Creating New MLB Awards

Creating New MLB Awards

Since humankind first mastered fire and learned to farm crops, Major League Baseball has selected award winners for the best players in baseball. There are the big three—MVP,Cy Young, andRookie of the Year— followed closely in status by theGoldGloves,SilverSluggers, theRoberto Clemente Award,Manager of the Year, and theRolaids Relief Award. There are also several lesser honors you might not even be familiar with. For example, theEdgar Martinez Awardhas recognized the best DH each season since 1973, which is amazing because Edgar himself was only ten years old that year!

Now that the World Series is finished and the offseason has officially begun,all the awards announcementsare on their way. That’s all well and good, but baseball in 2020 isn’t the same as it was when our ancestors first discovered how to record language using symbols and domesticate animals. It’s time to add some new awards to the pantheon that capture modern baseball.

Non-Qualified Player Award

To qualify for rate stats such as the batting title or ERA crown, position players need 3.1 plate appearances per team game while pitchers need to throw one inning per team game. These thresholds are not strictly necessary to win awards— Rookies of the Year fall short of them all the time— but there’s no mechanism to specifically honor great players who only played partial seasons. With increased demands on playing time and more injuries than ever— particularly for pitchers— this award is especially apropos. We’ll give two of these awards in each league— one for position players and one for pitchers.

2020 Winners

AL:Salvador Pérez, Kansas City Royals &Justus Sheffield, Seattle Mariners

NL:Ke’Bryan Hayes, Pittsburgh Pirates &Tony Gonsolin, Los Angeles Dodgers*

Perhaps this award is biased towards catchers, who produce a lot of value with less playing time than other positions. Be that as it may, there’s no debating the sensational season Pérez compiled, hitting .333 with 11 home runs in 37 games. Sheffield threw 55 ⅓ innings over ten starts with a 3.58 ERA and just a pair of homers allowed. Hayes would win the Rookie of the Year going away if he had batted more than 95 times, slashing .376/.442/.682. Gonsolin would have been a fixture in any other rotation other than the Dodgers’, but their incredible depth kept him at the alternate site for much of the season despite his 2.31 ERA and 0.84 WHIP. Corbin Burnes was ⅓ of an inning away from qualifying for the ERA title, but Gonsolin’s season keeps more with the spirit of the award.

Position Player Pitching Award

There’s no better way to cap off a blowout than by bringing in a backup catcher or utility infielder to pitch the eighth or ninth inning. We all love watching fireballers paint the corners at 100 mph with movement, but it’s perversely entertaining to see a professional athlete throw a 70 mph “fastball” in an MLB game. We’re long overdue to give this phenomenon the recognition it deserves.

2020 Winners

AL:Anthony Bemboom, Los Angeles Angels

NL:Todd Frazier, New York Mets

Bemboom, a 30-year-old backup catcher, threw his first professional inning on August 24 versus the Astros. He walked Kyle Tucker, but induced fly outs from Carlos Correa, Taylor Jones, and Michael Brantley. He threw nothing but knuckleballs, topping out at 67 mph. Frazier is a ten-year MLB veteran who made a successful pitching debut on September 18, throwing a perfect inning against the Braves. His “heater” reached a blistering 68 mph,but the highlight was this 55 mph beautythat froze Adam Duvall for a called third strike.

Geezer Award

MLB is a young people’s sport. This ancient, embittered, 37-year-old writer bristles at all these whippersnappers come up from the minors throwing harder, running faster, and swinging bigger every season. We’ve got the Rookie of the Year to honor the best youngster, but what about us oldsters? Anyone who sticks around long enough to hang with the young guns deserves an honor of their own. The minimum age for this award is 35, and the older the better. Everyone else can sit at the kiddie table.

2020 Winners

AL:Nelson Cruz, Minnesota Twins

NL:Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals

Scherzer qualifies for this?!? Now I really feel old. This will most likely be the first year since 2012 in which he doesn’t receive Cy Young votes, but he still struck out 92 batters in 67 ⅓ innings, sixth-best in the NL. Cruz hasn’t donned a glove since 2018; he doesn’t need to. He posted a .992 OPS with 16 homers in 53 games after turning 40 on July 1.

Swiss Army Knife Award

One of the best Baseball-Reference quirks is when a great player on a team isn’t the primary starter at any single position. For example, Gleyber Torres led the 2019 Yankees with 38 home runs playing second base and shortstop, but D.J. LeMahieu was the starting second baseman and Didi Gregorius the starting shortstop. As a result,the team page doesn’t list Torres as a starteranywhere.

Many excellent players aren’t as tied to a single position as they used to be. Here’s an award for the do-it-all athletes who don’t care where they play as long as they’re in the lineup.

2020 Winners

AL:Dylan Moore, Seattle Mariners

NL:Chris Taylor, Los Angeles Dodgers

Moore played every position except pitcher and catcher including at least ten games at second base, left field, and right field. With 14 walks and eight hit-by-pitches, he posted an excellent .358 on-base percentage. He also compiled eight home runs and finished second in the AL with 12 stolen bases. Taylor would have contended for this award every year since 2016. He slashed .270/.366/.476 while starting at least five games at second base, shortstop, left field, and center field.