure reference.

If youre going for the best player, than Miguel Tejada beating out A-Rod in 2002 is a travesty. The fact that Migs had an ops of something like 850 didnt help.

As someone mentioned, Pedro got jobbed pretty bad a couple years back by I-Rod

The fact that three bbwaa members thought Shannon Stewart was the best player of 2003 is also slightly scary.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/features/04top10s/orioles.html
Wow, BA does not have a lot of nice things to say about Baltimore's player development COMN

Mike has referred in passing to the travesty of the 1982 Cy Young Award, but for those unfamiliar with it:

Pete Vuckovich, Milwaukee, Cy Young winner
18-6, 3.34, 30 GS, 9 CG, 1 ShO, 223 IP, 234 H, 102 BB, 105 K, 114 ERA+

Dave Stieb, Toronto
17-14, 3.25, 38 GS, 19 CG, 5 ShO, 288 IP, 271 H, 75 BB, 141 K, 138 ERA+

Yes, you read that correctly: 19 complete games and 5 shutouts for Stieb, leading the league in both categories (along with IP); he was also 2nd in ERA+ and WHIP. Put differently, Stieb bested Vuckovich in IP, starts, ERA, ERA+, CG, shutouts, H/IP, WHIP, walks and strikeouts; Vuckovich, supported by a record-breaking offence, beat Stieb in wins, by one. BTW, Stieb finished fourth in the balloting that year, behind Jim Palmer and Quiz.

Wow, I never realized that the Jays stole Jayson Werth from the Orioles. Apparently he was their first rounder in 1997 and they traded him for John Bale in 2000. I think the Jays may have won that trade.

NINETEEN COMPLETE GAMES!?!?

Good lord....that is awe inspiring.

Wow, BA does not have a lot of nice things to say about Baltimore's player development COMN

Cool. Im looking forward to what they have to say about the Blue Jays on Wednesday.

Sid Thrift?...enough said

Mike Green: "I agree that Clemens was clearly the 2nd best pitcher in the league"

Ben Sheets would like a word with you.

Also, I believe that Johnson should have won the Cy. He was just so much more dominant than Clemens was. Johnson had 4 complete games (2 shutouts) and seemed to often go at least 8. Clemens seemed to routinely go 7, but he had zero complete games.

Clemens was good this year, but he was not as dominant as Randy Johnson.

Ryan Lind, you're right. Scratch the "clearly".

Ben, my apologies, but can you answer me this, what in the name of Ruth did you do to your teammates that they treated you this way? A 12-14 record with those kind of numbers? Is it something you said? Perhaps they came over to your place for a bbq and you decided to forego the standard steaks/hamburgers/chicken menu for grilled rutabaga? The pitching fraternity is dying to know so the mistakes of the past will not repeated.

Hahah, yeah.

Compare Sheets with the stats that Doc put up in 2003:

Doc

IP: 266
IP/GS: 7.39
H/9: 8.56
BB/9: 1.08
K/9: 6.90
HR/9: 0.88
ERA+: 145

Sheets

IP: 237
IP/GS: 6.97
H/9: 7.63
BB/9: 1.22
K/9: 10.02
HR/9: 0.95
ERA+: 154

Obviously some adjustments need to be made for the fact that Sheets plays in the NL and that's bound to boost his numbers, but you can see that he was at least at the same level as '03 Halladay. However, because Milwaukee has a horrible offense, Sheets didn't receive a single Cy vote. This will never make sense to me.

Don't know if it's noted anywhere else, but ESPN has the list of the top 50 free agents out. Delgado is about #6, and they see him going to the Marlins. Interestinly, Tony Batista is lauded for having an excellent season. He had a line of .241/.272/.455. Hinske, who has been lauded nowhere for having an excellent season (although we still apparently mock at our own risk) receives no such plaudits, despite a line of .246/.312/.375. Difference in OPS? 30 points. Who knew Hinske was so close to excellence? Maybe there's hope yet for him...

But Batista is a PROVEN RUN PRODUCER!!!

He MAKES THINGS HAPPEN!!

He EXECUTES!!!

etc. etc.

And is it just me, or is Delgado being overlooked a bit by the media?

I mean, the guy is not injury prone, despite missing a month this past year, and he's been one of the best hitters in the league for the past 8 years or so, but yet ESPN ranks him below Renteria? Okay.

I tell you, some team is going to sign Delgado for half as much as Beltran's salary, and they are going to look like geniuses.

And is it just me, or is Delgado being overlooked a bit by the media?

Shhhhhhhhhhhhh.......

Let's keep it that way.

ESPN predicts Delgado to be a Marlin next year. None of the Top 50 are going to be Blue Jays, according to them.

I just laugh at Batista's little comment box:
Quietly put together a great offensive season. Was especially effective after the All-Star break, having 21 homers and 68 RBI.

That's pretty funny actually.

According to ESPN, the following teams will not be singing ANY of the top 50 free agents:

Blue Jays
Pirates
Brewers
Diamondbacks
Rockies

Interesting...

