2014 Players’ Choice Awards

The 2014 Major League Baseball Players’ Choice Award winners were announced last night on MLB Network. Unlike the BBWAA awards, these awards, as the name would suggest, are voted on by players from around baseball each September, when they receive a ballot to make their picks for each category. Six categories in all, American League players vote for American League players with National League players voting for National League players, with the exception of the Marvin Miller Man of the Year award and the Player of the Year award, in which players from both leagues vote for a single player.

The winning player for each category is awarded a grant from the MLB Players Trust, ranging from 20,000 to 50,000 dollars, depending on the award that they win. The money goes to the winner’s choice of charity, with some players deciding to split up the money between multiple causes. This marks the 22nd annual Players Choice Awards, which began in 1992. Here’s a recap of the winners, with my thoughts on each:

OUTSTANDING ROOKIE AWARD ($20,000)

AL Nominees – Jose Abreu, Matt Shoemaker and Danny Santana

AL Winner – Jose Abreu

NL Nominees – Billy Hamilton, Jacob deGrom and David Peralta

NL Winner – Jacob deGrom

Although I feel that Dellin Betances should’ve been one of the American League nominees for Outstanding Rookie after the great season he had, I can’t argue at all with the winner. Jose Abreu had an unbelievable inaugural season, hitting 36 homers with the White Sox, and will likely be a big part of their future in the many years to come. On the National League side of the award, it came down to Billy Hamilton and Jacob deGrom for me. But although it was a close call, Hamilton hitting around .250 earns deGrom the award.

OUTSTANDING PITCHER AWARD ($20,000)

AL Nominees – Felix Hernandez, Corey Kluber and Chris Sale

AL Winner – Felix Hernandez

NL Nominees – Johnny Cueto, Clayton Kershaw and Adam Wainwright

NL Winner – Clayton Kershaw

All three American League nominees had incredible seasons worthy of recognition, but Felix Hernandez had the best statistical season of them all. Posting a career high 15 wins and a career low 2.14 ERA, Hernandez was the obvious choice. As was Clayton Kershaw. Taking home the Outstanding Pitcher award for the National League, Kershaw had a historic season with a miniscule 1.77 ERA, and there was no way that he wasn’t going to win this award.

COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD ($20,000)

AL Nominees – J.D. Martinez, Victor Martinez and Chris Young

AL Winner – Chris Young

NL Nominees – Tim Hudson, Casey McGehee and Edinson Volquez

NL Winner – Casey McGehee

Obviously the one award that a player least wants to receive, meaning that they bounced back from years of injuries or poor performance. (But the important aspect, I suppose, is that the player did in fact bounce back.) Winning the Comeback Player of the Year award for the American League was Chris Young (the pitcher, not the outfielder) along with Casey McGehee for the National League. Both players had tremendous 2014 campaigns, coming off recent struggles on both their parts.

OUTSTANDING PLAYER AWARD ($20,000)

AL Nominees – Mike Trout, Jose Altuve and Victor Martinez

AL Winner – Mike Trout

NL Nominees – Josh Harrison, Clayton Kershaw and Giancarlo Stanton

NL Winner – Giancarlo Stanton

Seemingly getting better and better each year, with plans to get even better in 2015, Mike Trout was the players’ choice for Outstanding American League player of the year. Scoring over 100 runs for the third straight season, and breaking the 30 homer mark for the first time in his young career, Trout could be taking this award home for many years. For the National League, Giancarlo Stanton received the honor. Despite an injury which cut his season short, players agreed that Stanton, with his incredible display of power, is the rightful winner.

MARVIN MILLER MAN OF THE YEAR AWARD ($50,000)

Nominees – Clayton Kershaw, Adam LaRoche and Anthony Rizzo

Winner – Clayton Kershaw

The Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award is given each year to the player most recognized for outstanding on-field performance and off-field contributions to his community. Past winners include Mark McGwire, Albert Pujols, Chipper Jones and Mariano Rivera, among many others. This year, the award went to Clayton Kershaw, whose ‘Kershaw’s Challenge’ looks “to encourage people to use whatever God-given passion or talent they have to make a difference and give back to people in need”. Combine Kershaw’s community contributions with his 2014 stats, and he definitely is the top choice for the prestigious award.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD ($50,000)

Nominees – Clayton Kershaw, Giancarlo Stanton and Mike Trout

Winner – Clayton Kershaw

Taking home his third award of the night, and bringing the total amount of money donated by the MLB Players Trust to $120,000, Clayton Kershaw takes dominance of award winning to a new level. Going 21-3 with a 1.77 ERA over the course of the season, Kershaw likely is just getting started. With the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) awards being given out next week, it’s almost certain that Kershaw will take home the National League Cy Young award — with many putting him in line to win the NL MVP as well.