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It's time to announce the winners of the 12th annual Internet Baseball Awards. More than 1,500 cyberspace baseball fans participated in this effort to select the baseball players whose 2003 seasons were most deserving of honors.
The point system for the balloting was as follows:
- Player of the Year ballots: 14 points for first-place votes, nine points for second-place votes, eight points for third-place votes, etc., down to one point for a tenth-place vote.
- Pitcher of the Year ballots: 10 points for first-place votes, seven points for second-place votes, five points for third-place votes, three points for fourth-place, and one point for fifth-place votes. (This is the one award where our point system differs from the BBWAA point system, because we use a longer ballot.)
- Rookie of the Year ballots: five points for first-place votes, three points for second-place votes, and one point for third-place votes.
- Manager of the Year ballots: five points for first-place votes, three points for second-place votes, and one point for third-place votes.
And now, the results:
National League Player of the Year
Rk Name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 B P ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 B. Bonds 1271 176 36 15 10 4 3 1 2 2 1520 19872 2 A. Pujols 195 1151 92 28 11 8 5 2 1 3 1496 14158 3 G. Sheffield 9 35 489 355 181 76 46 17 15 12 1235 8581 4 J. Lopez 12 42 394 265 151 87 41 20 14 10 1036 7156 5 J. Thome 6 14 94 181 198 126 76 60 48 37 840 4664 6 E. Gagne 10 38 130 131 109 100 90 62 58 37 765 4292 7 M. Prior 5 18 72 104 112 108 96 66 55 24 660 3464 8 T. Helton 1 10 45 101 134 104 85 86 59 61 686 3272 9 I. Rodriguez 9 14 46 73 104 73 43 65 25 33 485 2570 10 M. Giles 0 2 21 51 84 90 73 67 50 34 472 2124
Complete results for NL Player of the Year
It will be no surprise to anyone that Barry Bonds has won the 2003 Internet NL Player of the Year award. This is the fourth straight year and the seventh year overall that Bonds has won this award, and he has finished third or higher in the voting every year he has had at least 501 plate appearances. Albert Pujols, who finished fourth last year, earned second place by a large margin. Gary Sheffield, who finished third, made the top five in Internet Player of the Year voting for the first time since 1996. Another Brave–Javy Lopez–took the fourth spot, with what was probably the biggest surprise season for an everyday player in the majors; Lopez' previous high finish was 24th in 1998. Jim Thome's move to the National League in 2003 didn't change how he did in Internet Player of the Year voting; he finished fifth in his league's Player of the Year voting for the second consecutive year. Thome has now finished in his league's top-15 eight of the last nine years. Eric Gagne's sixth place finish not only makes him this year's highest ranked pitcher but also the highest ranked reliever in Internet Player of the Year voting ever. Todd Helton's eight-place finish makes him the highest ranking player and the only player in the top 16 on a losing team.
American League Player of the Year
Rk Name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 B P ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 A. Rodriguez 1109 188 85 31 37 18 17 9 4 5 1503 18535 2 C. Delgado 134 363 299 221 141 54 48 15 14 7 1296 10470 3 M. Ramirez 66 214 233 197 134 104 68 45 33 14 1108 7904 4 B. Boone 21 232 189 153 132 76 59 21 23 16 922 6498 5 J. Posada 76 193 170 143 125 59 27 36 26 13 868 6488 6 N. Garciaparra 19 66 66 125 108 94 72 70 42 29 691 3992 7 D. Ortiz 72 69 65 58 50 32 34 28 29 26 463 3319 8 P. Martinez 15 51 54 82 86 62 65 40 35 29 519 2980 9 C. Beltran 17 25 68 62 92 70 50 44 30 29 487 2764 10 R. Halladay 7 19 38 61 68 62 62 66 38 28 449 2268
Complete results for AL Player of the Year
Alex Rodriguez didn't have one of his very best seasons, but his year was still great enough to earn him the 2003 Internet AL Player of the Year award. This is the third time he's won the award. He's also had three second-place finishes in his career. Carlos Delgado, whose career season in 2000 led to a third place finish, had the second best year of his career for the Blue Jays, and finished second. Manny Ramirez, who had a equally productive season, finished third, and is the highest ranked of five Red Sox to finish in the top eleven. Bret Boone finished fourth, marking the second time in his career he has finished in the top four. Jorge Posada, who at fifth finished in the top-14 for the first time in his career, was the only player in the top-13 to play on a division winner. Nomar Garciaparra, who won this award back in 1998, finished sixth for the third time in his career. Pedro Martinez, the only pitcher to ever win an Internet Player of the Year, finished in the eighth spot as the highest ranked pitcher.
