We at Last Word On Sports are proud and excited to bring you the first annual LWOS MLB Season Awards. We now present part three: the Mystery Awards. These awards don’t necessarily fall into the traditional categories handed out the end of the season. Without any further ado, let’s see who we felt deserved the honor, or otherwise, of these accolades.
Most Overrated Player
Brandon Murphy: Ian Desmond – He had a .236 AVG., slugged under .400 (and power is his only strong suit), and was arguably the worst defensive player in the majors. The Nationals have a big decision on their hands in whether to move forward with Desmond next spring.
Joshua Greenberg: Johnny Cueto – After posting a 2.62 ERA in 19 starts for the Reds, he was traded to the Royals and proceeded to stink the place up. He allowed 43 earned runs in 81.1 innings en route to 4-7 record for KC. Wins and losses aren’t a great metric for measuring a pitcher’s performance, but his peripheral stats don’t make him look any better.
Bilal Vakani: Brett Lawrie – How did Billy Beane think swapping Josh Donaldson for the hotheaded Canadian was a good idea? One is an MVP-caliber star and the other is… disappointing at best.
Sean Couch: Mat Latos – Make no mistake, three years ago, Latos was a solid, front-of-the-rotation kind of guy. But this isn’t three years ago. Within the last year, Latos has bounced around from Cincinnati to Miami to Los Angeles, and was recently picked up by the Angels. With a 2015 ERA of 4.95, I have to wonder what these clubs see in him.
Ryan Ram: Matt Kemp – He is living proof that RBI are meaningless. Kemp has 100 RBI, 12th in all of baseball, but has only been worth 0.6 WAR. He has been the worst fielder in the majors this season and for someone who is considered by some to be a run producer because of the RBI total, he currently ranks 100th among qualified hitters in OBP and 65th in SLG.
Andrew Ferrall: Yasiel Puig – While Puig isn’t alone in this category, he simply just didn’t live up to the hype this year with the Dodgers. When the Dodgers traded Matt Kemp, it became Puig’s outfield. A combination of over aggressiveness at the plate, and stories of a bad attitude that have leaked from teammates and at times have been shown on camera started the disappointment. Add some injuries to the situation, and the fact that the Dodgers have been relatively good without him around, and one has to wonder just how crucial he is to the team. Puig hasn’t looked as awesome as he did when he was first called to the majors and turned a last place Dodgers team around mid-season. With that being said, all baseball fans should hope Puig can turn it around, because when he is on it, he is hands down the most exciting player to watch in baseball.
Ryan Dumouchel: Prince Fielder – On the surface, it appears that 2015 represented a bounce back year (if not necessarily a return to form). While he hit for some power and is hitting over .300, his surface stats over-sell his actual contributions this season. The reason for this is that he also returned to form defensively (not a good thing). He was brutal enough on defense that he’s been worth slightly over one win above replacement.
Greg Hogan: Yasiel Puig – MLB The Show’s cover boy had a downright awful season, and yet fans in LA and across the country still view him as a superstar. Mental mistakes in the outfield and a massive weight gain hindered his abilities.
Alex Levy: Marcell Ozuna – He had a splendid 2014 campaign, but a trip to Triple-A in 2015 reflected an awful and overrated year for him.
Eric Kabakoff: Joc Pederson – He had a killer first half but hit just .175 with five homers after the break. His playing time, understandably, diminished.
Nick Primeau: Hanley Ramirez – He was injury prone, had an attitude problem, was an awful defender, and was undoubtedly the worst addition to any team this season.
Most Under Appreciated Player
BM: Andrelton Simmons – With Simmons, it comes down to one thing: he’s the best defensive player since Ozzie Smith. If he hits .260 for his career, he’s in the Hall of Fame. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bfmGY7DFq8.
JG: Xander Bogaerts – How in the world was the best offensive shortstop in baseball by a country mile not an All Star? Sir Xander (he was knighted by the governor of Aruba on behalf of the Dutch monarchy) led his position in batting average and led all of baseball in batting average with runners in scoring position. He also played solid defense but I feel like I shouldn’t even have to mention that, given how good his bat was.
BV: Carlos Gonzalez – I threw him off my fantasy team and watched him turn around a slow start to an excellent season. I guess you could say it was a rocky season for him at times…. Colorado.
SC: Joey Votto – The Reds’ long time broadcaster, Marty Brennaman, famously stated this year that he believed Joey Votto was no longer an elite player. Hmmm… Well let’s look at this objectively. This year he’s batting .316 with 29 home runs and has walked an incredible 142 times. He also has extended his on-base streak this year to 46 consecutive games. The man simply does not produce outs. He has a 1.014 OPS and a 7.7 WAR. Not only is Votto among baseball’s elite, but realistically he should be getting MVP looks this year.
