VAVEL USA's MLB Roundtable: Season Awards

Hello readers and welcome to VAVEL USA's exclusive MLB roundtable: Season Awards edition. Here some of the brightest minds at VAVEL USA are asked to make their prediction on who they believe will take home the 2014 season awards in Major League Baseball.

American League Most Valuable Player

Jamie Squire/Getty Images North America

Ryan Talley: Mike Trout - This one is a given, Trout has deserved the MVP the past two seasons but Miguel Cabrera has also played in the AL. Trout had his best year power wise with 36 HR and 111 RBI, but hit just .287 and swiped only 16 bags. A down year but still an MVP year.

Parker White: Mike Trout - After three historic seasons Mike Trout will finally receive his first AL MVP award. With Miguel Cabrera not in the running this season Trout can finally rise to the top. Trout finished with a 7.9 WAR which is 1st in MLB, this quantifies a players overall value which shows that Trout is the best overall player in the game. The Angels center fielder also finished 1st in the American League in RBIs (111), runs scored (115), slugging percentage (.561), and OPS (.939). Trout’s homerun production went up as he hit a career high 36 home runs, which ranked 3rd in the American League. The only knock on Trout’s season was the fact he led the American League in strikeouts with 184. That’s never a statistic you want to associated with but when you put up the damage numbers he does it’s almost irrelevant. I think we forget Trout is only 23 years old and as he gets older he will develop more plate discipline.

Ricky Salvatore: Victor Martinez - Martinez finished second in BA, second in OBP, and second in slugging, with the best OPS. He struck out just 42 times, the lowest among any player with at least 85 hits. His success on offense, as well as being a reliable defensive player establish his claim to the AL MVP Award.

Heath Clary: Mike Trout - After two years of narrowly losing to Miguel Cabrera for this award, Trout will finally win his first MVP award. He definitely deserves it this year, hitting .287 with 36 home runs, 111 RBIs, and 16 stolen bases. After being moved out of the leadoff spot to the middle of the order, Trout thrived. He is the first player in history to win the Silver Slugger in each of his first three years, and he led the league in WAR.

National League Most Valuable Player

Jamie Squire/Getty Images North America

Talley: Clayton Kershaw - Kershaw is the best pitcher in the world, as well as in the MLB. He had a spectacular year with a 21-3 record and a 1.77 ERA. He also had 239 Ks and 100 less hits. It is tough to pick a every 5 games player over an everyday player like Giancarlo Stanton, but Kershaw faced about 765 batters and Stanton had 638 Plate Appearances.

White: Clayton Kershaw - I usually wouldn’t give the MVP to a pitcher because they impact about a fifth of the season at the most but when a pitcher has a season like Clayton Kershaw they definitely deserve to be in the conversation. Kershaw led MLB in WAR (7.5), WHIP (0.86), and ERA (1.77). He also led MLB in wins with 21 and he only had 27 starts because he was hurt most of April. Whether you care about win-loss record what he did was remarkable. Another statistic that is crazy is Kershaw through 198.1 innings and struck out 239 batters which ranked 7th in MLB. Let’s remember most he had about seven less starts and between 30-to-50 less innings than his peers ahead of him. I realize Giancarlo Stanton and Andrew McCutchen had great seasons and they are very valuable to their teams but neither blew away the field. Kershaw put together an all-time great season and he should not only win the NL MVP but also the NL CY Young award.

Salvatore: Clayton Kershaw - He went 21-3, clearly a valuable statistic to any team in baseball. Hes MLB-best ERA of 1.77 is incredible, and .37 ahead of the next highest ERA. His K/BB ratio of 239/31 adds to his deserving of the NL MVP title. In my opinion, Clayton Kershaw was the best player of 2014.

Clary: Clayton Kershaw - There have only been seven pitchers to win the MVP award in MLB history, and Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw deserves to be the eighth. He had one of the most remarkable pitching seasons ever, pitching to a 21-3 record with a 1.77 ERA, six complete games, and 239 strikeouts. He once again struggled in the postseason, but that does not go into MVP voting. He was the most dominant pitcher in the league, and he was invaluable to his team.

American League CY Young

David Maxwell/Getty Images North America

Talley: Corey Kluber - Kluber was a guy that nobody really cared about an didn't pay attention to him, but man did that change. He went 18-9 with a 2.44 ERA and had 269 Ks. He often allowed just 5 hits and flirted with a no-no a couple times. Everyone will be paying attention to him from now on.

White: Corey Kluber - The AL CY Young Award is a tough debate between Felix Hernandez and Corey Kluber. I realize Chris Sale is great but I think King Felix and Kluber are the front runners. Kluber finished 1st in the AL in WAR at 7.4 while Hernandez was 2nd with a 6.8 WAR. Felix was 1st in the AL with a 2.14 ERA, Kluber finished 3rd with a 2.44 ERA. Hernandez recorded one more out than Kluber, 236 innings pitched compared to 235.2 innings pitched. Kluber did strike out more batters with 269 compared to 248. They both had great season that are so similar it’s hard to choose. My tiebreaker is very simple, who won the most games. Kluber finished the season going 18-9 while Hernandez finished with a 15-6 record. It may not be the best factor to decide this award but it was that close. We all know how great King Felix is but Kluber was a pleasant surprise and has now put himself with the top tier pitchers in the game. My AL CY Young Awards goes to Corey Kluber of the Cleveland Indians.

