SMASHING DEBUT
would have won the NL West even without Bellinger but It is highly unlikely that the Nationals would have secured a wildcard slot without Rendon.
NL CY YOUNG AWARD >> Stephen Strasburg of the Nationals led the league with 18 wins and 209 innings pitched. He’s probably the favorite for the award but it’s impossible to overlook Jacob DeGrom of the Mets, who struck out 255 batters and compiled a 2.43 earned run average.
AL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR >> This appears to be a tight two-man race between Eloy Jimenez of the White Sox and Yordan Alvarez of the Astros. Jimenez led AL rookies with 31 homers and 79 RBIs but Alvarez (27 homers and 78 RBIs) was second in both categories while playing 35 fewer games.
MANAGER OF THE YEAR
>> In the AL three smallbudget teams — the Twins, Athletics and Rays — reached the postseason and their respective managers, Rocco Baldelli, Bob Melvin and Kevin Cash, ought to be considered. But so should Yankees manager Aaron Boone, who squeezed 103 from a team beset by injuries all season.
The NL looks like a two-man race between Dave Martinez of the Nationals and Cardinals skipper Mike Shildt. Martinez brought the Nationals into the playoffs as a wildcard despite losing his star player, Bryce Harper, to free agency. Shildt guided the Cardinals to the Central Division championship despite the fact that two other clubs in the division were more highly regarded.
OK, let me cast my non-votes.
MVP >> Rendon and Bregman.
CY YOUNG AWARD >> Strasburg and Verlander. ROOKIE OF THE YEAR >> Alonso and Alvarez. MANAGER OF THE YEAR >> Martinez and Melvin.
Tim Anderson became only the third White Sox player ever to win an AL batting title. He did it despite drawing only 15 walks, the fewest every for a batting champion… Six of the 15 AL teams finished with 90 or more wins. Six others finished with 90 or more losses. Nothing like that has happened since 1950 when the Indians finished fourth in the eight-team AL with a 92-62 record. They were six games behind the pennant winning Yankees but 25 ahead of the fifth-place Washington Senators…Mike Bumgarner (Giants), Marco Gonzales (Mariners), Aaron Nola (Phillies), Ivan Nova (White Sox), Eduardo Rodriguez (Red Sox) and Justin Verlander (Astros) are the only pitchers to make all 34 starts…The Yankees finished with an 18-19 record in one-run games… Roberto Perez caught 993 2⁄3 innings for the Indians and was never charged with a passed ball. Only Johnny Bench of the 1975 Reds (1002 2⁄3 innings) caught more unblemished frames in a season… The Indians finished with an 18-1 record against the Tigers. The Astros compiled a similar mark against the Mariners. These are the first times since baseball adopted its current scheduling format that a team has won 18 games against a single opponent…Three triple plays were turned this year and the Twins produced two of them… AL teams blasted 180 more homers than NL clubs.
Hall of Fame voter Jay Dunn has written baseball for The Trentonian for 51 years. Contact him at jaydunn8@aol.com.