Mid-Season Baseball Awards: Staff Picks

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

1. Bret Boone 10 83 (5) (.313/.373/.591/46.9/52.7)
   
2. Carlos Delgado 10 77 (5) (313/.424/.629/45.8/46.4)
   
3. Nomar Garciaparra 9 51 (.319/.357/.541/41.4/41.1)
   
4. Alex Rodriguez 5 17 (.285/.373/.544/37.4/38.3)
   
5. Melvin Mora 9 18 (.349/.443/.560/40.7/43.1)
   
6. Manny Ramirez 3 5 (.319/.413/.571/42.5/38.3)
   
7. Edgar Martinez 1 3 (.304/.408/.546/33.7/38.9)
   
8. Jorge Posada 1 3 (.252/.402/.482/34.2/26.9)
   
9. Alfonso Soriano 2 2 (.292/.345/.511/36.1/34.7)
   
10. 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

1. Albert Pujols 10 88 (6) (.368/.432/.690/52.4/59.6)
   
2. Barry Bonds 10 76 (4) (.316/.496/.719/59.4/65.6)
   
3. Gary Sheffield 9 27 (.327/.423/.596/39.6/44.2)
   
4. Mike Lowell 7 26 (.275/.351/.586/33.8/42.3)
   
5. Jim Edmonds 6 24 (.303/.398/.668/41.5/44.4)
   
6. Rafael Furcal 2 10 (.282/.344/.473/26.0/32.4)
   
7. Edgar Renteria 3 9 (.331/.382/.485/34.5/38.9)
   
8. Andruw Jones 1 3 (.280/.356/.522/22.1/27.0)
   
9. Javier Lopez 1 1 (.307/.352/.636/28.3/33.9)
   
10. 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

1. Esteban Loaiza 10 95 (9) (2.21, 130.1, 4.8, 51.9)
   
2. Mark Mulder 7 38 (3.03, 139.2, 4.1, 42.2)
   
3. Mike Mussina 5 31 (3.26, 124.1, 2.9, 32.1)
   
4. Tim Hudson 5 21 (2.71, 143.0, 3.5, 41.3)
   
5. Roy Halladay 2 15 (1) (3.41, 153.0, 2.5, 33.1)
   
6. Barry Zito 4 14 (3.28, 134.1, 2.9, 34.5)
   
7. Pedro Martinez 4 10 (2.36, 103.0, 3.5, 36.3)
   
8. David Wells 2 10 (3.76, 127.0, 2.0, 26.7)
   
9. Brendan Donnelly 5 9 (0.38, 48.0, 23.6 ARP, 28.6)
   
10. 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

1. Kevin Brown 10 81 (5) (2.30, 117.1, 3.2, 39.0)
   
2. Jason Schmidt 7 59 (4) (2.37, 133.0, 3.4, 45.3)
   
3. Mark Prior 6 27 (1) (3.01, 128.2, 2.4, 27.6)
   
4. Kerry Wood 6 18 (3.19, 127.0, 2.9, 33.7)
   
5. Woody Williams 3 17 (3.01, 134.2, 2.8, 37.0)
   
6. Hideo Nomo 5 15 (2.97, 142.1, 2.8, 37.7)
   
7. Brandon Webb 3 13 (2.41, 97.0, 3.8, 35.3)
   
8. Eric Gagne 2 12 (1.99, 45.1, 11.4 ARP, 17.0)
   
9. John Smoltz 4 8 (0.95, 47.1, 19.2 ARP, 24.9)
   
10. 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

1. Dontrelle Willis 10 36 (3) (2.08, 82.1, 2.8, 31.2)
   
2. Brandon Webb 8 32 (5) (2.41, 97.0, 3.8, 35.3)
   
3. Hee Seop Choi 5 9 (1) (.239/.379/.465/8.9/8.4)
   
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

1. Rocco Baldelli 10 36 (4) (.304/.329/.446/13.5/14.9)
   
2. Hideki Matsui 9 33 (5) (.299/.356/.449/19.8/19.6)
   
3. Angel Berroa 3 11 (1) (.283/.343/.453/17.6/19.2)
   
4. 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:

1. Albert Pujols
   

2. Barry Bonds
   

3. Mike Lowell
   

4. Jim Edmonds
   

5. Gary Sheffield

NL Cy:

1. Kevin Brown
   

2. Jason Schmidt
   

3. Kerry Wood
   

4. Brandon Webb
   

5. John Smoltz

NL ROY:

1. Brandon Webb
   

2. Dontrelle Willis
   

3. Hee Seop Choi

AL MVP:

1. Bret Boone
   

2. Nomar Garciaparra
   

3. Carlos Delgado
   

4. Alex Rodriguez
   

5. Melvin Mora

AL Cy:

1. Esteban Loaiza
   

2. Mark Mulder
   

3. Tim Hudson
   

4. Barry Zito
   

5. Brendan Donnelly

AL ROY:

1. Hideki Matsui
   

2. Rocco Baldelli
   

3. Mark Teixiera

Will Carroll:

NL MVP:

1. Albert Pujols
   

2. Gary Sheffield
   

3. Rafael Furcal
   

4. Andruw Jones
   

5. Barry Bonds

AL MVP:

1. Carlos Delgado
   

2. Bret Boone
   

3. Melvin Mora
   

4. Edgar Martinez
   

5. Alfonso Soriano

NL Cy:

1. Kevin Brown
   

2. Mark Prior
   

3. Matt Morris
   

4. Woody Williams
   

5. Shawn Chacon

AL Cy:

1. Esteban Loaiza
   

2. Roy Halladay
   

3. Gil Meche
   

4. Mark Mulder
   

5. Jamie Moyer

AL ROY:

1. Baldelli…is there anyone else that’s even a reasonable pick?

NL ROY:

1. Hee Seop Choi
   

2. Dontrelle Willis
   

3. Xavier Nady

Gary Huckabay:

NL MVP:

1. Bonds
   

2. Pujols
   

3. Furcal
   

4. Lowell
   

5. Sheffield

AL MVP:

1. Delgado
   

2. Boone
   

3. Garciaparra
   

4. Mora
   

5. Manny Ramirez

AL Cy:

1. Loaiza
   

2. Mike Mussina
   

3. Kyle Lohse
   

4. Hudson
   

5. Johan Santana (yes, I’m serious)

NL Cy:

1. Brown
   

2. Williams
   

3. Hideo Nomo
   

4. Prior
   

5. Morris

AL ROY:

1. Baldelli
   

2. Teixeira
   

3. Matsui

NL ROY:

1. Jae Seo
   

2. Willis
   

3. Choi

Jonah Keri:

NL MVP:

1. Pujols
   

2. Bonds
   

3. Sheffield
   

4. Renteria
   

5. Lowell

AL MVP:

1. Boone
   

2. Garciaparra
   

3. Delgado
   

4. Ramirez
   

5. Soriano

NL Cy:

1. Brown
   

2. Williams
   

3. Nomo
   

4. Octavio Dotel
   

5. Prior

AL Cy:

1. Loaiza
   

2. Mussina
   

3. Donnelly
   

4. Mulder
   

5. Moyer

NL ROY:

1. Webb
   

2. Willis
   

3. Claudio Vargas

AL ROY:

1. Matsui
   

2. Baldelli
   

3. Teixeira

David Cameron:

NL MVP:

1. Pujols
   

2. Bonds
   

3. Lowell
   

4. Edmonds
   

5. Sheffield

Lots of outfielders.

AL MVP:

1. Boone
   

2. Garciaparra
   

3. Delgado
   

4. Rodriguez
   

5. Mora

NL Cy:

1. Schmidt
   

2. Brown
   

3. Prior
   

4. Wood
   

5. Nomo

Check out Hideo’s home/road splits. Insane.

AL Cy Young:

1. Loaiza
   

2. Mulder
   

3. Hudson
   

4. Zito
   

5. Pedro Martinez

A’s pitchers are good.