I feel strangely compelled to defend Tony Batista here for some reason. Yes, his OB sucks, and no one should confuse him with a star because of the RBI's, but he might not be that bad. He left Toronto after 2 good years (.285/.328/.565, .263/.307/.519) and one terrible half. Then he was again average in 2002 with Baltimore, awful in 2003, worse in 2004 pre-allstar, but again at least servicable post all-star 2004(not just homers and rbi's, he was at .250/.285/.536). I know, I'm cherry-picking the stats here, but he's only 30, and could very well be an average player for someone next year, with the possibility of slightly better, although what looks like a stronger possibility of being worse.

Is this the profile of a top free agent? Of course not. But looking at the ESPN list, look at the guys around him in the list: Cristian Guzman a terrible (worse than Batista) hitter for the last three years, Jose Valetin, a 35 year old shortstop whose numbers bear a striking resemblance to Batista's. Being 40th on a list of available free agents isn't exactly a ringing endorsement....

Oh, and on the theme of the thread, two awards stuck out in my head (well three, but someone mentioned Eckersley already): Cy Young McDowell in 1993. Just not as good as the three who finished behind him (Randy Johnson, Appier, Jimmy Key). MVP for Ichiro in 2001. Nothing against hitting for just average, and I realize defense and stolen bases are important for him, but the year's other guys had that year...Giambi's best year, Boone's best year, Alomar's best year, Thome's 2nd best year, Rodriguez's 2nd best year (I'm looking at OPS+)...the voters who pick the best candidate split their vote, and the "trendy guy" voters settled on their guy. And then did it again the next year with Tejada. Oh well....

I've been saving this one because I expect to get shouted down or otherwise flamed by the home crowd, but George Bell's 1987 MVP was a joke. Sure, he had MVP numbers, but there was clearly and obviously a better candidate ... Alan Trammell.

Bell was a masher? Sure, but Tram's OPS+ that year outperformed Bell's, 155-146 (in adjusted OPS+ that year, Bell was seventh in the AL. Trammell was fifth). If you prefer the traditional stats -- does Bell's HR/RBI lead of 47/134 to 28/105 really outpoint Trammell's lead in BA (.343-.308), OBP (.402-.352) and even steals (21/23 vs. 5/6). And do I need to mention that while the best-fielding shortstop in the AL that year did indeed play for Toronto, his name was Fernandez, not Bell? Meanwhile, Tram was a gold-glove-quality shortstop (and had already won four of them) while Bell was a ... less-than-stellar corner OF.

Finally, since these things seem to matter to MVP voters, but apparently they took a year off in 1987 (in the NL, Andre Dawson of the last-place Cubs was MVP), while Bell's Blue Jays had a fine season in 1987, they finished second in the divions ... to Trammell's Tigers.

A travesty.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=1919387
For me, the ESPN comment should be ridiculed because it said "He quietly put together an excellent season." The man was near the Hinske line-that ain't excellent. I'd use the technical term "shitty". But that's just me. To give the man some props, Davenport had a pretty convincing argument recently that he's a solid defensive player.

BTW, if anyone ever wondered what Schilling's ankle looked like prior to G2 of the WS, COMN. I assume these were taken for the NE Journal of Medicine.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?id=1921631
COMN for a John Sickels article on Brandon League. He certainly seems to think highly of the young man...

Speaking as someone who followed the '87 Jay/Tiger race very closely (was at a lot of games that year) I remember everyone talking about how the MVP would be either Trammell or Bell, whoever's team made the playoffs. I've yet to figure out why the voters didn't keep thinking that way when they filled in their ballots. I guess they figured the Jays without Bell were worse than the Tigers without Tramell or something. During that final week with no 'protection' in Whitt and Fernandez hitting around him (Tony 3rd and Whitt 5th iirc) Bell collapsed and the Jays did too.

Ah well. It was nice to finally see a Jay win one of the big two awards after Steib was screwed out of a Cy or two.

I remember everyone talking about how the MVP would be either Trammell or Bell, whoever's team made the playoffs. I've yet to figure out why the voters didn't keep thinking that way when they filled in their ballots.

I've heard it said many times (but never really "verified") that many, if not all, ballots, end up getting submitted before the season's very last games are played...

Does anyone else think that Schilling's ankle looks a little slender there? I've always seen Schilling as a somewhat bigger guy... that ankle looks like it belongs on our beloved Rios.

Thoughts on this beautiful Saturday morning?

He had a line of .241/.272/.455. Hinske, who has been lauded nowhere for having an excellent season (although we still apparently mock at our own risk) receives no such plaudits, despite a line of .246/.312/.375. Difference in OPS? 30 points. Who knew Hinske was so close to excellence? Maybe there's hope yet for him...

Batista did hit more than twice as many home runs as Hinske, while playing half his games parks much less favourable to hitters and home run hitting. Plus he's not fat.

