(Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
Most Valuable Ray: Carl Crawford
The Rays had many players with strong seasons this year, which even adds more to why the Rays clearly had a good enough year, but CC put up a career year.
He batted .305 with 15 homers, eight triples, 68 RBI's and 6o stolen bases out of the two hole most of the year. Not to mention he is the longest tenured Ray and a great guy for the clubhouse.
The MVR award could've easily gone to Ben Zobrist, Evan Longoria, or Jason Bartlett, but CC has proven himself as a player that is needed on the Rays and has been consistent over his many years with the Rays.
Scott Kazmir Award: Best Season by a pitcher: Jeff Niemann
In honor of the first Rays pitcher who gave our starting rotation hope when he was traded here from the Mets, the first annual Scott Kazmir award goes to Jeff Niemann.
Niemann is only a rookie, but is definately deserving of this award. He posted a 13-6 season with a 3.94 ERA after he barely edged out Jason Hammel for a rotation spot out of Spring Training, and I guess it is a good thing he did.
He put up the best season of any Rays pitcher, by far, and gave the Rays a solid, dependable starter that they needed most of the year.
Single Game Batting Performance: BJ Upton's October 2nd cycle
This was only a couple days ago, but it was the best performance by a batter all season. He posted the first ever cycle in Rays franchise history to go along with his five-for-five performance and his six RBIs and three runs.
Did I mention he did it off of CC Sabathia? Also, that he completed it in only five innings? BJ Upton had a rough season, we all know, but this was one bright spot in his otherwise forgetable year.
Single Game Pitching Performance: Matt Garza's April 30th Near Perfect Game
Even though it was a while ago, we all remember this one. Matt Garza took a perfect game into the seventh inning against the Boston Red Sox and left the game after 7.2 innings and only allowing one hit and no runs.
Garza didn't have nearly as good a season as he did in 2008, but this was a memorable start from the 2009 season. Grant Balfour closed out the game, and the Rays took the game 13-0.
Rays Bum of the Year: Pat Burrell
This was a close one between Burrell and BJ Upton, but BJ had a great month, and Burrell didn't. We came into this season with high hopes for Pat the Bat, since he was the first real free agent the Rays had signed in a long time.
The Rays front office spent a lot of money for him to hit for a living and he made them look foolish. He finished the season with a .218 average and 14 homers. A very dissapointing season out of this veteran.
We all better hope that he turns it around next season or they trade him, or we are in for another long season.
The Rays closed out the second-best season in franchise history with a lot of bright spots, but came up short in making it further into October. There is always next year.
This article was originally posted on my blog, http://raysallday.com/. If you would like to read more articles like this, please check it out.
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