Major League Baseball First Half Awards

With the first half of the season now officially over, it’s time to give out some awards. It will be both by team and by player. Some of these are awards should be an honor; others, not so much. So here we go, The 3 Point Conversion MLB Mid-Season Awards.

 

American League:

Rookie of the Half: Gleyber Torres, Second Base, New York Yankees

Earlier in the year, it looked like Torres was going to run away with Rookie of the Year. Normally, hitting 15 home runs, batting nearly .300, and having 42 RBI in the first half of the season would make you the clear cut favorite. Then Chicago White Sox outfielder Daniel Palka came on strong. The one thing that will hurt Torres going forward is that teammate Miguel Andujar is also in the race. For now though, Torres is the man.

 

Bust of the Half: Dee Gordon, Outfielder/Second Baseman, Seattle Mariners

The problem with Gordon hasn’t been that he’s been bad, but rather the hype surrounding his exodus. He was part of the Miami Marlins purge that saw Giancarlo Stanton and Marcell Ozuna traded plus constant rumors being floated for J.T. Realmuto. Gordon hasn’t lived up to the expectation. The one thing that can be said though, he’s been a good fit following the Robinson Cano performance enhancing drugs suspension.

 

Cy Young: Blake Snell, Pitcher, Tampa Bay Rays

This is hard because there’s about four pitchers that could be in this race. Boston Red Sox Chris Sale had the best earned run average and the most strike outs in the American League. New York’s Luis Severino currently leads the league in wins. Meanwhile, Cleveland Indians’ Trevor Bauer meanwhile is second in strike outs and ERA to Sale.

So why Snell? Because he’s a top five pitcher in wins, wins above replacement and ERA as well as top ten in strike outs, walks and hits per innings pitched. The Cy Young award is given to the best pitcher as a whole, which Snell has been.

 

MVP: J.D. Martinez, Designated Hitter/Outfielder, Boston Red Sox

Not bad for a guy who signed part way through spring training. Martinez currently leads the MLB in home runs and RBI. He’s also third in the American League in batting average. Simply put, he’s outhit Los Angeles Angels Mike Trout and Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez. If he can keep up his stride, he could be the first player to hit for the triple crown since Miguel Cabrera in 2012.

 

Most Disappointing Team: Los Angeles Angels

Could it be the injuries? Could it be the hype? Both seem very likely, but the none the less, they’ve been the biggest disappointing team. Losing rookie phenom Shohei Ohtani really hurt, but it’s one player. Mike Trout has been his usual dominate self but the other players on the team haven’t perform well. This is a team that should be significantly higher than .500. Instead they’re just above .500.

 

Best Team: Boston Red Sox

Going into this season, it was very likely that a team in the east was going to have the best team. However, the team that was thought to be the best is the third best team in the league. Instead, the Red Sox have flexed their muscle. They’re on pace to have a season reminiscent of the 2001 Seattle Mariners who won 116 games. The only thing is, winning a lot of games means nothing unless you bring home the hardware.

 

National League:

Rookie of the Half: Brian Anderson, Outfielder, Miami Marlins

While San Diego’s Christian Villanueva has been crushing the ball, the problem is that he’s only been a powerhouse. Anderson has been a more solid all around player. While he isn’t as well known as Atlanta’s Ronald Acuna Jr, sometimes the quieter seasons are the most successful.

 

Bust of the Half: Jake Arrieta, Pitcher, Philadelphia Phillies

When the words “Cy Young award winner” gets thrown around, it’s often held in high esteem. Unfortunately for Arrieta, that’s not the case. He’s barely in the top 20 for wins, he’s 11th in era and he’s not even close to the top 50 in strike outs. While he wasn’t expected to be great, he was expected to be at least better than this.

 

Cy Young Award: Max Scherzer, Pitcher, Washington Nationals

This is a no brainer. While he is tied for most wins with Philadelphia’s Aaron Nola and Chicago’s Jon Lester, he’s the undisputed leader in strike outs and is fourth in ERA. It would be a major collapse for Scherzer to lose this award. However, anything can happen in professional baseball.

 

MVP: Max Scherzer, Pitcher, Washington Nationals

This is a rare occurrence because the pitcher’s MVP award is the Cy Young award. However, considering that Scherzer has been one of the most valuable players in the league to his team, it’s hard not to give it to him. It seems like National League players haven’t really taken off from each other in the same way the American League has but it’s hard not to see Scherzer and at least consider him. He’d be the first pitcher since Los Angeles’ Clayton Kershaw but it could be time to see it happen again.

 

Worst Team: New York Mets

It was only three years ago that the Mets were in the World Series. The crazy thing is they haven’t lost a lot of those pieces, they just kind of fell down to earth. It’s hard not to see them starting over in the near future, especially with a likely change at general manager. While it’s not their biggest collapse (look at the years after the 2000 World Series team), it’s just not pretty.

 

Best Team: Chicago Cubs

At this juncture, the Cubbies are the top dog. However, they’re about to enter a dog fight with the Milwaukee Brewers for the top spot in the National League central, the way that the Red Sox and Yankees are about to go to war in the American League east. The Brewers and the Cubs have the same amount of wins, but the Brewers have played more games. This league is going to see a war zone and it wouldn’t be shocking to see eight teams fighting for this spot. However, as it sits now, the Cubs are highlander.