DC-IBWA Awards and analysis

As you have probably seen by now, the DC Internet Baseball Writers Association has released its awards for the 2009 season. Below you will find the winners along with my picks and analysis:

THE AWARDS

Goose Goslin Most Valuable Player

Player most valuable to the success of the Washington Nationals:

1st: Ryan Zimmerman (92 points, 16 first place votes)

2nd: Adam Dunn (41 points, one first place vote)

3rd: Nyjer Morgan (25 points, three first place votes)

Others: John Lannan (19), Josh Willingham (3)

My top 3 were Zimmerman, Lannan, Morgan. Dunn was just too below-average defensively for me to vote for him above 3, but it was a toss-up between him and Morgan. Morgan's D put him over the top.

Walter Johnson Starting Pitcher of the Year

Excellent performance as a starting pitcher

1st: John Lannan (96 points, 18 first place votes)

2nd: Jordan Zimmermann (42 points, two first place votes)

3rd: Craig Stammen (22 points)

Others: J.D. Martin (6), Garrett Mock (4), Livan Hernandez (3), Ross Detwiler (2)

I had Lannan followed by Zimmermann followed by Detwiler. I felt like Detwiler pitched better than Stammen and Martin but was unlucky (as was Mock). I am surprised Martis didn't even get one third place vote, given the lack of a frontrunner amongst the guys behind Lannan and Zimmermann.

Frederick "Firpo" Marberry Relief Pitcher of the Year

Excellent performance as a relief pitcher

1st: Tyler Clippard (80 points, 13 first place votes)

2nd: Mike MacDougal (55 points, six first place votes)

3rd: Sean Burnett (29 points, one first place vote)

Others: Jason Bergmann (6), Joe Beimel (5), Ron Villone (3),Saul Rivera (1)

I had Clippard, Burnett and Beimel. MacDougal was just too miserable to watch at some points for me to even think about voting for him. He was the closer, but that doesn't mean he was a particularly good reliever. I guess since he was 20/21 in saves I should have given him a little more props....but I'll stick stick with the legend of Joe Beimel.

Sam Rice Hitter of the Year

Excellence in all-around hitting, situational hitting and baserunning

1st: Ryan Zimmerman (81 points, 14 first place votes)

2nd: Adam Dunn (39 points, two first place votes)

3rd: Nyjer Morgan (26 points, three first place votes)

Others: Josh Willingham (14), Nick Johnson (9, one first place vote), Cristian Guzman (6)

I picked Zimmerman, Willingham and Morgan. Again, it was a toss-up between Dunn and Morgan, but I feel that Morgan was a more complete offensive player than Dunn. It was tough given Dunn's toying with a semi-high batting average, but I settled on Morgan in the end.

Frank Howard Slugger of the Year

Excellence in power hitting

1st: Adam Dunn (100 points, 20 first place votes)

2nd: Ryan Zimmerman (46 points)

3rd: Josh Willingham (27 points)

Dunn, Zimmerman, Willingham. No debate from me here...and it looks like this one was completely unanimous?

Joe Judge Defensive Player of the Year

Excellence in fielding

1st: Ryan Zimmerman (88 points, 14 first place votes)

2nd: Nyjer Morgan (69 points, six first place votes)

3rd: Willie Harris (12 points)

Others: Alberto Gonzalez, Elijah Dukes, Nick Johnson (3), Wil Nieves (1)

I picked these guys in this order as well. There was a large drop-off between Zimmerman/Morgan and the rest, but I feel that Willie did an excellent job playing a bunch of positions, excelling in some and being average in others, but being stable.

Mickey Vernon Comeback Player of the Year

Player who overcame biggest obstacle in the preceding season to contribute on the field

1st: Nick Johnson (50 points, 10 first place votes)

2nd: Mike MacDougal (20 points, one first place vote)

3rd: Ryan Zimmerman (18 points, three first place votes)

Others: Jason Bergmann (16), Josh Bard (9), Ron Villone (8), Josh Willingham (7), Mike Morse (7), Justin Maxwell (5), J.D. Martin (4), Nyjer Morgan, Livan Hernandez, Ross Detwiler, Elijah Dukes (3),

Adam Dunn, Ian Desmond, Jorge Padilla, Sean Burnett, Garrett Mock (1)

It looks like just about the whole team got at least one vote here! I voted for Zimmerman, Willingham, Martin. Zim had a rough 2008 (not awful, but not great), Willingham came back from a lot of early season adversity and Martin survived six seasons in Cleveland and a bunch of surgeries to finally reach the majors. Johnson is a feel-good pick, but he's not a Nat anymore so I felt that I should recognize current Nats who deserve it just as much.

Josh Gibson Humanitarian Player of the Year

Player who meritoriously gave of himself to the community

1st: John Lannan (72 points, 12 first place votes)

2nd: Ryan Zimmerman (44 points, four first place votes)

3rd: Wil Nieves (21 points, three first place votes)

Others: Josh Willingham (9), Nyjer Morgan, Willie Harris, Elijah Dukes (3), Tyler Clippard (1)

I only voted for Zimmerman here because I simply did not know of any other player's community/humanitarian involvements.

Minor League Player of the Year

Minor league player most destined for big league success

1st: Derek Norris (54 points, nine first place votes)

2nd: Ian Desmond (53 points, nine first place votes)

3rd: Drew Storen (41 points, two first place votes)

Others: Bradley Meyers (16), Chris Marrero (7), Mike Morse (4), Daniel Espinosa (2), Ross Detwiler, Jorge Padilla (1).

I went Norris, Meyers, Storen. Norris and Meyers both saw their values skyrocket in 2009 and Storen proved to be worth more than Aaron Stinkin' Crow.