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SB Nation Awards: Best player

We complete our recap of the SB Nation awards for the 3013 baseball season. soco and Clefo give us their opinions as to the best overall players of the year.

USA TODAY Sports

As with the BBWAA award for Most Valuable Player, voters could choose up to ten names, with points awarded from ten for a first-place ballot, down to one for a tenth-place spot.

Player Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th Points
Andrew McCutchen Pirates 34 2 494
Paul Goldschmidt Diamondbacks 17 12 5 1 1 290
Matt Carpenter Cardinals 5 4 8 6 5 2 3 1 212
Joey Votto Reds 2 4 7 7 5 7 3 1 204
Clayton Kershaw Dodgers 1 6 8 2 5 2 1 1 193
Carlos Gomez Brewers 1 3 3 6 6 5 3 1 1 185
Yadier Molina Cardinals 1 3 1 6 6 4 1 3 3 134
Shin-Soo Choo Reds 1 1 4 6 5 4 60
Freddie Freeman Braves 1 1 4 1 3 5 1 57
Troy Tulowitzki Rockies 2 2 4 5 2 42
Andrelton Simmons Braves 2 2 1 2 1 2 38
Hanley Ramirez Dodgers 2 2 1 1 1 30
David Wright Mets 1 1 3 3 24
Jayson Werth Nationals 1 1 1 2 2 23
Adam Wainwright Cardinals 1 2 4 2 23
Hunter Pence Giants 1 3 1 3 18
Yasiel Puig Dodgers 1 1 2 15
Cliff Lee Phillies 1 1 1 2 15
Matt Harvey Mets 2 1 15
Jose Fernandez Marlins 1 1 1 1 10
Gerardo Parra Diamondbacks 1 1 7
Ian Desmond Nationals 3 6
Jay Bruce Reds 1 5
Buster Posey Giants 1 1 5
Carlos Beltran Cardinals 1 4
Jonathan Lucroy Brewers 2 4
Adrian Gonzalez Dodgers 1 3
Chase Utley Phillies 1 2
Matt Holliday Cardinals 1 2
Giancarlo Stanton Marlins 1 1
Marlon Byrd Mets/Pirates 1 1
Michael Cuddyer Rockies 1 1
Starling Marte Pirates 1 1

Clefo

  1. Andrew McCutchen
  2. Paul Goldschmidt
  3. Clayton Kershaw
  4. Joey Votto
  5. Freddie Freeman
  6. Jay Bruce
  7. Hanley Ramirez
  8. Yadier Molina
  9. Hunter Pence
  10. Matt Carpenter

I'm going to catch hell, probably, but I gotta keep it real (and the ballot specifically said no homer picks) I put myself in a neutral place, and McCutchen won by a hair, by virtue of higher OBP, BA, lower K%, playing a tougher position defensively. The top three guys probably meant the most to their respective teams, thus why they get the nod as the top three. Had he played a full season at the level he did, Hanley would have been first, but his half-contributions should be recognized. I could be wrong.

soco

  1. Andrew McCutchen - nearly identical stats to Goldschmidt, but a better defender and yes, drove team to playoffs. Normally I don't care about that, but I needed a tiebreaker.
  2. Paul Goldschmidt - very easily could have picked him, but given that his offensive numbers were very similar to McCutchen, I feel a great center fielder is more valuable than a great first basemen, all things equal.
  3. Matt Carpenter
  4. Joey Votto
  5. Carlos Gomez - I'll admit he largely dropped this low for me in that he wasn't as good at creating runs as those above him.
  6. Troy Tulowitzki - I moved him up higher than he probably should have gone due to playing a very difficult position and being injured for part of the season. He'd probably have better numbers if he had been healthy.
  7. Yadier Molina - Still one of the best hitting catchers, still one of the best defenders.
  8. Hunter Pence
  9. Ian Desmond
  10. Shin-Soo Choo - not a great defender, and very uneven offensive numbers.

Here are the American League results.

Player Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th Points
Mike Trout Angels 35 2 2 524
Miguel Cabrera Tigers 4 28 6 1 362
Josh Donaldson Athletics 6 19 11 1 1 1 298
Chris Davis Orioles 2 10 15 8 3 1 270
Evan Longoria Rays 7 13 10 3 1 3 198
Robinson Cano Yankees 5 9 12 3 3 2 1 175
Max Scherzer Tigers 1 1 4 5 7 3 3 107
Manny Machado Orioles 1 1 3 9 9 3 1 100
Adrian Beltre Rangers 1 1 2 3 3 2 39
Jacoby Ellsbury Red Sox 1 2 4 4 3 36
Dustin Pedroia Red Sox 1 1 3 2 7 31
Jason Kipnis Indians 3 2 3 2 26
Anibal Sanchez Tigers 4 1 1 2 23
Chris Sale White Sox 1 2 1 1 1 19
Ben Zobrist Rays 1 1 4 3 18
Yu Darvish Rangers 1 2 1 12
David Ortiz Red Sox 2 3 12
Shane Victorino Red Sox 1 2 4 11
Felix Hernandez Mariners 2 1 2 10
Billy Butler Royals 1 5
Joe Mauer Twins 1 3 5
Carlos Santana Indians 1 4
Eric Hosmer Royals 1 3
Hisashi Iwakuma Mariners 1 1 3
Edwin Encarnacion Blue Jays 3 3
Adam Jones Orioles 1 2
Nelson Cruz Rangers 1 2
James Shields Royals 2 2
Jose Bautista Blue Jays 1 1