Welcome all to the results of the Baseball Prospectus Mid-Season Awards.
The points system is 10-7-5-3-1 for the MVP and Cy Young Awards, and 5-3-1 for the Rookie Awards. BP authors’ picks, with occasional comments, are included below the awards standings.
Hitters: Ballots, Points (1st Place Votes), (Avg/OBP/SLG/RARP/VORP)
Pitchers: Ballots, Points (1st Place Votes), (ERA, IP, SNWAR or ARP, VORP)
The AL MVP award was the classic battle between the best up-the middle player and the big slugger, and in this case the second baseman was the winner by a nose.
AL MVP
- Bret Boone 10 83 (5) (.313/.373/.591/46.9/52.7)
- Carlos Delgado 10 77 (5) (313/.424/.629/45.8/46.4)
- Nomar Garciaparra 9 51 (.319/.357/.541/41.4/41.1)
- Alex Rodriguez 5 17 (.285/.373/.544/37.4/38.3)
- Melvin Mora 9 18 (.349/.443/.560/40.7/43.1)
- Manny Ramirez 3 5 (.319/.413/.571/42.5/38.3)
- Edgar Martinez 1 3 (.304/.408/.546/33.7/38.9)
- Jorge Posada 1 3 (.252/.402/.482/34.2/26.9)
- Alfonso Soriano 2 2 (.292/.345/.511/36.1/34.7)
- Ichiro Suzuki 1 1 (.352/.390/.476/33.6/36.7)
The NL MVP vote was a battle between sluggers, and for once the usual Internet Baseball Awards winner finds himself in second place.
NL MVP
- Albert Pujols 10 88 (6) (.368/.432/.690/52.4/59.6)
- Barry Bonds 10 76 (4) (.316/.496/.719/59.4/65.6)
- Gary Sheffield 9 27 (.327/.423/.596/39.6/44.2)
- Mike Lowell 7 26 (.275/.351/.586/33.8/42.3)
- Jim Edmonds 6 24 (.303/.398/.668/41.5/44.4)
- Rafael Furcal 2 10 (.282/.344/.473/26.0/32.4)
- Edgar Renteria 3 9 (.331/.382/.485/34.5/38.9)
- Andruw Jones 1 3 (.280/.356/.522/22.1/27.0)
- Javier Lopez 1 1 (.307/.352/.636/28.3/33.9)
- Scott Rolen 1 1 (.278/.379/.534/31.2/32.3)
The most one-sided vote of the mid-season awards is the one with the result that almost everyone would’ve thought was a total joke in March.
AL Cy Young
- Esteban Loaiza 10 95 (9) (2.21, 130.1, 4.8, 51.9)
- Mark Mulder 7 38 (3.03, 139.2, 4.1, 42.2)
- Mike Mussina 5 31 (3.26, 124.1, 2.9, 32.1)
- Tim Hudson 5 21 (2.71, 143.0, 3.5, 41.3)
- Roy Halladay 2 15 (1) (3.41, 153.0, 2.5, 33.1)
- Barry Zito 4 14 (3.28, 134.1, 2.9, 34.5)
- Pedro Martinez 4 10 (2.36, 103.0, 3.5, 36.3)
- David Wells 2 10 (3.76, 127.0, 2.0, 26.7)
- Brendan Donnelly 5 9 (0.38, 48.0, 23.6 ARP, 28.6)
- Gil Meche 1 5 (3.61, 112.1, 2.0, 22.7)
The aged sinkerballer easily beat the power pitcher in the contest for the NL’s best pitcher of the first half.
NL Cy Young
- Kevin Brown 10 81 (5) (2.30, 117.1, 3.2, 39.0)
- Jason Schmidt 7 59 (4) (2.37, 133.0, 3.4, 45.3)
- Mark Prior 6 27 (1) (3.01, 128.2, 2.4, 27.6)
- Kerry Wood 6 18 (3.19, 127.0, 2.9, 33.7)
- Woody Williams 3 17 (3.01, 134.2, 2.8, 37.0)
- Hideo Nomo 5 15 (2.97, 142.1, 2.8, 37.7)
- Brandon Webb 3 13 (2.41, 97.0, 3.8, 35.3)
- Eric Gagne 2 12 (1.99, 45.1, 11.4 ARP, 17.0)
- John Smoltz 4 8 (0.95, 47.1, 19.2 ARP, 24.9)
- Matt Morris 2 6 (4.19, 124.2, 1.2, 17.8)
The brightest new star of the year managed to outshine the rest of the NL rookie class.
