Every year, members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America fulfill their duties by voting for the Rookie of the Year, Manager of the Year, Cy Young and Most Valuable Player awards. And every year, they find new ways to screw up.
Remember when Justin Morneau was named AL MVP in 2006? Or when Bartolo Colon took home the AL Cy Young in 2005? Just last year, a majority of voters chose Adam Wainwright over one or both of Chris Carpenter and Tim Lincecum for the NL Cy Young, therefore implicitly declaring that wins are somehow the most important pitching statistic.
When managers and coaches vote, things get even worse. What possible justification could there be for Torii Hunter being named a Silver Slugger and Derek Jeter taking home a Gold Glove after last season? Then there’s the Rolaids Relief Man Award, which is given out based solely on wins, losses and saves.
Everyone has an opinion, and everyone thinks he could do a better job. But talk is cheap, and saying you could do better is very different from actually doing better.
So Bleacher Report’s Featured Columnists decided to put our money where our collective mouth is. During the last week of the regular season, 33 FCs submitted their picks for Gold Gloves, Silver Sluggers, Comeback Players of the Year, Relief Men of the Year, Rookies of the Year, Managers of the Year, Cy Youngs and Most Valuable Players in at least one of the two leagues.
This slideshow, showcasing the winners of our AL Gold Glove vote, will be the first of a four-week, 16-part series featuring 110 players and managers. So read on, see how we did, and be sure to let us know what we got wrong.