Notice: Trying to get property 'display_name' of non-object in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-seo/src/generators/schema/article.php on line 52
keyboard_arrow_uptop

What a long strange journey it’s been. You and me, and these crazy IBAs.

Ok, so, for the most part there’s been little to no changes in the voting back from when we started. I blame a mostly obvious group of candidates and a smart electorate. Still, even the “wide open” races like NL ROY have been fairly stagnant because apparently everybody loves them some Ender Inciarte. I don’t know.

Let’s run through some of the changes over the past couple weeks, while taking time to stop, and point and laugh at some of the more bizarre votes that took place. Sure, the likelihood is that someone turned their ballot in as a joke, but it’s far more fun to assume they really truly believe that Andrew Lambo (615 OPS, 72 OPS+, 39 at-bats) was the second best rookie in the National League this season.

We already mentioned Tony Sanchez and his 660 OPS in 75 at-bats getting a vote, but it’s far easier to swallow this vote when you realize the man acknowledges that a hot dog is a sandwich. Matt Szczur got a first place vote because Cubs Twitter is an angry, unwieldy beast that will ultimately consume itself, likely taking a couple other team twitters with it.

Still, there has been some movement since the voting began. Ken Giles was once challenging Inciarte for third place in in NL ROY, but fourth place now belongs to postseason extra-base hit master Kolten Wong. It’s probably his playoff performance that has given him a bit of a lift, which doesn’t seem in the spirit of the voting, but as Kurt Vonnegut would say, “so it goes.”

Speaking of playoff lifts, Ned Yost has gone from 6th in the AL MOY voting, all the way up to third, displacing Lloyd McClendon who dropped to 6th himself, as Bob Melvin bumped to 4th and Tito Francona is in 5th. I guess voters dig the bunt. At least one voter also digs Todd Redmond, because the Blue Jays pitcher received a 10th place vote on one ballot, thanks for his 75 innings of 3.24 ERA ball. Not to be outdone, Scott Atchison appeared on THREE ballots (4th, 8th, 9th) for AL Player of the Year, and one shudders to think who ranked behind him on said ballots. It doesn’t appear that Joakim Soria engendered himself to Detroit fans, as he either received sarcastic ballots in the AL Pitcher of the Year race, or enthusiastic Baltimore fans were applauding his ALDS performance.

I don’t fault anyone for having fun with the IBAs though. It’s been a fun season, so the awards should have some entertainment to them as well. The pure numbers drown out the hucksters and the ne’erdowells, anyway. Remember though, voting closes Oct. 17. That’s tomorrow for some of you, and today for more of you, depending on when you read this. If you haven’t already voted and feel like Andrew Lambo needs your support, you can still chime in here.

The voting as of 5:24 p.m. on Oct. 16 is currently below. Make your last ditch efforts, people.

AL Player of the Year

Rank Player Points
1 Mike Trout 7008
2 Michael Brantley 2451
3 Corey Kluber 2089

AL Pitcher of the Year

Rank Player Points
1 Corey Kluber 4043
2 Felix Hernandez 3646
3 Chris Sale 1858

AL Rookie of the Year

Rank Player Points
1 Jose Abreu 4604
2 Masahiro Tanaka 1393
3 Dellin Betances 1208

AL Manager of the Year

Rank Manager Points
1 Buck Showalter 1810
2 Mike Scioscia 539
3 Ned Yost 269

NL Player of the Year

Rank Player Points
1 Clayton Kershaw 5313
2 Andrew McCutchen 4501
3 Giancarlo Stanton 4083

NL Pitcher of the Year

Rank Player Points
1 Clayton Kershaw 4782
2 Adam Wainwright 2137
3 Johnny Cueto 1918

NL Rookie of the Year

Rank Player Points
1 Jacob deGrom 4000
2 Billy Hamilton 2931
3 Ender Inciarte 671

NL Manager of the Year

Rank Manager Points
1 Clint Hurdle 1014
2 Bruce Bochy 956
3 Matt Williams 578

Thank you for reading

This is a free article. If you enjoyed it, consider subscribing to Baseball Prospectus. Subscriptions support ongoing public baseball research and analysis in an increasingly proprietary environment.

Subscribe now
You need to be logged in to comment. Login or Subscribe
NightmareRec0n
10/16
How close is Lucroy to Stanton?
Also, I have to admit, I am a bit surprised at at Wainwright's margin over Cueto.
TheArtfulDodger
10/16
Not close. 1700 points or so.
NightmareRec0n
10/17
That is genuinely shocking.
Michael
10/17
It appears that voting has been extended judging by the banner on the home page.
JohnChoiniere
10/17
Am I missing something? The banner's telling me voting closes next Friday, not today.
lyricalkiller
10/17
Sorry, ignore the banner, we had some miscommunication. Voting will end today.
lyricalkiller
10/17
(And banner will end sooner than that)