Before voter suppression rules take effect, here’s one MLB awards ballot for the 2013 regular-season:
American League MVP: Miguel Cabrera had basically the same season as 2012, with less help from Prince Fielder and much less health. He hit .397 with men in scoring position for a Tigers team that won the Central by one game.
National League MVP: Only 46 men tried to steal bases on the Cardinals and Yadier Molina nailed 20 of them. He also hit .315 and drove in 80 runs. He did miss two weeks in mid-summer and St. Louis went 7-8 without him.
AL Player of the Year: Yes, Mike Trout got better, leading the league in walks as well as runs, with 97 RBI and a .988 OPS. The figures will rise next year if he keeps batting third.
NL Player of the Year: If you think runs and RBIs are important, Paul Goldschmidt of Arizona was the only hitter with 100 of each. Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates has a strong case, too.
AL Cy Young: Much was made over the run support Max Scherzer got. Little was made over the run support Scherzer’s opponent didn’t get. He went 21-3, was the WHIP leader, and edges Boston’s Koji Uehara.
NL Cy Young: If Clayton Kershaw isn’t a unanimous winner, somebody’s dog ate somebody’s homework.
AL Rookie: Tampa Bay’s Wil Myers slugged .478 and wins a runoff against teammate Chris Archer.
NL Rookie: This was supposed to be Yasiel Puig’s trophy to lose, but Miami’s phenomenal right-hander Jose Fernandez (12-6, 2.19) won it.
AL Manager: He had tiny slippers to fill, but Boston’s John Farrell followed Bobby Valentine and took a 68-win team to 97. It takes something like that to nose out Cleveland’s Terry Francona.
NL Manager: While everyone thought Washington was on the verge of dynasty, a young Atlanta team overcame pitching injuries and ran away with the East. Fredi Gonzalez was the manager.
AL Mis-Manager: Mike Scioscia had this one wrapped up in July, but Toronto’s John Gibbons stole it down the stretch.
NL Mis-Manager: The Cubs’ Dale Sveum has already been rewarded.
AL Executive: Oakland’s Billy Beane has had two seasons worthy of a best-seller.
AL Execu-stiff: Pitching is 90 percent of the game and also 90 percent of the reason Jerry Dipoto deserves this.
NL Executive: Neal Huntington of the Pirates made sharp moves in the winter, spring and summer.
NL Execu-stiff: The Philies could have picked Mike Arbuckle as GM when Pat Gillick left. They picked Ruben Amaro and they are now living with it.
AL Comeback: James Loney found peace in Tampa Bay, as many do, and went from 41 RBIs to 75.
NL Comeback: Pittsburgh’s Francisco Liriano won 16 games, one more than he won the past two years.
AL Breakout: Baltimore’s Chris Davis could have won this last year. But here he went from 33 homers to 53, an .827 OPS to 1.004.
NL Breakout: The Cardinals’ Matt Carpenter went from 42 runs to 126 and from 87 hits to 199, leading the league in both. His 55 doubles led baseball.
AL Comedown: Kansas City’s Mike Moustakas never warmed up, with 42 RBIs in 472 at-bats.
NL Comedown: Matt Cain of the Giants went from 16 victories to eight, 219 innings to 184, a 2.79 ERA to 4.00.
AL Key Injury: Pick any Yankee you like. Joe Girardi was an absolute alchemist, keeping them in contention so long through all the carnage.
NL Key Injury: The Dodgers won the West with just 290 at-bats, six home runs and 33 RBI from Matt Kemp.
AL Wind Farm: Austin Jackson of the Tigers hit 11 home runs, which probably wasn’t worth the price of his 129 strikeouts.
NL Wind Farm: Only four NL hitters had more strikeouts than the 151 produced by Atlanta’s B.J. Upton. Quite a few surpassed his home run total of nine.
NL Weird Stat: Cincinnati’s Joey Votto drove in only 73 runs and walked 139 times.
NL Weird Stat II: St. Louis, the team of Vince Coleman and Lou Brock, stole 17 fewer bases than anyone else in the league.
AL Weird Stat: Cleveland and Boston were 13th and 14th in save percentage and still made the postseason.
AL Weird Stat II: Texas was 15 games over .500 against Houston, four over .500 against everyone else.
Ascending Teams: Houston, Kansas City.
Descending Teams: Arizona, Detroit.
Off-Season Champs: The Angels, winners of the past two Winter World Series, will have to dig deep to hold off Washington and the Cubs.
Contact the writer: mwhicker@ocregister.com
