Longoria lived up to his hype of being an impact rookie. He came up early this season and gave the Rays a season-long boost. He managed to hit nearly 30 home runs and had almost 100 R.B.I.'s despite missing some time due to a wrist injury. He posted a .272 batting average on the season, which suffered a bit after he tried to get back on track after his wrist injury. Being a major contributor to one of the best teams in the league also helps Longoria. He wins the award in what will probably be a close race between him and Alexei Ramirez of the White Sox, who also deserves consideration for the award.
Manager of the Year: Joe Maddon, Rays (New Pick)
Ron Gardenhire, Twins (Old Pick)
Joe Maddon presided over one of the most impressive turn-arounds in the majors. Tampa Bay went from one of the worst teams in the majors to being a division winner with one of the best records in baseball. Maddon was able to keep a young team in contention, while dealing with injuries that sidelined stars Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria for much of the last two months of the season. Maddon deserves as much credit as anyone for the impressive turn-around of the Rays. In any other year, Ron Gardenhire would have won the award for his job with the most underrated teams in the majors. But, the bottom line is that Maddon, not Gardenhire, will still be managing in October.
Surprise of the Year: Cliff Lee, Indians (New Pick)
Josh Hamilton, Rangers (Old Pick)
Hamilton emerged into one of the top offensive threats in the American League. However, his improvement from last year to this year wasn't enough to make him this year's surprise. Lee went from a struggling major league pitcher last year to this year's probable Cy Young Award winner. Lee won a starting spot in spring training and didn't look back from there, becoming an ace in Cleveland. Nobody saw this coming from Cliff Lee, so he was easily the biggest surprise of 2008.
Disappointment of the Year: Dontrelle Willis, Tigers (New Pick)
Erik Bedard, Mariners (Old Pick)
Both the Mariners and Tigers could have won this award as a team but, I want to limit this to individual performances. Bedard was a disappointment with injuries but, he managed to pitch relatively well while he was healthy. Dontrelle Willis started seven games for the Tigers and didn't manage to win any of them. He posted a 9.38 E.R.A. for the Tigers after being acquired in one of the most high-profile moves of the off-season. Willis' struggles with a team that were supposed to contend for the World Series is the main reason he wins this award.
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