NL ROY:

1. Willis
   

2. Seo
   

3. Webb

Seo almost got my vote.

AL ROY:

1. Matsui
   

2. Baldelli
   

3. Teixeira

Michael Wolverton:

NL MVP:

1. Bonds
   

2. Pujols
   

3. Edmonds
   

4. Renteria
   

5. Lowell

How are the Cardinals not running away with the NL Central?

AL MVP:

1. Boone
   

2. Rodriguez
   

3. Delgado
   

4. Garciaparra
   

5. Mora

NL Cy:

1. Schmidt
   

2. Brown
   

3. Smoltz
   

4. Webb
   

5. Wood

AL Cy:

1. Loaiza
   

2. Mulder
   

3. Hudson
   

4. Zito
   

5. Donnelly

NL ROY:

1. Webb
   

2. Willis
   

3. Vargas

AL ROY:

1. Baldelli
   

2. Matsui
   

3. Angel Berroa

Dayn Perry:

NL MVP

1. Bonds
   

2. Pujols
   

3. Edmonds
   

4. Sheffield
   

5. Javier Lopez

AL MVP:

1. Delgado
   

2. Garciaparra
   

3. Boone
   

4. Rodriguez
   

5. Mora

NL Cy:

1. Prior
   

2. Schmidt
   

3. Brown
   

4. Wood
   

5. Smoltz

AL Cy:

1. Halladay
   

2. Wells
   

3. Loaiza
   

4. Mussina
   

5. Roger Clemens

NL ROY:

1. Webb
   

2. Willis
   

3. Scott Podsednik

AL ROY:

1. Berroa
   

2. Baldelli
   

3. Matsui

Ryan Wilkins:

NL MVP:

1. Bonds
   

2. Pujols
   

3. Lowell
   

4. Renteria
   

5. Sheffield

The first two were close. When in doubt, though, give it to the guy who gets on base half the time.

AL MVP:

1. Boone
   

2. Delgado
   

3. Garciaparra
   

4. Posada
   

5. Rodriguez

Boone over Delgado, thanks to my up-the-middle bias and better defense. Posada, meanwhile, has turned into a walking fool.

NL Cy:

1. Schmidt
   

2. Brown
   

3. Eric Gagne
   

4. Wood
   

5. Nomo

Mmm…strikeout rate.

AL Cy:

1. Loaiza
   

2. Mussina
   

3. Mulder
   

4. Martinez
   

5. 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

1. Matsui
   

2. Teixeira
   

3. 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

1. Willis
   

2. Webb
   

3. 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:

1. Delgado
   

2. Boone
   

3. Garciaparra
   

4. Mora
   

5. Ramirez

NL MVP:

1. Pujols
   

2. Bonds
   

3. Edmonds
   

4. Sheffield
   

5. Lowell

AL Cy:

1. Loaiza
   

2. Mulder
   

3. Zito
   

4. Hudson
   

5. Martinez

NL Cy:

1. Schmidt
   

2. Webb
   

3. Brown
   

4. Nomo
   

5. Smoltz

AL ROY

1. Matsui
   

2. Baldelli
   

3. Berroa

NL ROY

1. Webb
   

2. Willis
   

3. Vargas

Nate Silver:

AL MVP:

1. Delgado
   

2. Boone
   

3. Garciaparra
   

4. Mora
   

5. 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:

1. Pujols
   

2. Bonds
   

3. Sheffield
   

4. Edmonds
   

5. 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:

1. Loaiza
   

2. Mussina
   

3. Martinez
   

4. David Wells
   

5. Donnelly

Mussina will probably end up the winner, both on merit and BBWAA subjectivity.

NL Cy:

1. Brown
   

2. Gagne
   

3. Schmidt
   

4. Wood
   

5. 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:

1. Baldelli
   

2. Matsui
   

3. Teixiera

Matsui might be ahead in another couple of days.

NL ROY:

1. Willis
   

2. Webb
   

3. 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.