GIBBY Awards 2013: Predictions for Baseball's Top Solo Awards

The 2013 GIBBYS have arrived now that MLB has crowned the Boston Red Sox World Series champions.

As is the case each year, the industry will shell out 22 awards for a variety of categories encompassing the best players and moments of the 2013 season.

Votes come courtesy of media members, front-office personnel, former players, the Society for American Baseball Research and fans at the league's official website.

Here's a look at the full list of categories with a predicted winner, followed by a breakdown of MLB's top solo awards this year.

Enjoy.

Award	Predicted Winner
Stars
Must C
MLB MVP	Miguel Cabrera, 3B, Detroit Tigers
Hitter	Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, Arizona Diamondbacks
Starting Pitcher	Max Scherzer, Detroit Tigers
Rookie	Yasiel Puig, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers
Closer	Koji Uehara, Boston Red Sox
Setup Man	Tyler Clippard, Washington Nationals
Defensive Player	Dustin Pedroia, 2B, Boston Red Sox
Breakout Hitter	Jason Kipnis, 2B, Cleveland Indians
Breakout Pitcher	Matt Harvey, SP, New York Mets
Comeback Player	Mariano Rivera, RP, New York Yankees
Manager	Jim Leyland, Detroit Tigers
Executive	Neal Huntington, Pittsburgh Pirates
Postseason MVP	David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox
Play	Behind the back for two, Yunel Escobar, Tampa Bay Rays (July 24 at BOS)
Moment	Emotional day at Fenway, Boston Red Sox (April 20 vs. KC)
Storyline	Boston Strong
Hitting Performance	Troutstanding, Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels (May 21 vs. SEA)
Pitching Performance	Back-to-back Homer, Homer Bailey, Cincinnati Reds (July 2 vs. SF)
Oddity	Segura steals first base, Jean Segura, Milwaukee Brewers (April 19 vs. CHI)
Walk-Off	Nava count them out, Boston Red Sox (Aug. 1 vs. SEA)
Cut4 Topic	1,800-mile first pitch, Oakland Athletics (June 12 vs. NYY)
Postseason Moment	Fenway's first Fall Classic clincher since 1918, Boston Red Sox (Oct. 30 vs. STL)

Note: All contestants for each award and official voting can be found at MLB.com.

MLB MVP: Miguel Cabrera, 3B, Detroit Tigers

A second-straight American League MVP award is in the cards for Miguel Cabrera after being named a finalist by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

The 2013 GIBBYS MVP award is in hand as well.

Despite strong competition from names such as Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angles and Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cabrera's journey has simply been more impressive.

Cabrera put together a season for the ages capped off with a third batting title in a row. He led the MLB in average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage and was a runner-up in homers, RBI and total bases.

Officially Cabrera hit .348 with 44 home runs and 137 RBI—all while hampered in the closing months of the season with a sports hernia per Dayn Perry of CBS Sports.

Impressive, and Cabrera will be rewarded for his efforts.

Hitter: Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, Arizona Diamondbacks

Paul Goldschmidt has arrived.

Goldschmidt took home the National League Gold Glove award at first base and the National League 2013 Hank Aaron award, which goes to the top hitter.

That far and away was Goldschmidt, who hit .302 with a career-best 36 home runs and 125 RBI. The 26-year-old also scored 103 times and stole 15 bases.

Goldschmidt faces plenty of competition from Cabrera and names such as Michael Cuddyer, but his year is hard to top and more than worthy of the recognition. 

The future is bright in Arizona. 

Starting Pitcher: Max Scherzer, Detroit Tigers

Being named the American League All-Star Game starter was just the beginning of the accolades for Max Scherzer.

Scherzer started the year with a ridiculous 13-0 record. He ended with an impressive feat—in 20 of his 32 starts, Scherzer allowed two or fewer runs.

He also led the American League in WHIP (0.97) and ranked second with 240 strikeouts to go with an impressive 21-3 record and a 2.90 ERA.

Scherzer led the MLB in wins, and while that's not the only criteria for such an award, his entire body of work stands tall above the accomplishments of others.

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