Word on the Street (ESPN) has the Orioles and Mariners making hard pushes for Delgado. And out of 15 gm's polled, 10 said they'd rather have Delgado than Richie Sexon, with 1 undecided

Word on the Street (ESPN) has the Orioles and Mariners making hard pushes for Delgado. And out of 15 gm's polled, 10 said they'd rather have Delgado than Richie Sexon, with 1 undecided

Which goes to show that a third of major league GMs may be dumb.

http://www.tsn.ca/mlb/news_story.asp?id=104562
Blue Jays claim Song from Expos, COMN for details.

I'm not sure if this was the best place for it, but it'll do for now.

The worst Cy Young Award selection in my lifetime was the awarding of the 1990 AL Cy Young to Bob Welch on the strength of his 27 pitcher wins. He wasn't even the best pitcher on his OWN TEAM that year. Dave Stewart pitched 29 more innings than Welch with an ERA over a third of a run lower. Dennis Eckersley pitched 73 innings as a closer with an ERA of 0.61 (!) and walked only 4 batters ALL YEAR. Both were far superior pitchers to Welch - a clear indicator of why pitcher wins, at least in the restricted space of a single season, is such a misleading statistic. (As for the rest of the league, some guy named Roger Clemens had a pretty good year, too, leading the league with an ERA under 2.00, and in a hitter's park at that.)

Mark Davis for the 1989 NL Cy Young was a pretty bad choice, too. I don't share the opinion of some that a closer should never win the Cy Young, but it should require a truly dominating season, like Eckersley in 1990 or Gagne in 2003. Davis just wasn't on that level. Orel Hershiser (2.31 ERA, 148 ERA+ over a league-leading 257 innings) would have been a much better choice. Once again pitcher wins were the culprit, as Hershiser went 15-15. (Does anyone doubt that if he had more run support and went, say, 21-9, that he would have won the award easily?)

The worst MVP selections of my lifetime were in 1987. Both leagues had horrible choices. The AL's selection of George Bell was especially egregious. I'm not sure Bell was even one of the ten best players in the league. His mediot numbers look impressive, but he wasn't a particularly disciplined hitter, so there's less to them than meets the eye. Dwight Evans had a whopping 65-point edge in OBP (more than making up for Bell's 36-point SLG edge, especially when considering the relative value of the skills) and was a far superior defensive player. He also did well in traditional stats, with 123 RBI, 34 HR, and a .305 batting average. Mark McGwire had an 18-point advantage in OBP and a 13-point advantage in SLG in a worse hitter's park while leading the league with 49 HR. Wade Boggs' league-leading .461 OBP just demolishes Bell's mark of .352, and Boggs actually managed to hit 24 HR and was only 17 points behind Bell in SLG. He also played a more valuable defensive position. Alan Trammell had a 50-point edge in OBP, played a far more valuable defensive position very well, slugged .551, and his team won. This vote was just goofy - I can't think of any justification, either traditionalist or sabermetric, for it. The only thing I can think of is that some voters automatically voted for the RBI leader, which is inexcusable - if they're going to use statistics, they should use worthwhile ones that measure a player's contributions, not team statistics attached to an individual.

The NL voting in '87 was horrible too, with Andre Dawson winning the award despite a putrid .328 OBP. Tim Raines, Jack Clark, Darryl Strawberry, Howard Johnson, Mike Schmidt, and Eric Davis all had better years.

You can't even be serious. Clemens has a very good case to be the second-best pitcher in the NL, and he was very close to being the best.

I'm completely serious. Randy Johnson had a far superior season to Clemens, and I'd rank some low run-support guys like Ben Sheets and Oliver Perez above and equal to Clemens, respectively.

Batista did hit more than twice as many home runs as Hinske, while playing half his games parks much less favourable to hitters and home run hitting. Plus he's not fat.

In all fairness to Hinske, he looks like he devoted himself to getting in shape during the 2003-04 winter. I don't think it's really fair to slag the guy for that-indeed I complimented him at a game for it this year after he beat out a hit.

As for Batista hitting more home runs; BP has all those home runs adding up to an extra 1.4 VORP. Hinske did beat him in obp by about 40 points. For those who are interested, Hinske was a good 30 points of OBP below the average OBP of an AL 3B? Where does that leave Batista?

Both of these guys posted absolutely terrible seasons. Unfortunately, while DC Baseball is free of Batista, we're stuck with the disaster that is Eric Hinske, to the tune of 13/3.

DC Baseball

Now THAT -- seriously -- would be a great name for the relocated Expos. Sounds a bit like DC United in MLS, or the many FC world football clubs.

Much as I'd like to take credit for DC Baseball, it's MLB using the monikor. I got it from the scroll down feature team listings on the Blue Jays website. Interestingly, the Expos website is still being updated. Bizarre.

Sounds like one of those video games where they aren't allowed to use a player's real name, so they call him 'MH Pitch' or something.

Robin Yount winning MVP in 1989 over Ruben Sierra was something of a minor travesty.