Football season is finally underway. With this, many people forget about the October festivity of paramount importance: the MLB postseason. The Redskins and Ravens should be an insignificant issue around the Beltway as the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles gear up for the the playoffs. As both teams enter October with high expectations, let’s take a look back at this season’s award races and a look forward at some postseason predictions.
Although the American League MVP race is hardly a race at all, it should have some controversy in it. Mike Trout, after falling short for two straight years to Miguel Cabrera’s reign of offensive-terror, will be the surefire pick as the Most Valuable Player of the AL. Trout led baseball with 115 runs scored and had a whopping 36 home runs and 111 RBI. He is, without question, the heart of the best team in baseball, the L.A. Angels. However, one player did, arguably, have a better season than Trout: the Astros’ Jose Altuve. The aptly nicknamed 5’6” “Gigante” won the MLB batting title with a video-game-like .341 batting average, 56 stolen bases, and a ridiculous 225 hits. However, Altuve will be watching the postseason from his couch this year, so he’ll have to deal with a meager runner-up finish.
The AL Cy Young award may seem like a difficult pick, but there shouldn’t be much of a dispute. Felix Hernandez had an amazing year as he finished with a 2.18 ERA, 0.932 WHIP, and 241 strikeouts; all career bests. However, a new king in town in 2014 was the Cleveland Indians’ ace Corey Kluber, who had a shocking breakout year. Corey who? Exactly. The Cleveland Indians ace had a phenomenal year that basically went unnoticed until now. Kluber ended his 2014 campaign with an American League-leading 18 wins to go along with a 2.44 ERA and a league-leading 269 strikeouts. With a WAR of 7.5, over a game higher than that of Felix Hernandez and Chris Sale, Kluber was without a doubt the most valuable pitcher this year.
The NL MVP and Cy Young awards are as one-sided as it gets in this 2014 season. The L.A. Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw, the 26-year-old, 2-time Cy Young award-winning phenom had one of the greatest seasons in MLB history. The Southpaw led the Dodgers’ famed pitching staff with an astounding 21-3 record, an unbelievable 1.77 ERA, 239 strikeouts and 6 complete games, including a no-hitter. There is no doubt that Kershaw is the NL Cy Young winner, and any questions as to whether or not he would also be MVP ended with an injury to MVP candidate Giancarlo Stanton’s season in early September.
The World Series winner will be the Washington Nationals. With the best starting pitching in baseball to go along with a deep lineup and a great bullpen, it’s hard to bet against the Nats. I predict that the Nationals will beat the Detroit Tigers in six games. The Tigers have struggled this year, considering the amount of talent on their roster, but I predict that they will have a strong playoff run, and will come up short again.