This year's American League MVP race was more interesting than it has been in a long time. Many candidates emerged as the season progressed, and the old debate about whether a pitcher should be considered was taken up again, thanks to Justin Verlander's outstanding year. I don't envy the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA). They had a tough job in front of them and it will be interesting to see who they picked as the winner next month.

By the end of this month, however, the Baseball Bloggers Alliance will announce its choice for the Stan Musial Award for Top Player. I worked on my ballot for the award this morning and, let me tell you, it was not easy by any means. It was also depressing. As a Yankee fan I was disappointed that none of the candidates on my team had stats worthy enough to win them the award (in my opinion). I had to settle for them being in third and fourth place, respectively. So, the following is my ballot for the award:

1st Place, Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays
2nd Place, Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
3rd Place, Curtis Granderson, New York Yankees
4th Place, Robinson Cano, New York Yankees
5th Place, Adrian Gonzalez, Boston Red Sox
6th Place, Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston Red Sox
7th Place, Michael Young, Texas Rangers
8th Place, Adrian Beltre, Texas Rangers
9th Place, David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox
10th Place, Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox

There you have it. This is the last of the BBA awards this season. It is always interesting to compare our organization's votes with those of the BBWAA. They are usually the same or similar. That makes me feel pretty good about the baseball blogosphere.