Halfway Home

    With the All-Star break passing by a couple of weeks ago, I thought I would share my thoughts on the major awards through the first half of the season. Let's get started, shall we?

Most Valuable Player

Josh Hamilton (TEX) and Andrew McCutchen (PIT)

   From the onset of this season, Josh Hamilton has provided a spark for the Texas Rangers. For the past two years, Hamilton has been instrumental in the Rangers postseason success, reaching the World Series two straight years. So far in 2012, Hamilton is second in the American League in home runs (29), and is tied for first in runs batted in (84). He has slumped a bit in the month of July, but he is healthy again and the Rangers are in first place in the AL West, so he should be back to form in no time. Despite a terrible .173 batting average in July, he is still putting up MVP-caliber numbers. Not to mention that he did hit 4 home runs in one game against the Baltimore Orioles on May 8th.

    It's no secret that the Pittsburgh Pirates are one of the surprise teams in baseball this year.The Pirates are 58-44 and in second place in the National League West, 3 games behind the red-hot Cincinnati Reds. The driving force behind the Pirates success thus far is center fielder Andrew McCutchen, who is having arguably the best year of his career. He is batting a Major League best .368, is third best in the National League with 22 home runs and is tied for 6th in runs batted in with 66. He is one home run away from tying his career high of 23 and is currently shattering his career best in batting average by 82 points...an almost unheard of improvement from one season to the next. My other candidates for NL MVP are San Francisco Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera and New York Mets third baseman David Wright, but for now, McCutchen is my front runner.

Cy Young Award-Best Starting Pitcher in Each League

Chris Sale (CHW) and R.A. Dickey (NYM)

    Chris Sale may only be a first year starter, but numbers would suggest that one year was all he needed to be a Cy Young candidate. He is ranked third in the AL in both wins (12) and earned run average or ERA (2.61). Sale is also third in the AL in WHIP (Walks and Hits per Innings Pitched) posting a solid 1.02, and tied for 10th in strikeouts with 114. Sale is the ace on a Chicago White Sox staff that is fighting for a playoff spot and his success could propel Chicago deep into the playoffs.

    Should he win, New York's R.A. Dickey certainly wouldn't be your typical Cy Young recipient. But then again, there is nothing typical about the way Dickey pitches. He is a knuckle ball pitcher, the only one in the major leagues today. However, what makes Dickey different than other knuckle ball pitchers even, is that the average knuckle ball travels between 60 and 70 miles per hour, and Dickey's knuckle ball has been clocked at around 83-85 miles per hour, making it even harder for hitters to pick up this whirlwind of a pitch. Dickey is tied for the major league lead with 14 wins, second the the NL with 147 strikeouts and has the second fewest losses in the major leagues (2). Probably the most baffling thing about Dickey's success this year is the point in his career in which this success came. Dickey is 37 years old in his 10th year in the league, the New York Mets are his 4th team, and he had only had 10 or more wins in a season one other time. This goes to show you that there isn't necessarily a timetable or prime for success. Now, I know that  knuckle ball pitchers can be a controversial issue with some, but as of right now, Dickey is the best choice for the Cy Young Award.

Rookie of the Year

Mike Trout (LAA) and Bryce Harper (WSH)

    There is no surprise that L.A.'s Mike Trout or Washington's Bryce Harper should be named Rookie of the Year in their respective leagues. Neither player started the season on their big league rosters, but were quickly called up to the Major Leagues and even more quickly impacted their clubs and turned them around. 

    The Nationals were fighting for first place in their division early in the season when Harper joined the team on April 27 and provided them the spark they needed to build a 3.5 game lead on the Atlanta Braves in the NL East as well as currently having the best record in baseball at 61-40. Harper also arguably plays the game harder than anyone in the league...the way it should be played.

    The Angels on the other hand, were bottom dwellers from the beginning of the 2012 season, which was surprising due to the major offseason acquisitions of Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson. There were talks of multiple World Series titles immediately following the arrival of Pujols and Wilson, but when Trout was called up to the Angels on April 28th, the Angels were sitting at the bottom of the division and the league at 6-14. Since Trout joined the team however, the Angels have come to life. The Angels have gone 42-24 with Trout on the team and have once again become competitive for a playoff spot, as expected. Oh, and Trout has been the owner of the 'Reigning Web Gem' on ESPN's Baseball Tonight for over 3 weeks! Just saying.

