MLB.coms "This Year In Baseball" Winners

[RedRuffing15]

Baseball fans around the world have spoken loud and clear on their computers -- and in record numbers.

 

In this, the fourth year of MLB.com's "This Year in Baseball" Awards, more than 3.3 million fans cast their votes in 10 categories, contributing their own two cents worth in selecting the best players, manager and events of the 2005 season. About 800,000 votes were cast last year.

 

The 2005 winners were announced at 1 p.m. ET today on MLB.com. The TYIB Awards were started by MLB.com in 2002 to give fans the opportunity to express their opinions on the top players, managers and moments from each season. The voting for this year's awards began on Oct. 31 and concluded on Dec. 9 at midnight ET. Awards are presented to winners during pregame, on-field ceremonies early next season.

 

And the winners are:

 

Closer of the Year: Yankees right-hander Mariano Rivera received 36.3 percent of the votes cast, far outdistancing Astros closer Brad Lidge, who finished second, with 18.3 percent of the vote. The seven-time All-Star had what some believe was his finest season in 2005, posting 43 saves and a 1.38 ERA in his ninth year as the Yankees' closer.

 

"That means a lot, that the fans responded like they did," Rivera said. "It means they're following the game, following me. I'm pleased and grateful to be recognized with the award."

 

En route to winning his second consecutive Closer of the Year Award, Rivera held opposing hitters to a .177 average, allowing just two home runs in his 71 appearances. He was particularly lethal on the road, limiting opponents to a .121 batting average.

 

Brewers closer Derrick Turnbow finished third (14.5 percent).

 

Single-Game Performance of the Year: Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez already has a trophy case full of awards from his MLB career, but nothing he had done previously, or since, matched the game he had on April 6 at Yankee Stadium. He went 4-for-5, hit three home runs and drove in 10 runs -- a game that made him the overwhelming (42.1 percent) choice of the fans in this category.

 

"It was pretty incredible," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "Your mouth has to drop open when you see something like that. It was certainly worth the price of admission."

 

Watch the Awards Show

 

A-Rod, who went on to capture his second Most Valuable Player Award, finished far ahead of Cardinals right-hander Chris Carpenter, who received 14.1 percent of the votes for his one-hitter against the Blue Jays on June 14. Reds outfielder Ryan Freel, who stole five bases in one game, finished third, with 8.5 percent.

 

Setup Man of the Year: The two-year reign of Angels setup men came to an end, as the fans chose White Sox left-hander Neal Cotts as the top get-the-game-to-the-closer in the Majors in '05. Cotts received 21.7 percent of the fans' vote, edging Astros right-hander Dan Wheeler (18.23 percent). Former Yankees setup man Tom Gordon, now with the Phillies, received 12.8 percent of the vote.

 

Cotts, unheralded coming into the season, provided excellent late-inning relief for closers Dustin Hermanson, Damaso Marte and, eventually, Bobby Jenks as the American League Central champs held off the Guardians down the stretch. Cotts finished with a 4-0 record and 1.94 ERA in 69 appearances.

 

Blooper of the Year: The strangest game-stopper of the season ranked at the top of the fans' list in this category, as 25.3 percent of the votes went to Mets pitcher Pedro Martinez, who was rudely interrupted while pitching to Diamondbacks outfielder Luis Gonzalez. The infield sprinkler system at Shea Stadium suddenly turned on, giving Pedro a dousing, causing a slight delay that led to many laughs -- and votes.

 

Finishing a close second (21.5 percent) was Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez mishandling a routine return throw to the mound after making a pitch, allowing the winning run to score from third base in the bottom of the ninth inning in Oakland. A trio of Twins errors on one play finished a distant (11.4 percent) third.

 

Rookie of the Year: The fans disagreed with the writers who cover MLB teams. Instead of supporting the scribes' winners -- Huston Street and Ryan Howard -- the fans chose Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano, who received 28.9 percent of the votes. Braves outfielder Jeff Francoeur finished second, with 17.5 percent, and Astros outfielder Willy Taveras was third, with 13.4 percent. Howard (5.7 percent) and Street (4.1 percent) finished sixth and eighth, respectively.

 

Cano, promoted from Triple-A Columbus on May 2, started slowly (2-for-23), but he came on like gangbusters and ended the season with a .297 batting average, 14 home runs, 34 doubles and 61 RBIs. He led all AL rookie hitters in seven offensive categories.

Defensive Player of the Year: On the way to becoming the first player in MLB history to have at least 200 hits in his first five big-league seasons, Ichiro Suzuki continued to perform spectacularly in right field for the Mariners. The fence-climbing catch he made at Safeco Field to rob Angels left fielder Garret Anderson of a home run was just one of many gems turned in by Ichiro, selected as the top defender by 22.7 percent of the fans.

 

Ichiro finished ahead of Cardinals center fielder Jim Edmonds (18.0 percent) and Braves center fielder Andruw Jones (15.4 percent). It should be pointed out that all three were Gold Glove winners in their respective leagues, and it would take a long-playing DVD to put all of their superb plays in one place.

 

Manager of the Year: The first World Series championship for the White Sox since 1917 made Ozzie Guillen the odds-on favorite to become the fans' top choice for Manager of the Year -- and that was an accurate assumption. Guillen was named on 22.5 percent of the votes cast in this category, edging out Torre (19.7 percent) and Tony La Russa (14.3) for the TYIB Award.

