2012 SBN Awards: National League Player of the Year

It's interesting how voting on these awards worked. Put together a bunch of avid baseball followers, no matter if they write for newspapers and can actually vote on the BBWAA awards or if they write for SB Nation, and the results somehow manage to shake out close together.

The voting for National League Player of the Year was done before the season ended, so his subsequent World Series title didn't affect it, but Buster Posey was clearly the guy most people thought was the MVP this year. He got 26 out of 35 first place votes.

Posey hit .336/.408/.549 this season in 610 plate appearances with 24 home runs and 39 doubles. He also compiled a wRC+ of 162 and had 8.0 fWAR this season. From a catcher, that is simply outstanding and is probably a big reason he won this award.

Here's the rest of the voting with TCB's ballot breakdowns after the chart:

Player Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th PointsBuster PoseySan Francisco Giants2663442Ryan BraunMilwaukee Brewers716642330Andrew McCutchenPittsburgh Pirates271483277David WrightNew York Mets265106211204Chase HeadleySan Diego Padres21367311190Yadier MolinaSt. Louis Cardinals422710531189Jason HeywardAtlanta Braves21574590Aramis RamirezMilwaukee Brewers11353448Michael BournAtlanta Braves1454347Matt HollidaySt. Louis Cardinals1215128Joey VottoCincinnati Reds111425Clayton KershawLos Angeles Dodgers121324Gio GonzalezWashington Nationals112121Aaron HillArizona Diamondbacks34421Ian DesmondWashington Nationals23219Jay BruceCincinnati Reds11114R.A. DickeyNew York Mets111214Giancarlo StantonMiami Marlins11411Carlos RuizPhiladelphia Phillies1110Adam LaRocheWashington Nationals117Matt KempLos Angeles Dodgers116Johnny CuetoCincinnati Reds116Martin PradoAtlanta Braves1116Carlos GonzalezColorado Rockies15Chipper JonesAtlanta Braves15Bryce HarperWashington Nationals115Allen CraigSt. Louis Cardinals115Melky CabreraSan Francisco Giants24Ryan ZimmermanWashington Nationals124Carlos BeltranSt. Louis Cardinals13Craig KimbrelAtlanta Braves12Alfonso SorianoChicago Cubs22Paul GoldschmidtArizona Diamondbacks11

David's Ballot

My top three were Posey, Braun and David Wright. I like that Braun was named on all 35 ballots and that he finished second here. Maybe we're getting away from the taint that PED accusations can have on a player and not just becoming more tolerant of people who use PEDs (not that Braun did...he was vindicated and stuff).

McCutcheon finishing third was a little surprising, but I can understand with how ridiculously hot he was for much of the season. I had him fifth on my ballot and was one of three people to rank him there. My fourth vote went to Jason Heyward, because I liked his all-around season for a team that made the playoffs (however slightly).

Who was that ninny who gave Michael Bourn a sixth place vote and got him ranked so highly? That'd be me, and I rounded out my top ten with Beaumont's own Jay Bruce, Aramis Ramirez, Yadier Molina and Ryan Zimmerman. Mine turned out to be the lowest vote for Yadi, which could be partly because of my St. Louis bias, but I was not alone. Molina may have been one of the most polarizing candidates, as he garnered second place votes and ninth place votes with at least one vote for every place in between.

No homeristic votes from me in this one, unless you count my placement of Bourn there, or my drop of Yadi. I like to think my overvaluing of Bourn was more because I appreciate his unique defensive prowess and wanted to reward it accordingly. I could just be self-delusional, though.

Tim can feel free to fill in the details of his ballot when he gets a chance. We listed all of the same players except two, with Tim leaving off Jay Bruce (of course he did) and putting in Aaron Hill instead (wha?).

Tim's Ballot

My ballot followed very close to the results with a few players flip-flopped. I had Posey and Braun at the top in that order. I then flip-flopped Wright and McCutchen. I had Headly where he finished. Heyward and Molina were flip-flopped. And then this is where my ballot diverged a bit I had Bourn and Ramirez in the bottom three of my ballot (we voted on 10 players). Bourn eighth because I have an obsessions with his defense (apparently not as much as David), Aaron Hill ninth and Ramirez 10th.

In the Aaron Hill vs Jay Bruce debate I'm pretty sure David is trolling. Hill was the best second basemen in the National League and Bruce was the eighth best right fielder in the National League, according to WAR.

What do you think here? Were our votes off-kilter in any way? Is this how you see the NL MVP breaking down?

Read The Full Article:
http://www.crawfishboxes.com/2012/11/15/3648400/2012-sbn-awards-player-of-the-yea
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