Surprise and historical feats filled the 2010 Major League Baseball (MLB) regular season. Fifteen MLB pitchers posted an earned runs average (ERA) under three. Therefore, MLB award voters might think long and hard about who deserves to win each individual award.
The most debatable award is probably the American League’s (AL) Cy Young Award, given to the best pitcher.
CC Sabathia of the New York Yankees and Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners are two major candidates who are being considered to win this prestigious award.
Sabathia earned 21 wins while pitching in a pennant race, but Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez pitched better statistically; Hernandez led the American League with a 2.27 ERA and 1.06 walks and hits per inning pitched (WHIP).
“CC Sabathia [should win] because he looks really good in Subway commercials and he can pitch well,” senior Ben Birns said.
The American League Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award also features a number of possible candidates to choose from.
Statistically, Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers posted the best batting numbers of any American League hitter. He led the AL with a batting average of .359 and an on-base plus slugging percentage of 1.044, but he missed almost all of September with a rib injury.
Robinson Cano received much praise for leading the New York Yankees to a playoff berth despite significant injuries to important players such as Andy Pettitte and Alex Rodriguez. Cano posted the highest batting average (.319) and slugging percentage (.534) of any Yankee hitter. He carried a team hindered by inconsistent play, especially in the starting rotation. Yankee starters had an ERA of 4.35 and gave up 33 home runs to Toronto this season, six of them coming from Jose Bautista.
“Jose Bautista [should win] because he is 5’11 and still popped 50 homeruns this year,” senior Edward Flynn said.
The league will announce the award winners in mid-November following the World Series between the Texas Rangers and the San Francisco Giants, which runs from October 27 to November 4, at the absolute latest.