National League Pitcher of the Year
Rk Name 1 2 3 4 5 B P ----------------------------------------------------------- 1 M. Prior 559 534 262 58 14 1427 10826 2 E. Gagne 535 278 324 122 54 1313 9336 3 J. Schmidt 352 479 336 57 17 1241 8741 4 B. Webb 18 65 87 157 108 435 1649 5 K. Brown 2 20 137 177 124 460 1500
Complete results for NL Pitcher of the Year
In one of the closest Internet Baseball Award races ever, Cubs ace Mark Prior edged out Dodgers closer Eric Gagne for the 2003 Internet NL Player of the Year. In his first full major league season, Prior was often dominant, striking out 245 in 211.1 innings while posting a 2.43 ERA, and that performance evidently boosted him with the voters ahead of Gagne, who may have had the best season of any closer ever, saving 55 games in 55 opprtunities while holding batters to a .133 average, .196 OBP, and .176 SLG. Gagne's second-place finish does, however, match the highest rank ever achieved by a reliever in Internet Player of the Year voting, one previously achieved only by Mariano Rivera in 1996. Jason Schmidt, who lead the National League in ERA, finished a very strong third. Brandon Webb, in fourth, finished higher in Internet Player of the Year voting than any rookie pitcher since Hideo Nomo in 1995. Kevin Brown's fifth-place finish marks the sixth time he's finished in the top 10, though it's the first time since 2000. No players from losing teams finished in the top 25 this year.
American League Pitcher of the Year
Rk Name 1 2 3 4 5 B P ----------------------------------------------------------- 1 R. Halladay 746 316 218 158 24 1462 11260 2 P. Martinez 392 414 330 173 66 1375 9053 3 E. Loaiza 207 385 424 270 60 1346 7755 4 T. Hudson 168 323 338 266 63 1158 6492 5 J. Moyer 10 27 44 77 154 312 894
Complete results for AL Pitcher of the Year
Roy Halladay fought off strong competition to win the 2003 Internet AL Player of the Year award. Halladay, who finished fourth in the voting last year, earned almost half the first place votes of the electorate by leading the majors in innings pitched with 266 while posting a 3.25 ERA, the fifth lowest figure in the league. Pedro Martinez, the winner of four previous Internet Player of the Year awards, finished in second place for the second time in his career after posting a league-leading 2.22 ERA. The most surprising starting pitcher of the year, Esteban Loaiza, finished in third place after pitching a career high 226.1 innings with an ERA more than 2 runs per 9 innings lower than his average ERA over the previous five seasons. Tim Hudson, who finished in second place in both innings pitched and ERA, finished fourth, marking the fifth year in a row he's finished in the top ten. Keith Foulke was the highest ranking reliever in seventh place. Brendan Donnelly, in 14th place, was the highest ranking pitcher from a losing team.
National League Rookie of the Year
Rk Name 1 2 3 B P -------------------------------------------- 1 B. Webb 972 238 52 1262 5626 2 D. Willis 168 601 427 1196 3070 3 S. Podsednik 220 392 316 928 2592
Complete results for NL Rookie of the Year
Brandon Webb wasn't on anybody's top prospect list before the season, but he turned out to be the top performing rookie in the major leagues last year and as a result Internet voters selected him as their NL Rookie of the Year. Webb didn't even receive that much attention during his great year because the Diamondbacks provided him with little offensive support, but he finished the season with a 2.84 ERA, the fourth best in the league, while holding league batters to a .212 average and striking out 172 batters in 180.2 innings. On the other hand, Dontrelle Willis, who finished in second place, was a true rookie sensation, catching the attention of baseball fans across the nation with his high leg kick and electrifying performances. And his overall numbers would be the best of any rookie pitcher most years; he finished with a 3.31 ERA and 142 strikeouts in 160.2 innings pitched. Scott Podsednik, a 27-year-old rookie centerfielder for the Brewers, finished third as a result of his out-of-nowhere excellent offensive performance; he hit .314/.379/.443 with 43 stolen bases and only 10 caught stealings. Miguel Cabrera, an extremely promising 20-year-old third baseman/outfielder for the Marlins, finished fourth, while Marlon Byrd, the 26-year-old Phillies centerfielder, finished fifth after a solid first season.