RR: Kevin Kiermaier – Having arguably the best defensive season in over a decade, according to defensive runs saved, Kiermaier has been worth an astonishing 4.9 WAR just from his defense alone, and an overall WAR of 7.3. That is 6th among all hitters in baseball.
AF: Kiké Hernández – It seems the Dodgers have had position controversies since the Magic Johnson ownership group originally bought the team. Additionally, there have also been many nagging injuries at those positions. In 2015, Hernandez was the guy who never complains and will play well at just about any position that Don Mattingly might place him. In a clubhouse full of star players and egos, that was exactly what the Dodgers needed.
RD: Jose Quintana – While he general consensus is gradually shifting away from Win-Loss records dictating the perception of the quality of starting pitchers, there are still steps to be taken. Let me pronounce Exhibit A: Jose Quintana. Over the last two seasons, he is 18-21 and thus has not been taken seriously as an elite starting pitcher. This has more to do with the White Sox’ monogamous relationship with mediocrity than Quintana’s performance. This season, he sported a 3.38 ERA/3.11 FIP. This is also not a fluke, as he had a 3.32 ERA/2.81 FIP last season. Based on FanGraphs, he barely missed having a WAR above five for the second consecutive season. As of September 24, his WAR was stronger than that of pitchers such as Jon Lester, Cole Hamels, Matt Harvey, and Sonny Gray. I don’t know if it’s just me, but that’s not bad for someone who hasn’t been a household name.
GH: Manny Machado – He has posted a near-MVP quality season. Despite this, nobody seems to be talking about him. Were it not for Harper, Trout, and Bryant, people would be hailing Machado as the future of the league. He’s got a 30-20 season while batting .289. Oh, and he’s also six months YOUNGER than Kris Bryant.
AL: Justin Bour – He had 23 home runs and 73 RBI. He basically replaced Stanton’s production in the Marlins’ lineup, and no one talked about him at all.
EK: Kevin Kiermaier – Celebrated for his defense, he will likely win a Gold Glove but probably deserves two of them. His 10 homers and 18 steals show that he could evolve into a 20-20 player to go with that defense.
NP: Prince Fielder – He was the best player on the Rangers and had a big season after a disappointing 2014. He should be an MVP candidate but isn’t being discussed at all.
Most Disappointing Team
BM: Seattle Mariners – King Felix, Robinson Cano, and Nelson Cruz are all among the best at their positions, yet this team couldn’t win more games than they lost at home. Hopefully, Jerry DiPoto can bring this franchise back to prominence. Their great fan base deserves better.
JG: Boston Red Sox – The projected AL East Champions to begin the season, the Sox collapsed from the get go under the weight of bloated contracts and bloated players (I’m looking at you, Pablo). The “five aces” schtick may have begun as a joke among the pitching staff in spring training, but by June nobody in Boston found it the least bit funny.
BV: Boston Red Sox – The Sox have jumped around from World Series winners to terrible to World Series to terrible. I am almost more disappointed they were not more terrible this year, or outright juggernauts.
SC: Washington Nationals – Going into this year, I, like many others, saw the Nationals going deep into the playoffs. They had it all: a brilliant starting rotation, great power, and with a mid-season acquisition of star closer Johnathon Papelbon, this team seemed to be a lock. But they weren’t. They didn’t even win their division, or take a wild card spot. I still believe the Nationals have every piece, but we will probably remember this team as the biggest bust of 2015.
RR: Washington Nationals – A team that was supposed to have the best rotation in baseball and was supported by a near unanimous public belief that they would run away with the division didn’t even win 85 games. They finished seven games out of first. Sure they had injuries, but so did the Cardinals, who managed to win 100. It was an extremely disappointing season for a preseason World Series contender.
AF: San Diego Padres – With new general manager A.J. Paller making moves in the offseason all the way up to the first official game of the 2015 season, it looked like the Padres were making a huge turn. BJ Upton, Matt Kemp, and James Shields should have yielded a team that would give the Giants and Dodgers a run for their money. That wasn’t the case. While the Padres haven’t showed any signs of tearing down the team yet, it will definitely be interesting to see what moves they make this offseason, and who they’ll tap to take over for fired manager Bud Black.
RD: Washington Nationals – It’s scary to think how atrocious this team would have been if not for Bryce Harper. Other than Harper (and Max Scherzer), almost every other major contributor under-achieved, got hurt, or both. Beyond that, their “manager” acted like he had absolutely no idea how to manage a ball club (or if one of his relievers just tried to choke Bryce Harper), and his bullpen mismanagement helped to derail what could have been a special season.
GH: Boston Red Sox – After hauling in two of the biggest fish in free agency, the Red Sox had an atrocious season. For all the talk of their young talent and superstar-laden lineup, the team stunk it up for most of the season.
