Sports

Cardinal Blogger Awards 2019 Ballot

I know all Cardinal fans have been waiting for this…the 2019 Cardinal Blogger Awards.  Below is my ballot; anyone can vote here.  In the past, there have been more candidates for most of the awards, but this year you can pretty much just write in your vote for the players.  Deadline is November 10th.

Cardinal Blogger Awards 2019 Ballot

1) Player of the Year

Kolten Wong – Hang with me here for a moment.  Wong started the season on a tear and was the spark plug down the stretch (until he got injured).  His defense was best in the league at second and had to of been a boost to the pitching staff knowing he was there backing them up. 

2) Pitcher of the Year

Jack Flaherty – Now this was a no doubt pick.  Flaherty might have started a little slowly, but his second half was historic.  He pitched well enough to warrant some Cy Young votes

3) Game of the Year

Game 162 – There were some really big games this year, but the final game of the season when the team clinched the division did it for me.  They defeated their rival after struggling against them the previous 2 games.  They were going down to the wire and came through in the end.

4) Surprise Player of the Year

Tommy Edman – I took my family to the Cardinal/Redbird exhibition game in Memphis this year.  We were walking outside of the stadium the day before the game and they had Tommy Edman’s profile on the jumbotron.  My daughter asked “Didn’t he retire a while ago?”  I explained that she had Tommy mistaken for Jim Edmonds and explained that Edman would probably top out at Memphis.  She started to follow him and was excited when the Cardinals proved me wrong and called him up.  Edman looked like a utility player at best, but he ended up being one of the catalysts that pushed the team to winning the division, unseating Matt Carpenter at third (for the most part).

5) Disappointing Player of the Year

Matt Carpenter – Remember last July when Carpenter’s name was in the MVP discussion?  Remember when he stopped hitting in August?  It led to the discussion of which Carpenter was the real Carp.  It looks like the second might be the answer.  Unfortunately, the Cardinals jumped the gun on extending Carpenter and we might be having to carry an $18M bench piece unless he can remember how to hit.  To think that people laughed when I made the suggestion to trade Carpenter last off-season.

6) Rookie of the Year

Dakota Hudson – While the Edman story was nice, Hudson was the top rookie on the club.  Yeah, there were struggles at time; at the same time, he carried the rotation while Flaherty was figuring things out.  Hudson looks like a solid rotation piece to be slotted in behind Flaherty for a few years.

7) Acquisition of the Year

Paul Goldschmidt – It could have been very easy to put Goldschmidt under the disappointing player category, but he still had respectable numbers (not like what the team expected when they traded for him though).  While his bat might not have been as advertised, his glove was.  His defense can’t be praised enough, especially when you think back to what Carpenter and Jose Martinez did the previous season.  His presence also took some of the defensive weight off Wong, who didn’t need to cover as much ground as last year.

8) Most Anticipated Cardinal

Dylan Carlson – While Nolan Gorman got more hype coming into the season, Carlson definitely passed him on the prospect rankings.  Carlson did it all – power, speed, defense – across multiple levels.  If he can handle center field, he’ll give you an everyday option that’s been missing since Tommy Pham was traded.

9) Joe McBrayer Memorial Award (Best Individual Cardinal Blog)

RetroSimba – There are a lot of great blogs in the UCB, but RetroSimba has carved a niche in the historical department.  As a fan of baseball history, I enjoy reading about the teams from before my fandom and reliving some of the games I’ve seen.

10) Best Team Cardinal Blog

STL Hat Trick – Part of my reason for this selection is not Cardinals, but the ability to read about the Blues and Nerdom with my Redbirds.  My only gripe with the site is the slowdown in articles (because I have timely posts here).

11) Best Media Coverage

Derrick Goold – Goold give the regular beat coverage while also throwing the analytical take in with it.  He’s got a good grasp on the players in the minors.  He also saved a life on the last day of the season.

13) Best UCB Podcast

Meet Me At Musial – I vowed last year to listen to more UCB podcasts, and I failed to live up to that vow.  MMAM is the only UCB Podcast I listen to, so it wins by default.

14) Best Non-UCB Podcast
Scoops with Danny Mac – Scoops has been deemed “move to the top of my podcast playlist when a new episode is released”.  Danny Mac’s talks with Goold, Ben Frederickson, and Brian Walton are all very informative.  Tony Talk gives an insight to one of the best baseball minds in the history of the game.  You also get some Blues and Mizzou talk.

15) Best Podcaster

Daniel Shoptaw – Daniel has his hand in multiple podcasts and is responsible for the UCB.  It makes me wonder how he can have a full time job, family, run a website, and record a few shows a week; for most people (aka me), the quality would fall off, but Daniel brings high quality to everything he does.

16) Best Social Media Game

#bombsaway – just because.

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