Dark Horses Who Could Shake Up the 2014 MLB Award Voting Results
Even though the 2014 MLB awards have yet to be handed out, in certain cases, the name of the winner has all but been etched onto the trophy. Take, for instance, Clayton Kershaw and the National League Cy Young Award. The lefty ace is a lock to snag that honor.
However, in other races, like the American League Manager of the Year award and the NL MVP, the trophy is still very much up for grabs.
From Giancarlo Stanton to Ned Yost, there are a number of dark-horse candidates who could shake up the 2014 MLB awards voting results.
NL Manager of the Year
1 of 5
The Finalists: Bruce Bochy, San Francisco Giants; Clint Hurdle, Pittsburgh Pirates; Matt Williams, Washington Nationals
The Favorite: Williams
The Dark Horse
History suggests that Clint Hurdle, the 2013 NL Manager of the Year, won't be claiming this honor in back-to-back seasons.
As Tom Singer of MLB.com notes, in the 31 years that this award has existed, only one manager has earned the distinction in consecutive seasons. Still, the veteran skipper is worthy of consideration thanks to the way that he guided his club, which dealt with an array of injuries throughout the season.
The Pittsburgh Pirates stormed to a wild-card berth, reeling off a 17-9 September before running into a buzz saw in the form of Madison Bumgarner in the NL Wild Card Game.
AL Manager of the Year
2 of 5
The Finalists: Mike Scioscia, Los Angeles Angels; Buck Showalter, Baltimore Orioles; Ned Yost, Kansas City Royals
The Favorite: Showalter
The Dark Horse
While he's best known for his unorthodox managerial style, Ned Yost deserves a ton of credit for leading the Kansas City Royals to the club's first postseason appearance since 1985.
After an up-and-down first 100 games of the season, the squad really hit its stride during the final two months of the season. In August and September, the Royals posted a 34-21 record, and the team just missed out on overtaking the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central.
Yost would have an even more compelling case for winning this award if the voting hadn't been conducted before the start of the playoffs. The manager did his best work of all in October, as the Royals came within a game of winning the Fall Classic.
NL MVP
3 of 5The Finalists: Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers; Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates; Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins
The Favorite: Kershaw
The Dark Horse
It's impossible to find an NL position player who had a better season than Giancarlo Stanton. The 25-year-old, who has unreal power, led the Senior Circuit with 37 home runs. He also set the pace with a .555 slugging percentage and checked in with the second-highest OPS at .950.
According to Joe Frisaro of MLB.com, the Fish and Stanton have begun "preliminary" discussions about a multiyear contract extension. Adding the MVP to his impressive resume would only raise his price tag, which already figures to be extremely high. The way Stanton played in 2014, it's just a matter of time before the right fielder earns one of the richest deals of any position player in baseball.
Of course, there are important factors that dent his candidacy. Traditionally, the MVP has been dished out to a player who led his club into October. While the Miami Marlins exceeded expectations in 2014, the team didn't play a serious part in the playoff chase.
There's also the historic dominance of Clayton Kershaw to consider. The left-hander was the definition of "most valuable," as he earned 21 wins in 27 starts.
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AL Cy Young Award
4 of 5The Finalists: Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners; Corey Kluber, Cleveland Indians; Chris Sale, Chicago White Sox
The Favorite: Hernandez
The Dark Horse
It won't be easy for Corey Kluber to top King Felix on the AL Cy Young Award ballot.
Simply put, Felix Hernandez is universally regarded as one of the best pitchers in baseball. Kluber definitely has the vote of Cleveland Indians general manager Chris Antonetti, as the executive explained, via Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.
"It was an incredible year. He was, in our view, the best pitcher in the American League this year. His consistency, and his consistent dominance, was a big part of the reason we were able to win as many games as we did.
"
Kluber's strikeout numbers back up Antonetti's claim about the right-hander's "consistent dominance." The 28-year-old was second in baseball with 269 K's. Per FanGraphs, Kluber punched out 28.3 percent of the batters he faced, which was the third-highest rate among all starting pitchers. He also racked up 18 wins and posted a 2.44 ERA.
AL Rookie of the Year
5 of 5The Finalists: Jose Abreu, Chicago White Sox; Matt Shoemaker, Los Angeles Angels; Dellin Betances, New York Yankees
The Favorite: Abreu
The Dark Horse
It's incredibly challenging to earn the Rookie of the Year Award as a setup man. The task isn't made any easier by the presence of Jose Abreu in the same rookie class. However, if there has ever been an eighth-inning ace who deserved major consideration, it's Dellin Betances.
The right-hander was nearly unhittable out of the bullpen, limiting the opposition to a .149 batting average. The 26-year-old posted a 1.40 ERA in 70 outings and also broke Mariano Rivera's club record for the most strikeouts by a New York Yankees reliever in a single season. With 135 punchouts, Betances ranked third among all Yankees on the staff.
Note: All stats and videos courtesy of MLB.com.
If you want tot talk baseball, find me on Twitter @KarlBuscheck.
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