American League Rookie of the Year
Rk Name 1 2 3 B P
--------------------------------------------
1 A. Berroa 1015 184 58 1257 5685
2 H. Matsui 183 398 273 854 2382
3 R. Baldelli 108 222 304 634 1510
Complete results for AL Rookie of the Year
Angel Berroa was far from the most hyped rookie of the year, but he still was a decisive winner in the race for the 2003 Internet AL Rookie of the Year. Berroa, who was obtained from the Athletics in 2001 in the Johnny Damon trade, hit for a solid average and surprising power in his rookie season while playing a generally effective shortstop. Hideki Matsui, the outfielder who the Yankees imported from Japan, had a solid season despite hitting with less power than expected and finished in second place. Rocco Baldelli, Baseball America's 2002 Minor League Player of the Year, finished in third place despite his inability to maintain his early level of success at the plate all season. Indians outfielder Jody Gerut quietly had the best offensive season of any rookie, and finished fourth. In fifth place was Mark Texeira of the Texas Rangers, who Baseball Prospectus rated as the best prospect in baseball before the season, and still could end up being the best player of his rookie class.
National League Manager of the Year
Rk Name 1 2 3 B P -------------------------------------------- 1 J. McKeon 1064 204 41 1309 5973 2 D. Baker 159 346 212 717 2045 3 B. Cox 90 298 232 620 1576
Complete results for NL Manager of the Year
The 2003 Internet NL Manager of the Year award was won by Jack McKeon, who took over a moribound 16-22 Florida Marlins team in May from Jeff Torborg, turned the club around, and led it to the capture of the league's wild card spot and the second postseason in the team's history. The 72-year-old McKeon, one of the oldest managers in major league history, just missed winning this award in 1999 when he managed the Reds, but this year he outpolled every other NL manager by a very large margin. Dusty Baker, who won this award in 2000, finished in second placing after managing the Cubs' 2003 transformation from losers to division champions; he has finished among the top four vote getters four straight years. Bobby Cox, another previous winner (in 1998), finished in third place for the third time in the last four years. Cox steered the Braves to yet another division title in 2003, but unlike all his previous Braves teams, this year's version relied primarily on its offense. Felipe Alou, who took over a retooled Giants team and led them to the NL West crown, finished fourth, while Frank Robinson, managing the Expos through another turbulent year, finished fifth for the second year in a row.
American League Manager of the Year
Rk Name 1 2 3 B P -------------------------------------------- 1 T. Pena 1034 175 49 1258 5744 2 R. Gardenhire 119 305 169 593 1679 3 K. Macha 84 252 203 539 1379
Complete results for AL Manager of the Year
Tony Pena, in his first full season as a manager, breezed to an easy victory in the Internet AL Manager of the Year voting. Pena took a seemingly hapless Kansas City Royals team and kept them in the race for the AL Central title for most of the season before they finished with an 83-79 record. Pena was widely praised for bringing a high level of enthusiasm to the Royals. Ron Gardenhire, in his second year as a major league manager, finished in second place after leading the Twins to their second straight AL Central title. Last year Gardenhire finished third in the voting. Ken Macha, another rookie manager, placed third after picking the Athletics up from Art Howe and leading them to their second straight division championship. Grady Little, who led the Red Sox to the postseason in his second year as their manager, finished fourth. The Yankees' Joe Torre, who won this award in 1998, finished fifth.
Next time: Baseball Prospectus authors reveal their award selections…
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