 

"This is the most fun year for me and my team, but it also was the hardest year I ever had because I went through a lot of different things," Guillen said. "Losing is easy, but winning is tough. And the toughest thing this year was winning and winning, and people don't believe we were winning."

 

Starting Pitcher of the Year: There were four 20-game winners in the Major Leagues in 2005, but only one of them finished among the top three in fan balloting. That would be Carpenter, who received 22.4 percent of the votes to edge White Sox left-hander Mark Buehrle (20.9 percent). Roger Clemens, the only starting pitcher with an ERA under two runs per game (1.87), finished third, with 10.1 percent of the vote.

 

Carpenter finished the season with a 21-5 record, 2.83 ERA, 213 strikeouts and 51 walks in 241 2/3 innings. He racked up seven complete games and four shutouts, and ranked in the top 10 in the National League in at least 12 pitching categories.

 

"For the entire season, he had all of his pitches working," La Russa said late in the season. "I think last year, the second half, he started really adding to what he was going out there with. But when he has all of his pitches, you're talking about four or five things he can do to get hitters out. He can go against righties and lefties, and what we've seen, he's a terrific competitor."

 

Play of the Year: In a new twist for 2005, all 30 club sites let fans decide on a Play of the Year for that individual club. The winning play chosen from among those selections was the bare-handed snag made by Mets third baseman David Wright in a game against the Padres. That play secured 32.8 percent of the fan vote, far ahead of Derek Jeter's stunning catch in center field while falling over Cano (13.6 percent) and Todd Linden's game-saving catch for the Giants against the Nationals (7.6 percent).

 

Wright was playing well off the line during a Brian Giles' at-bat in the seventh inning. Giles, a left-handed batter, popped up a ball into shallow left field and Wright, with his back to home plate, reached out with his bare hand and held onto the ball as he hit the ground.

 

The fans at PETCO Park gave Wright a long, loud ovation.

 

"I still don't know how it happened," Wright said. "It's awesome to be recognized, but of course it would have been a lot sweeter if we won the game."

 

This is the second time that Wright has been honored with an MLB.com This Year In Baseball award. In 2004, fans voted him as the Rookie of the Year for batting .293 with 14 home runs and 40 RBIs after making his Major League debut in July.

 

Hitter of the Year: When it comes to hitting a baseball and performing in the clutch, few players can match what Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz did last season. The man known to his teammates as "Papi" had a career year, batting .300 and leading the Major Leagues in home runs (47) and RBIs (148) -- numbers that made him the fans' choice in this category. Ortiz received 23.3 percent of the votes to edge Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols (20.6 percent) and Derrek Lee of the Cubs (19.1 percent).

 

It is the second year in a row that Ortiz has nabbed the TYIB Award as baseball's best hitter.

 

Ortiz was at his best in September, hitting .320 with 11 homers and 29 RBIs. His 47 homers marked the second-highest total in the prestigious history of the club, trailing only Jimmie Foxx, who smashed 50 in 1938, and his power display was especially impressive when you consider that 19 of his 47 homers either tied a game or put the Red Sox ahead.

 

"I cannot imagine a player having a bigger impact on a team than David Ortiz had on ours in 2005," Red Sox president/CEO Larry Lucchino said.

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20051214&content_id=1282209&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

 

Hope no one else posted this

[ahhchon]

cano over street? you've got to be kidding me. street was FAR FAR more impressive than cano. the kid ended up k'ing almost 9/ip and had such great poise. in a few years he'll be one of the elite closers in the game whereas cano will be a very good 2b.

 

john

[yankeessuck013]

why isnt the hitter of the year bolded...lol

[Sizzlin22]

Canoe only won because Yankee fans actually vote for stuf liek that. Oakland fans if you could even call them that tune out the say those guys are eliminated from the playoffs.

[Pinstripe_Pride]

Nice...several Yankees in there, good to see. Doesn't change the fact that they got eliminated in the first round...but still a nifty award.

[RedRuffing15]

why isnt the hitter of the year bolded...lol

Sorry about that, wasn;t trying to steal the glory from ya lol.

 

 

Just on the winners, if the Jeter over Cano was the #2 voted for best play...then there was no good plays at all this year, cuz watching that live, I was more pissed than impressed

[Pinstripe_Pride]

Sorry about that, wasn;t trying to steal the glory from ya lol.

 

 

Just on the winners, if the Jeter over Cano was the #2 voted for best play...then there was no good plays at all this year, cuz watching that live, I was more pissed than impressed

 

I felt the same way. I started yelling at the tv, and the Kay started to praise the play. I was very confused.

[26 to 6]

Sorry about that, wasn;t trying to steal the glory from ya lol.

 

 

Just on the winners, if the Jeter over Cano was the #2 voted for best play...then there was no good plays at all this year, cuz watching that live, I was more pissed than impressed

why were you pissed, im lost? :dunno:

[RedRuffing15]

why were you pissed, im lost? :dunno:

Cuz I thought it was going to work out like one of them got injured or something bad, and I just was like..Jeter...let Cano get it!

[26 to 6]

I see.

 

I thought it was a great play, though risky it was.

[He Hate Me]

I see.

 

I thought it was a great play, though risky it was.

 

We're supposed to be channeling Darth Vader, not Yoda