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The anti-climax was predictable. The three finalists for each of baseball's major awards were announced on Tuesday. Now we really know who is going to win. The lists of finalists:
NL MVP
Andrew McCutchen
Paul Goldschmidt
Yadier Molina
AL MVP
Miguel Cabrera
Mike Trout
Chris Davis
NL Cy Young
Clayton Kershaw
Jose Fernandez
Adam Wainwright
AL Cy Young
Max Scherzer
Yu Darvish
Hisashi Iwakuma
NL Rookie of the Year
Jose Fernandez
Yasiel Puig
Shelby Miller
AL Rookie of the Year
Wil Myers
Chris Archer
Jose Iglesias
The winners are italicized. Trust me. And I'm almost positive that I've listed the correct finishing orders, too. Did Bud Selig's assistant accidentally e-mail me the results when he or she was trying to attach a cease-and-desist letter for something completely unrelated? Not telling. But those are the winners, and if they're still taking money at the local sports book, go get yourself a new car with that information. (Note: They are not still taking money at the local sports book.)
This isn't going to happen again for a while. At least, it's extraordinarily unlikely to happen again soon. There are six major awards. There should always be a debate about one of them. There should always be two players close enough to make for some kind of debate.
There are two players who almost got that close. Wil Myers had a 2 WAR season according to Baseball-Reference.com. So did Chris Archer. But FanGraphs' version of the stat takes a win away from Archer. Not only that, but there's a perception, fair or not, that the Rays can make new young pitchers by pouring water on the old ones. Finding offense isn't so easy. It's Myers' award to lose. Which he won't.
The only way to make this interesting is to ask if this has happened before. Since the awards have been handed out, have there ever been six blowouts like this? I'm not going to list every hot debate in awards-voting history, but I'll list one for every year. When I find a contested award -- based on first-place votes and share of total vote -- I'll move on.
| Year | Award | Debatable Players |
| 2012 | AL MVP | Mike Trout v. Miguel Cabrera |
| 2011 | AL MVP | Justin Verlander v. Jacoby Ellsbury |
| 2010 | NL ROY | Buster Posey v. Jason Heyward |
| 2009 | NL CYA | Tim Lincecum v. Adam Wainwright/Chris Carpenter |
| 2008 | NL MVP | Albert Pujols v. Ryan Howard |
| 2007 | NL MVP | Matt Holliday v. Jimmy Rollins |
| 2006 | AL MVP | Justin Morneau v. Derek Jeter |
| 2005 | NL CYA | Chris Carpenter v. Dontrelle Willis |
| 2004 | NL CYA | Roger Clemens v. Randy Johnson |
| 2003 | NL CYA | Eric Gagne v. Jason Schmidt |
| 2002 | AL CYA | Barry Zito v. Pedro Martinez |
| 2001 | AL MVP | Ichiro v. Jason Giambi |
| 2000 | NL MVP | Jeff Kent v. Barry Bonds |
| 1999 | AL MVP | Ivan Rodriguez v. Pedro Martinez |
| 1998 | NL CYA | Tom Glavine v. Trevor Hoffman |
| 1997 | NL MVP | Larry Walker v. Mike Piazza |
| 1996 | AL MVP | Juan Gonzalez v. Alex Rodriguez |
| 1995 | AL MVP | Mo Vaughn v. Albert Belle |
| 1994 | AL CYA | David Cone v. Jimmy Key |
| 1993 | AL CYA | Jack McDowell v. Randy Johnson |
| 1992 | AL CYA | Dennis Eckersley v. non-relievers |
| 1991 | NL MVP | Terry Pendleton v. Barry Bonds |
| 1990 | AL CYA | Bob Welch v. Roger Clemens |
| 1989 | AL MVP | Robin Yount v. Ruben Sierra/Cal Ripken |
| 1988 | NL ROY | Chris Sabo v. Mark Grace |
| 1987 | NL MVP | Andre Dawson v. Ozzie Smith |
| 1986 | AL ROY | Jose Canseco v. Wally Joyner |
| 1985 | AL ROY | Ozzie Guillen v. Teddy Higuera |
| 1984 | AL CYA | Willie Hernandez v. Dan Quisenberry |
| 1983 | AL MVP | Cal Ripken v. Eddie Murray |
| 1982 | NL MVP | Dale Murphy v. Lonnie Smith |
| 1981 | NL CYA | Fernando Valenzuela v. Tom Seaver |
| 1980 | AL CYA | Steve Stone v. Mike Norris |
| 1979 | NL MVP | Keith Hernandez v. Willie Stargell |
| 1978 | NL ROY | Bob Horner v. Ozzie Smith |
| 1977 | AL ROY | Eddie Murray v. Mitchell Page |
| 1976 | NL ROY | Butch Metzger v. Pat Zachry |
| 1975 | NL ROY | John Montefusco v. Gary Carter |
| 1974 | AL CYA | Catfish Hunter v. Fergie Jenkins |
| 1973 | AL CYA | Jim Palmer v. Nolan Ryan |
| 1972 | AL CYA | Gaylord Perry v. Wilbur Wood |
| 1971 | NL CYA | Fergie Jenkins v. Tom Seaver |
| 1970 | AL ROY | Jim Perry v. Dave McNally |
| 1969 | NL MVP | Willie McCovey v. Tom Seaver |
| 1968 | NL MVP | Bob Gibson v. Pete Rose |
| 1967 | NL ROY | Tom Seaver v. Dick Hughes |
| 1966 | NL MVP | Roberto Clemente v. Sandy Koufax |
| 1965 | AL ROY | Curt Blefary v. Marcelino Lopez |
| 1964 | Nothing! | Ha! |
| 1963 | AL ROY | Gary Peters v. Pete Ward |
| 1962 | NL MVP | Maury Wills v. Willie Mays |
| 1961 | AL MVP | Roger Maris v. Mickey Mantle |
| 1960 | AL MVP | Roger Maris v. Mickey Mantle |
| 1959 | NL MVP | Ernie Banks v. Eddie Mathews |
| 1958 | AL MVP | Jackie Jensen v. Bob Turley |
| 1957 | AL MVP | Mickey Mantle v. Ted Williams |
| 1956 | NL MVP | Don Newcombe v. Sal Maglie |
| 1955 | NL MVP | Roy Campanella v. Duke Snider |
| 1954 | AL MVP | Yogi Berra v. Larry Doby |
| 1953 | Nothing! | Ha! |
| 1952 | NL MVP | Hank Sauer v. Robin Roberts |
| 1951 | AL ROY | Gil McDougald v. Minnie Minoso |
| 1950 | AL ROY | Walt Dropo v. Whitey Ford |
| 1949 | NL MVP | Jackie Robinson v. Stan Musial |
The years in bold weren't taut finishes, but there was still some debate. There was an obnoxious debate surrounding Pujols and Howard in 2008 -- hint: it revolved around standings and RBI -- but there was still a debate.
That leaves two debate-free seasons for awards: 1953 and 1964. And '53 almost doesn't count because the Cy Young was for both leagues. What you're feeling right now, that sharp pain in your argue gland, is almost unprecedented. We'll see how close Mike Trout or Yasiel Puig make it. Maybe it'll be closer than '64.
But it still won't be close. Will Chris Sale be fourth? Will Josh Donaldson be fourth? Hey, what happened to Carlos Gomez, is he fourth? Yeah, that's all we got. It's almost enough to make you miss the Trout/Cabrera wars of 2012. Almost.
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