AL: San Diego Padres – They probably had the busiest offseason of any team, signing Kemp, Kimbrel, and Upton. They were seen as a 90-plus winning team and finished with only 74 wins.
EK: Washington Nationals – The Marlins get some points here, but this can only go to the Nats. They were loaded with talent, had the 2014 Manager of the Year in Matt Williams, added Max Scherzer, and were projected by many to run away with the division and even win the World Series. Instead, they’ll be playing golf in October.
NP: Washington Nationals – It is far and away the Nats. Yes, they dealt with injuries, but with their pitching staff and talent they had no excuse to not win the NL East. Their pitching staff alone should have gotten them into the postseason.
Best Single Game Moment
BM: Jake Arrieta’s No-No – We all figured he was good when he started his run in the 2nd half, but Arrieta cemented himself as the ace of the future on August 30 with one walk and 12 strikeouts against the hard-hitting Dodgers. He’s been on fire ever since.
JG: Mookie’s Catch – I continue my run of homer picks (though I really didn’t enjoy my Most Disappointing Team selection) with Mookie Betts’ catch to preserve Rich Hill’s shutout of the Tampa Bay Rays. Not only was it a fantastic catch, but it helped etch the Legend of Rich Hill into Boston sports history. He can now ride off into the sunset, back to wherever it is he came from. But seriously, where was this guy all season? He comes out of nowhere all of a sudden and strikes out everyone, meanwhile I had to endure a season of Justin Masterson and Joe Kelly. It’s kinda messed up.
BV: Any of Kevin Pillar’s Insane Catches – From the Spider-Man off the wall, to the recent diving catch vs. the Rays, they were all great. Take your pick; he has been the kind of human highlight reel not seen in Toronto since Vince Carter.
SC: Oakland A’s Opening Day – I was in the O.co Coliseum on April 6th this year for my first opening day. The building was electric and most A’s fans had no idea what to expect after an offseason filled with an incredible amount of turnover. But that day ended up being very special, as the A’s now-ace Sonny Gray pitched the game of his life and took a no-hit bid into the 8th inning. Gray didn’t get the no-no that day, but the excitement of opening day plus the anticipation of Gray throwing a no-hitter is something I’ll never forget.
RR: Todd Frazier Winning the Home Run Derby – In a season the Reds would like to forget, Frazier winning the derby is the highlight, and is a great moment to remember. Winning the derby in his home ballpark and with his brother pitching to him was just awesome.
AF: Wilmer Flores – Wilmer found himself in a very awkward moment when he caught wind from fans in the stands at Citi Field that he had been traded form the Mets to the Milwaukee Brewers for Carlos Gomez. The moment was embarrassing for the Mets organization, and Flores should have been pulled immediately, yet Flores was sent to the field while failing to hold back tears. It was made even more embarrassing when the trade fell through, and when manager Terry Collins told the media after the game that the front office hadn’t even bothered to tell him what was going on. The next night, Flores shrugged it all off, hitting a walk off homer and showing the Mets’ front office exactly what they almost traded away.
RD: Martin Maldonado’s 17th Inning Walk-Off Home Run on 5/31 – I’ve been fairly impartial with the rest of my picks but I’m going to be a blatant homer on this one. The Brewers were abysmal this season, but you never know when something awesome is about to happen. While Maldonado was very strong defensively this season, his performance at the plate can also be categorized as abysmal. On May 31st, neither of these things mattered. In a game that looked destined to be another Brewers loss (in a season full of them, they were down 5-1 in the fourth), the Brewers battled back to tie the game and force extra innings. In a game that appeared like it would never end (5 hours 49 minutes), Maldonado eventually rewarded the fans who stuck around by ending the game with a walk off home run.
GH: Zito vs. Hudson Bay Bridge Battle – It was hard not to feel emotional watching two former teammates, and long time pitchers, in Barry Zito and Tim Hudson battle it out one last time at O.co Coliseum. For Bay Area baseball fans, it was one last hoorah for two guys who have spent most, or all, of their careers with the A’s and Giants.
AL: Yoenis Cespedes at Colorado on 8/21 – He had three home runs and seven RBI. I was in awe.
EK: Wilmer Flores – Flores cried on the field after learning he was being traded, which of course fell through and caused the acquisition of Yoenis Cespedes. You know the rest.
NP: The Blue Jays Clinching the AL East for the First Time in over 20 Years, or Jake Arrieta’s No-Hitter – Ortiz’s 500th home run is up there, but it is tainted by the Red Sox’ disappointing season and the PED rumors that have always surrounded him.
This concludes the 2015 LWOS MLB Season Awards. We hope you enjoyed reading them as much as we enjoyed writing them. And if you didn’t, well then we hope you at least enjoyed disagreeing with us. Part one of this series may be found here. Part two may be read here. Have a great postseason, everyone! And if your team didn’t quite make it, just remember: there’s always next year.
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