November 8, 2001

Staff Balloting Roundup

And the Award goes to...

by Baseball Prospectus

Staff Ballots

As many of our readers were submitting their ballots for the Internet Baseball Awards, 13 Baseball Prospectus staffers went into the polling booths themselves, voicing their opinions on who should win the major baseball awards this year. Here are the results:

National League MVP

Player           Ballots (First)  Points
Barry Bonds              13 (13)     182
Sammy Sosa                    13     116
Luis Gonzalez                 13      97
Rich Aurilia                  13      85
Chipper Jones                 13      69
Randy Johnson                  9      52
Albert Pujols                 12      37
Curt Schilling                 8      26
Lance Berkman                  7      25
Mike Piazza                    6      24
Phil Nevin                     6      13
Shawn Green                    6      11
Gary Sheffield                 3       7
Todd Helton                    3       6
Larry Walker                   2       6
Scott Rolen                    1       5
Brian Giles                    2       3

Nobody should be stunned that Barry Bonds emerged on top unanimously; anybody who didn't put him there might have gotten their baseball analyst license revoked. In fact, there wasn't much disagreement about anyone in the top half of the list; each of the top five candidates appeared on every ballot. Randy Johnson, at sixth, got the most support of any pitcher in either MVP race.

American League MVP

Player           Ballots (First)  Points
Jason Giambi              13 (7)     152
Alex Rodriguez            13 (6)     147
Bret Boone                    13     102
Roberto Alomar                13     102
Jim Thome                     11      52
Bernie Williams                9      43
Derek Jeter                   10      39
Edgar Martinez                10      34
Manny Ramirez                  8      22
Ichiro Suzuki                  7      20
Mike Cameron                   5      15
Joe Mays                       3      11
Carlos Beltran                 3       7
Juan Gonzalez                  2       6
Carlos Delgado                 2       5
Mike Mussina                   1       5
Troy Glaus                     3       4
Eric Chavez                    2       3

There was both unanimity and disagreement about the AL MVP among the Prospectus staff. Every single ballot had the same top four candidates, but there was an almost down-the-middle split over whether Jason Giambi or Alex Rodriguez deserved the MVP. No doubt the Athletics' performance as a team was the key to Giambi's narrowest of victories. Nine of the 11 top AL vote-getters made the postseason.

National League Cy Young Award

Player           Ballots (First)  Points
Randy Johnson            13 (13)     130
Curt Schilling                13      91
Darryl Kile                   12      47
Matt Morris                   10      28
Greg Maddux                    6      18
Javier Vazquez                 6      10
Chan Ho Park                   2       6
John Burkett                   2       4
Wade Miller                    1       3
Al Leiter                      1       1

Every Prospectus ballot had the same top two names for the NL Cy Young. You might have noticed their performances in the World Series.

American League Cy Young Award

Player           Ballots (First)  Points
Mike Mussina              13 (3)      88
Joe Mays                  12 (5)      83
Mark Mulder               13 (3)      78
Freddy Garcia             10 (1)      49
Mark Buehrle                  10      20
Tim Hudson                 5 (1)      18
Roger Clemens                  1       1

Prospectus analysts ignored not only the league's best won-loss record but also the winner of the ERA title by selecting Yankee hurler Mike Mussina in an extremely close vote over the Twins' Joe Mays and the Athletics' Mark Mulder.

National League Rookie of the Year

Player           Ballots (First)  Points
Albert Pujols            13 (12)      63
Roy Oswalt                12 (1)      36
Jimmy Rollins                 11      13
Adam Dunn                      1       3
Shawn Chacon                   2       2

The BP staff may not have thought all that much of Albert Pujols's MVP candidacy, but they almost unanimously gave him their support for the NL Rookie of the Year award.

American League Rookie of the Year

Player           Ballots (First)  Points
Ichiro Suzuki            13 (12)      63
C.C. Sabathia             13 (1)      41
David Eckstein                 6       6
Alfonso Soriano                4       4
Joel Piniero                   2       2
Bob File                       1       1

Similarly, Ichiro's MVP candidacy may not have been taken particularly seriously here, but he easily won overwhelming support as the best of his rookie class.

National League Manager of the Year

Manager          Ballots (First)  Points
Jim Tracy                  7 (5)      31
Dusty Baker                4 (1)      14
Larry Bowa                 3 (2)      11
Bruce Bochy                    4      10
Tony LaRussa               3 (1)       9
Bob Brenly                 2 (1)       6
Larry Dierker                  3       5
John Boles                     2       2
Don Baylor                     1       1
Bobby Valentine                1       1

Only 10 staffers chose to submit a ballot for the Manager of the Year awards, and there was such a difference of opinion among those ten that ten different managers appeared on at at least one ballot. Clearly, there's a lot less agreement among these voters about what makes a good manager than on what makes a good player.

American League Manager of the Year

Manager          Ballots (First)  Points
Lou Piniella              10 (6)      40
Art Howe                   7 (1)      23
Tom Kelly                  4 (1)      10
Jimy Williams              5 (1)       9
Mike Scioscia              3 (1)       7
Joe Torre                      1       1

Clearly, winning 116 games can impress even the most skeptical Prospectus writer.