NL Rookie
- Dontrelle Willis 10 36 (3) (2.08, 82.1, 2.8, 31.2)
- Brandon Webb 8 32 (5) (2.41, 97.0, 3.8, 35.3)
- Hee Seop Choi 5 9 (1) (.239/.379/.465/8.9/8.4)
- Jae Weong Seo 2 4 (1) (3.64, 108.2, 1.1, 14.3)
The always controversial race between the young rookie and the first-year Japanese veteran finished with the youngster in front by a whisker.
AL Rookie
- Rocco Baldelli 10 36 (4) (.304/.329/.446/13.5/14.9)
- Hideki Matsui 9 33 (5) (.299/.356/.449/19.8/19.6)
- Angel Berroa 3 11 (1) (.283/.343/.453/17.6/19.2)
- Mark Teixeira 6 10 (.254/.339/.481/9.8/7.2)
Stay tuned for the full Internet Baseball Awards at the end of the 2003 season.
Jeff Hildebrand:
NL MVP:
-
Albert Pujols
-
Barry Bonds
-
Mike Lowell
-
Jim Edmonds
- Gary Sheffield
NL Cy:
-
Kevin Brown
-
Jason Schmidt
-
Kerry Wood
-
Brandon Webb
- John Smoltz
NL ROY:
-
Brandon Webb
-
Dontrelle Willis
- Hee Seop Choi
AL MVP:
-
Bret Boone
-
Nomar Garciaparra
-
Carlos Delgado
-
Alex Rodriguez
- Melvin Mora
AL Cy:
-
Esteban Loaiza
-
Mark Mulder
-
Tim Hudson
-
Barry Zito
- Brendan Donnelly
AL ROY:
-
Hideki Matsui
-
Rocco Baldelli
- Mark Teixiera
Will Carroll:
NL MVP:
-
Albert Pujols
-
Gary Sheffield
-
Rafael Furcal
-
Andruw Jones
- Barry Bonds
AL MVP:
-
Carlos Delgado
-
Bret Boone
-
Melvin Mora
-
Edgar Martinez
- Alfonso Soriano
NL Cy:
-
Kevin Brown
-
Mark Prior
-
Matt Morris
-
Woody Williams
- Shawn Chacon
AL Cy:
-
Esteban Loaiza
-
Roy Halladay
-
Gil Meche
-
Mark Mulder
- Jamie Moyer
AL ROY:
- Baldelli…is there anyone else that’s even a reasonable pick?
NL ROY:
-
Hee Seop Choi
-
Dontrelle Willis
- Xavier Nady
Gary Huckabay:
NL MVP:
-
Bonds
-
Pujols
-
Furcal
-
Lowell
- Sheffield
AL MVP:
-
Delgado
-
Boone
-
Garciaparra
-
Mora
- Manny Ramirez
AL Cy:
-
Loaiza
-
Mike Mussina
-
Kyle Lohse
-
Hudson
- Johan Santana (yes, I’m serious)
NL Cy:
-
Brown
-
Williams
-
Hideo Nomo
-
Prior
- Morris
AL ROY:
-
Baldelli
-
Teixeira
- Matsui
NL ROY:
-
Jae Seo
-
Willis
- Choi
Jonah Keri:
NL MVP:
-
Pujols
-
Bonds
-
Sheffield
-
Renteria
- Lowell
AL MVP:
-
Boone
-
Garciaparra
-
Delgado
-
Ramirez
- Soriano
NL Cy:
-
Brown
-
Williams
-
Nomo
-
Octavio Dotel
- Prior
AL Cy:
-
Loaiza
-
Mussina
-
Donnelly
-
Mulder
- Moyer
NL ROY:
-
Webb
-
Willis
- Claudio Vargas
AL ROY:
-
Matsui
-
Baldelli
- Teixeira
David Cameron:
NL MVP:
-
Pujols
-
Bonds
-
Lowell
-
Edmonds
- Sheffield
Lots of outfielders.
AL MVP:
-
Boone
-
Garciaparra
-
Delgado
-
Rodriguez
- Mora
NL Cy:
-
Schmidt
-
Brown
-
Prior
-
Wood
- Nomo
Check out Hideo’s home/road splits. Insane.
AL Cy Young:
-
Loaiza
-
Mulder
-
Hudson
-
Zito
- Pedro Martinez
A’s pitchers are good.
NL ROY:
-
Willis
-
Seo
- Webb
Seo almost got my vote.
AL ROY:
-
Matsui
-
Baldelli
- Teixeira
Michael Wolverton:
NL MVP:
-
Bonds
-
Pujols
-
Edmonds
-
Renteria
- Lowell
How are the Cardinals not running away with the NL Central?
