 |
| ||||||
It's been 25 seasons in the making, and it finally happened, the World Series trophy comes back to Wrigley Field, as Chicago defeated Florida in 4 games to clinch the crown. Both Florida and Chicago swept their opening series, followed by grueling 7 game showdowns in the LCS. Chicago managed to put together some solid pitching appearances (3.19 postseason ERA) and slug a few out of the park (22 HR in 14 playoff games) to put them over the top against Florida. Chicago's latest rebuild finally paid off, as they had made the playoffs the previous 11 seasons without a title, losing in the World Series once over at that span. It's been a nice run for Florida as well, coming off their 3rd straight division title, having won the World Series just two seasons ago. Congrats to both teams on great seasons.
Now, let's look at the major award winners in Season 45!
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
American League - Parker Counsell, Salt Lake City - .303 AVG 42 HR 108 RBI 38 SB
Chalk up another MVP win for the Salt Lake first baseman, his second straight and 3rd in 4 seasons at just age 25! His Average, Home Run, RBI and Stolen Base totals all dropped from last season, yet he still won, what are the voters thinking?!? Well, it's still an MVP worthy stat line, even if he missed out on a 40/40 season. No question about his talent, the only question is how many more MVP awards will he win?
National League - Yadier Torres, Chicago - .295 AVG 46 HR 99 RBI 30 SB
We also have a back-to-back winner in the NL MVP, as the Chicago left fielder takes home his 2nd straight MVP trophy. The 26 year-old failed to put up his 3rd straight 50 HR season, but did crack 30 steals for the first time. He made his 4th All-Star team and won his 3rd Silver Slugger award this season as well. Quite the career resumè, although he still trails Counsell by one MVP award is a year older!
CY YOUNG AWARD
American League - Harry Galvis, Cleveland - 27-6 2.52 ERA 233 K
The 26 year-old hard throwing lefty loves odd numbered seasons, as the Season 41 & 43 Cy Young Award winner also takes home the crown in Season 45! Not that he's been terrible in the even seasons, he now has 5 straight 20+ win 220+ K strikeout seasons under his belt, with his highest ERA over that time being 3.21. He also made his 6th straight All-Star appearance this season. His ratings are phenomenal and no doubt will go down as an all-time great, and is definitely our favorite for the Season 47 award!
National League - Juan Trevino, Cheyenne - 19.6 2.27 ERA 186 K
A 26 year-old lefty like his AL counterpart, Trevino was awarded for his best season yet with the Cy Young trophy for the NL, his first win. The Season 38 #1 overall draft pick has had some solid seasons, but in Season 45 he posted a career high in Wins, and a career best ERA by over a run. He also made his first All-Star appearance in Season 45. No doubt he should remain among the NL's top pitchers for some time, he was definitely worth taking #1 overall.
That's a wrap for Season 45, see you back for next season!