Salvatore: Corey Kluber - Corey Kluber's outstanding season make him worthy of the AL Cy Young Award. The ace of Cleveland was lights-out pitching, striking out 269 batters, just two less than David Price when it comes to the league-best. While his ERA of 2.44 was not outstanding, his 18-9 record is something to take note of. Of the six players that had 18 or more wins, only Clayton Kershaw had a better K/BB ratio.

Clary: Felix Hernandez - Hernandez was the unanimous choice at the All Star Break, but a late run by Indians’ Corey Kluber put some uncertainty in the minds of voters. However, King Felix staved off Kluber’s competition in my book. He was phenomenal all season with a 2.14 ERA and 248 strikeouts and was one of the most important pieces of the Mariners’ turnaround season.

National League CY Young

Stephen Dunn/Getty Images North America

Talley: Clayton Kershaw - This needs little explanation, since I have Kershaw winning the MVP, it is basically a given that he wins the Cy Young Award too. Just being an MVP finalist means Kershaw is the best pitcher in the game.

White: Clayton Kershaw - Like I said earlier, Clayton Kershaw is both my NL MVP and my NL CY Young Award winner. Any other season Johnny Cueto and Adam Wainwright would win but Kershaw was that historic this season. Of course, if we included the postseason you might pick Madison Bumgarner because of the historic performance he put together on the biggest stage but that doesn’t factor in as this is a regular season award.

Salvatore: Clayton Kershaw - Clayton Kershaw is the obvious choice when it comes to the Cy Young award. There is not much he could have done better in 2014; he had the best record, the best ERA, the best WHIP, the least amount of earned runs of any pitcher with at least 135 innings pitched, and he second-best batting average against. These statistics are undeniable of making Clayton Kershaw worthy of the NL Cy Young Award.

Clary: Clayton Kershaw - I picked Kershaw to be the MVP of the National League, so he is obviously my choice for Cy Young. Johnny Cueto had a fabulous season and was the most improved player, but neither him nor Wainwright matched Kershaw’s brilliance this season.

American League Manager of the Year

Jamie Squire/Getty Images North America

Talley: Ned Yost - The Manager of the Year award is often given to the manager of a team that has been really bad for awhile and going to or coming close to being in the playoffs. That is exactly what Mr. Yost did with the KC Royals this year, they hadn't made the playoffs in 28 seasons. The last time they were in the playoffs they won the World Series in 1985.

White: Buck Showalter - My AL MOY has to be Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter. All the injuries and obstacles Buck had to deal with and still lead his team to a 96 win season is remarkable. How many teams could lose their All-Star catcher in Matt Wieters for the majority of the season, their All-Star third baseman Manny Machado for about half the season and their All-Star first baseman Chris Davis had a terrible season leading to a 25-game suspension for amphetamines and still win the division? What Showalter does to bring a entire team together and play hard on a nightly basis no matter the circumstances is unbelievable. He manages the bullpen very well and does a great job in the American League and making lineup changes to keep his team fresh and give his bench players a chance to succeed when they play.

Salvatore: Ned Yost - Ned Yost led the Royals on an incredible run in 2014. He took a team with the 10th lowest payroll in the MLB and led them to Game 7 of the World Series. Despite having the lowest payroll of the postseason, Ned Yost brought his team one single away from tying and possibly winning the World Series. His small-ball play and use of speed proved his intelligence of the game and ability to get done what needs to be done. Yost made the most out of what he had, and was successful in doing so. This fact makes him deserving of the AL Manager of the Year award.

Clary: Buck Showalter - The Orioles sustained some major headaches over the course of the season, including season-ending injuries to both Matt Wieters and Manny Machado. Throw in an ineffective Chris Davis and lack of a true ace starting pitcher, and the Orioles could have had a rough season. However, Showalter’s managerial showing was on full display. He handled the bullpen superbly all season long, and under his tutelage the Orioles won the AL East and even beat the Tigers in the ALDS.

National League Manager of the Year

Elsa/Getty Images North America

Talley: Bruce Bochy - This award will be mainly based on the SF Giants winning the World Series. Bochy won the WS with a Wild Card team and took them through a Wild Card game against the Pirates, the NLDS against the number 1 seed Nationals, NLCS against the Cardinals, and the World Series against the Cinderella Story Royals. Bochy has quietly created a dynasty with the Giants winning it all the past 3 of 5 seasons.

White: Bruce Bochy - It took San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy three World Series in five years to be recognized as the best manager in MLB. What Bochy does with a team that doesn’t have superstars is unbelievable. Just like Buck Showalter, Bruce Bochy puts his players in a position to succeed by giving them supreme confidence that they can help this team win. In the end is led to another World Series Championship and I think Bochy is finally recognized as one of the best managers this game has ever seen. Even though the Giants didn’t win the division I still think Bruce Bochy is well deserving of the NL MOY.

Salvatore: Bruce Bochy - What more can you ask for from the manager of the 2014 World Series? Bochy did all the right things in his trip to the World Series parade, and thus has proved himself worthy of the NL Manager of the Year award.

Clary: Bruce Bochy - This was an easy choice as well. Bochy is arguably one of the best managers of all time and he showed it all season long. He weathered the storm of several injuries, including Matt Cain, and led the Giants to a Wild Card spot in the playoffs.