AL MVP:
-
Boone
-
Rodriguez
-
Delgado
-
Garciaparra
- Mora
NL Cy:
-
Schmidt
-
Brown
-
Smoltz
-
Webb
- Wood
AL Cy:
-
Loaiza
-
Mulder
-
Hudson
-
Zito
- Donnelly
NL ROY:
-
Webb
-
Willis
- Vargas
AL ROY:
-
Baldelli
-
Matsui
- Angel Berroa
Dayn Perry:
NL MVP
-
Bonds
-
Pujols
-
Edmonds
-
Sheffield
- Javier Lopez
AL MVP:
-
Delgado
-
Garciaparra
-
Boone
-
Rodriguez
- Mora
NL Cy:
-
Prior
-
Schmidt
-
Brown
-
Wood
- Smoltz
AL Cy:
-
Halladay
-
Wells
-
Loaiza
-
Mussina
- Roger Clemens
NL ROY:
-
Webb
-
Willis
- Scott Podsednik
AL ROY:
-
Berroa
-
Baldelli
- Matsui
Ryan Wilkins:
NL MVP:
-
Bonds
-
Pujols
-
Lowell
-
Renteria
- Sheffield
The first two were close. When in doubt, though, give it to the guy who gets on base half the time.
AL MVP:
-
Boone
-
Delgado
-
Garciaparra
-
Posada
- Rodriguez
Boone over Delgado, thanks to my up-the-middle bias and better defense. Posada, meanwhile, has turned into a walking fool.
NL Cy:
-
Schmidt
-
Brown
-
Eric Gagne
-
Wood
- Nomo
Mmm…strikeout rate.
AL Cy:
-
Loaiza
-
Mussina
-
Mulder
-
Martinez
- Donnelly
If Loaiza wasn’t SO far ahead of the pack, I might have taken Mussina or Mulder. At the halfway point, however, I don’t think there’s been quite enough Joe Mays Disease in his system to justify bumping him down a full notch.
NL ROY
-
Matsui
-
Teixeira
- Baldelli
Three weeks ago, this list was reversed in order. It should be interesting to see how Matsui holds up for the rest of the year, and if Teixeira can have that one big month that really gets him noticed by the voters.
NL ROY
-
Willis
-
Webb
- Choi
Choi makes the list over Seo for reasons that aren’t all that good. It just felt weird to have only pitchers on my ballot, I think.
Greg Spira:
AL MVP:
-
Delgado
-
Boone
-
Garciaparra
-
Mora
- Ramirez
NL MVP:
-
Pujols
-
Bonds
-
Edmonds
-
Sheffield
- Lowell
AL Cy:
-
Loaiza
-
Mulder
-
Zito
-
Hudson
- Martinez
NL Cy:
-
Schmidt
-
Webb
-
Brown
-
Nomo
- Smoltz
AL ROY
-
Matsui
-
Baldelli
- Berroa
NL ROY
-
Webb
-
Willis
- Vargas
Nate Silver:
AL MVP:
-
Delgado
-
Boone
-
Garciaparra
-
Mora
- Ichiro Suzuki
Delgado has hit insanely well with RISP, and I think that deserves some recognition here, even if there’s no predictive value. Ichiro…well, I’m probably giving him too much credit for the M’s defensive performance, and I’m in a frisky mood this morning.
NL MVP:
-
Pujols
-
Bonds
-
Sheffield
-
Edmonds
- Scott Rolen
Pujols has pulled a little bit ahead of Bonds in the past few weeks. I’m taking Rolen ahead of one of the (also deserving) SS candidates because I think he has as much defensive value as any player in the game. Still, I’m a little bit uncomfortable having three Cardinals on the list.
AL Cy:
-
Loaiza
-
Mussina
-
Martinez
-
David Wells
- Donnelly
Mussina will probably end up the winner, both on merit and BBWAA subjectivity.
NL Cy:
-
Brown
-
Gagne
-
Schmidt
-
Wood
- Prior
I know Gagne doesn’t do so well under the Wolverton numbers, but he’s pitching ultra high-leverage innings. I have a bias toward dominant (read: high K rate) pitchers, which reveals itself in my selection of the two Cubs.
AL ROY:
-
Baldelli
-
Matsui
- Teixiera
Matsui might be ahead in another couple of days.
NL ROY:
-
Willis
-
Webb
- Choi
Webb is probably ahead on points, but Willis has better peripherals and I think he’s more likely to be a star going forward. Plus he’s the savior of our Tout Wars team.
Thank you for reading
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