Manager of the Year

Bob Melvin (OAK) and Clint Hurdle (PIT)

    There is no doubt in my mind that Oakland Athletics manager Bob Melvin should receive the award for AL Manager of the Year. In his second year as Oakland's Manager, he has helped return the A's to relevance. In his first 201 games as Oakland's manager dating back to the middle of last season, Melvin is 103-98, including a surprising 56-46 record so far in 2012. Before Melvin, the Athletics struggled to stay out     of last place and one calender year later, they are fighting for first place and a playoff spot. Melvin took a group of players previously rejected by other teams and turned them in to this year's Cinderella story in baseball.

   The same can be said for the Pittsburgh Pirates and manager Clint Hurdle. In his second full year as Pirates manager, the Pirates are 58-44, tied for the NL Wildcard lead, and have been in first place in the division multiple times during the year.

    If these two teams can maintain this success through September and possibly lead their teams into October, their managers should be awarded for it.

Comeback Player of the Year

Adam Dunn (CHW) and Jason Heyward (ATL)

    Adam Dunn, to me, is the runaway Comeback Player of the Year in the American League. In 2011, Dunn posted basement numbers for the Chicago White Sox: a .159 batting average, 11 home runs, 42 runs batted in and only 66 hits in 122 games...by far the worst season of his career. But so far in 2012, Dunn is having an incredible bounce back year. So far in 2012, this bonafide power hitter has returned to form, batting .212 with a major league leading 31 home runs to go with 73 RBI's which is the 4th best in the AL. I think Minnesota's Josh Willingham and Toronto's Edwin Encarnacion deserve recognition for this award, but it's Adam Dunn's horrendous numbers last year that make him the favorite for the award.

    When Atlanta Braves right fielder Jason Heyward made the Opening Day roster as a rookie in 2010, expectations for Heyward were through the roof. However, after an okay rookie campaign in 2010, Braves nation was disappointed but thought "He's a rookie, he'll get better" and "It's a learning curve...wait 'til next year. He'll dominate!" He didn't.In 2011, Heyward hit a mediocre .227 with 14 home runs and 42 RBI's. He also missed 34 games with multiple injuries. Heyward shared the fans' disappointment after last season saying, "I need to go back to the basics...I haven't been playing well." He returned in 2012 with new life. Playing in almost every game for the Braves to this point, Hayward is hitting .271 with 17 home runs (one away from tying a career high) and 51 RBI's and a career high 15 stolen bases. Heyward is healthy, productive, and, in my opinion, could be on his way to NL Comeback Player of the Year.

    Stay tuned in the coming days for more first half predictions, including Gold Gloves, playoff predictions and more. See ya 'round!

More Than A Game

     Baseball is America's national pastime, a game that brings fans across the country together. But for some, baseball is more than just a game. Every spring, when that grass is watered for the first time, when the dirt is raked, and when the players take the field to begin a brand new season, it's a fresh start for players and fans alike. For the most passionate of baseball fans, there is nothing like the thrill of watching the team you love get a much deserved win, contrasted by the heartache of watching them lose even one game. There's something almost majestic about the game. It can be an escape from a world that can rough you up a bit.

For some fans, it is something to "believe in" in a world where injustices, cruelty, and fallacy can leave you speechless and not knowing where to turn. It's a dream yet to be realized or simply a memory-the one that got away. It's memories with your dad or granddad at the ballpark, hearing stories about the giants of the game, like Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, and Ted Williams, while eating your first hot dog, not knowing that this is the beginning of a life-long passion for America's game. It's a fresh start: if the last few months weren't really your friend, or life's just getting you down, it can all be instantly and temporarily wiped away, "It's okay, it's baseball season". I know, it sounds cheesy, but it's true. Sometimes baseball is more than just a game, more than a field, a team or a home run. It's more than a win or a loss. It's temporarily making best friends with complete strangers around you, coming together to root your team to victory. It can bring two enemies together, and put best friends at odds for an afternoon. There's nothing greater than showing that you're part of a team, part of something special. This is America...this is baseball.