The all star break is upon us and that means its time to hand out the first half awards for the AL and NL. Here are my choices for the leaders in each category at the halfway mark of the season.
National League:
MVP: Jose Reyes, New York Mets SS - Reyes leads the league in stolen bases,hits,triples and average. Jose is putting together his greatest season since entering the league, he's also playing great defense at his shortstop position. He is a free agent after the season and is expected to get a bigger contract then fellow speedstar Carl Crawford got last winter when he ditched the Rays for the Redsox for a 7 year, $142 million deal. He recently hit the DL but is only expected to spend the minimum amount of time on the DL and return July 22nd. Honorable Mentions: Matt Kemp LAD, Prince Fielder MIL, Lance Berkman STL
Cy Young: Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies - Doc Halladay is up to his usual tricks again holding down an 11-3 record at the break with a 2.45 ERA, 138 K's and a 1.01 WHIP. He is leading a Phillies rotation that also features Cy Young candidates Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels. Philadelphia holds the best record in the MLB at the break at 57-34. Honorable Mentions: Cliff Lee PHI, Cole Hamels PHI, Jair Jurrjens ATL, Tommy Hanson ATL
Rookie Of The Year: Craig Kimbrel, Atlanta Braves P - Kimbrel is absolutely doing a fantastic job in the ninth inning for the Braves. He has set the rookie record for most saves at the all star break with 28. He also shows off a 2.35 ERA and over 46 innings has struck out 70 batters and has a 1.04 WHIP. Kimbrel is quickly evolving into one of the games more dominant closers. Honorable Mentions: Danny Espinosa WAS, Freddy Freeman ATL, Dillon Gee NYM
Manager Of The Year: Clint Hurdle, Pittsburgh Pirates - Clint is leading a Pirates team who has no big names on the team unless you would call rising superstar Andrew McCutchen a big name by now. He has a veteran pitching staff with no real ace but solid pitchers that keep them in the game and have one of the best closers this year in Joel Hanrahan. McCutchen and Neil Walker lead the offense that always finds ways to scrape across enough runs to win the ball game. Pittsburgh is four games over .500 and sits one game behind first place in the NL Central. Honorable Mentions: Kirk Gibson ARI, Bruce Bochy SF, Tony La Russa STL, Terry Collins NYM
American League:
MVP: Adrian Gonzalez, Boston Redsox 1B - Gonzalez was traded last winter from the San Diego Padres to the Boston Redsox and signed a huge 7 year, $154 million contract extension before the 2011 season to keep him in Boston through 2018. Adrian leads the league in RBI's,AVG and Hits. He is carrying a great Redsox offense and leading the Redsox to first place in the AL East after the first half. Gonzalez is doing it all for Boston so far. Honorable Mentions: Jose Bautista TOR, Curtis Granderson NYY, Paul Konerko CHI, Miguel Cabrera DET
Cy Young: Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers - Verlander is having arguably his best season of his career holding a 12-4 record and 2.15 ERA at the break. He has struck out 147 batters and has a 0.87 WHIP. He has a no hitter this year as well where he only walked one Blue Jay. Verlander is carrying the Tigers in the central division and keeping them in contention. Detroit currently sits ahalf game over Cleveland in the AL Central. Honorable Mentions: Jered Weaver LAA, C.C Sabathia NYY, Josh Beckett BOS, James Shields TB
Rookie Of The Year: Michael Pineda, Seattle Mariners P - Pineda is having a very solid rookie season in Seattle showing off a 8-6 record with a 3.03 ERA, 113 K's and a 1.03 WHIP. He has serious gas to his fast ball and is really taking control of hitters. It's Pineda's award to lose i believe and the way hes pitching, he may run away with rookie of the year. Honorable Mentions: Eric Hosmer KC, Alexi Ogando TEX, Jordan Walden LAA
Manager Of The Year: Manny Acta, Cleveland Indians - Manny Acta is doing an incredible job with this Indians team, seating them a half game out of first place in the AL Central. No one gave Cleveland a shot at contention this year but the Indians are a very relentless team and are sticking around due to there phenominal young pitching. If the Indians stay in contention all year, i can see Manny Acta winning this award. Honorable Mentions: Terry Francona BOS, Joe Maddon TB, Ron Washington TEX, Mike Scioscia LAA
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