Last year I thought the World Series would be Tigers and Cardinals...and I was wrong. Cardinals ended up winning against the Rangers in their first World Series appearance. It was a strong year of teams that haven't had many playoffs appearances to get to the playoffs (i.e. Rangers, Brewers, Diamondbacks) and a year where stellar pitching dominated the league. Justin Verlander won the pitching triple crown in the AL, where as youngster Clayton Kershaw did the same, sharing the wins category with Ian Kennedy. Matt Kemp was robbed of his MVP, while falling one home run short of becoming one of the few players in history to go 40/40 (homers/steals). This season should be just as fun since several of the top teams are so much closer in talent levels that ever before. And here they are...my predictions for 2012....
AL Awards Winners:
MVP: Miguel Cabrera (Tigers)
Cy Young: David Price (Devil Rays)
Rookie Of The Year: Matt Moore (Devil Rays)
Comeback Player of The Year: Joe Nathan (Twins)
Manager Of The Year: Jim Leyland (Tigers)
Silver Sluggers: Catcher Matt Weiters, 1B Prince Fielder, 2B Robinson Cano, 3B Evan Longoria, SS Derek Jeter, OF Adam Jones, Curtis Granderson, Josh Hamilton
NL Awards Winners:
MVP: Buster Posey (Giants)
Cy Young: Matt Cain (Giants)
Rookie Of The Year: Bryce Harper (Nationals)
Comeback Player Of The Year: Buster Posey (Giants)
Manager Of The Year: Dusty Baker (Reds)
Silver Sluggers: Catcher Buster Posey, 1B Joey Votto, 2B Rickie Weeks, 3B Ryan Zimmerman, SS Troy Tulowitzki, OF Ryan Braun, Andrew McCutcheon, Jay Bruce
Standings
AL West: 1) Texas Rangers, 2) ANAHEIM Angels, 3) Oakland A's, 4) Seattle Mariners
AL Central: 1) Detroit Tigers, 2) Chicago White Sox, , 3) Kansas City Royals, 4) Cleveland Indians, 5) Minnesota Twins
AL EAST: 1) Baltimore Orioles, 2) New York Yankees, 3) Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 4) Toronto Blue Jays, 5) Boston Red Sox
AL Wild Card: Chicago White Sox AL Winner: Detroit Tigers
NL West: 1) San Francisco Giants, 2) Los Angeles Dodgers, 3) Arizona Diamondbacks, 3) Colorado Rockies, 5) San Diego Padres
NL Central: 1) Milwaukee Brewers, 2) Cincinnati Reds, 3) St. Louis Cardinals, 4) Pittsburgh Pirates, 5) Chicago Cubs, 6) Houston Astros
NL East: 1) Washington Nationals, 2) Atlanta Braves, 3) Philadelphia Phillies, 4) New York Mets, 5) Miami Marlins
NL Wild Card: Cincinnati Reds NL Winner: Washington Nationals
World Series Winner: Detroit Tigers over Washington Nationals in 6 games
