Kershaw, Kluber win Cy Young Awards
Ho hum, Kershaw wins another Cy Young Award. What's new? It's his third in a row and it was a unanimous decision. Kluber's selection wasn't as much of a sure thing, because Felix Hernandez had a pretty good year too. In the end, though, Kluber earned 17 first place votes to Felix's 13. Kluber has improved his numbers each year since debuting in 2011, and is the fourth Indians pitcher to win the award in addition to Cliff Lee, CC Sabathia, and Gaylord Perry.
Kershaw also wins NL MVP; Trout unanimous in AL
Not since 1968 had a National League pitcher been MVP, and Kershaw is the third Dodgers pitcher to win the Cy Young Award and MVP in the same year. As for Trout, he finally emerged from Miguel Cabrera's shadow the last two years despite his BA and OBP actually being worse than last year.
Abreu, deGrom are Rookies of the Year
Jose Abreu set the AL on fire in 2014 with 36 homers, a .317 BA and a .383 OBP, so him being a unanimous selection in the AL didn't come as a big surprise to anybody. The selection of Jacob deGrom as the top NL rookie, on the other hand, had many Reds fans scratching their heads. Looking at the vote tallies, it really wasn't close. All 2014 awards voting results here.
The ROY voters somehow missed the Chapman-esque way the atmosphere in GAPB just changed on a dime whenever Billy Hamilton got on base.
— Sarah Curtis (@SarahInPrint) November 11, 2014
Billy Hamilton came into the season with the weight of expectation. DeGrom did not. Billy exceeded a lot of his. #Reds
— Jake Arthur (@REDSHulk) November 11, 2014
HOW CAN YOU NOT GIVE THE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR TO BILLY HAMILTON. HE WAS A HUMAN HIGHLIGHT REEL
— Ross Elkins (@rosselkins) November 11, 2014
Explain to me how Billy Hamilton didn't get Rookie of the Year. He's insanely good. No reason why he shouldn't have gotten it. #RunBillyRun
— Beth Felerski (@iAmBethsheba) November 11, 2014
No offense to @JdeGrom19 , but, @Reds @BillyHamilton got shafted out of NL ROY award. Great "full" season Billy Hamilton.
— Maxwell (@drgns13) November 11, 2014
How anyone not named Billy Hamilton won rookie of the year in the NL is beyond me.
— CK (@CisforCraig) November 11, 2014
Sacrificing the 15th overall pick to sign a 35-year-old "outfielder"? Many of the folks at Amazin' Avenue don't seem too thrilled.
Padres win negotiation rights with Korean pitcher
Gwang-hyun Kim is a 26-year-old lefty and eight-year veteran of the KBO. He owns a 3.28 ERA and 864 strikeouts; one area of concern is his walks: 4.1 BB/9 in 1,027.2 innings.
MLB investigating Joe Maddon hiring
The powers that be in MLB are investigating the Cubs for alleged tampering, that the team contacted Maddon before he opted out of his contract with the Rays. Cubs management welcomed the investigation, while Maddon's agent said the allegations were "embarrassing".
Rays trade Jeremy Hellickson to Arizona
In return, the Rays get two low-A minor leaguers: outfielder Justin Williams and shortstop Andrew Velazquez, both of whom were among the 20 best prospects in the D-backs system. Hellickson won the 2011 AL Rookie of the Year, but this year and last have been rough on him with a combined ERA just short of 5.00.
A.J. Burnett returns to Pirates on one-year deal
Burnett turned down his option to return to the Phillies and signed on with Pittsburgh for less money than what his option would've given him. The Pirates could potentially lose Liriano and Volquez to free agency, so they're looking for pitching wherever they can find it. He'll be 38 years old on Opening Day.