NewsCards have bevy of award hopefuls
Carp, Wainwright up for Cy; Pujols NL MVP favorite
By Matthew Leach / MLB.com
11/09/09 1:30 PM EST
ST. LOUIS -- Throughout October and early November, baseball's postseason awards trickled out, a few at a time. On Tuesday, the stream becomes a deluge.And that should mean lots of attention for quite a few Cardinals, since the club has at least one candidate for just about every major award that will be announced in the next two weeks.
For National League teams, it starts Wednesday with the announcement of Gold Glove winners. Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina both won Fielding Bible awards as the tops at their respective positions in all of baseball. And since both have won Gold Gloves before, they both have to be considered serious candidates. Pujols won in 2006 and Molina in 2008.
Brendan Ryan played shortstop at an elite level in '09, but he is likely a long shot to win the hardware this year.
The Gold Glove announcements are followed on Thursday by Silver Slugger Awards. The Cardinals have one heavy favorite and few other serious candidates. It's hard to imagine Pujols not winning the award as the NL's top-hitting first baseman. He's a four-time winner, including twice at first base.
The Baseball Writers' Association of America begins announcing its award winners on Monday, Nov. 16, and the first National League award is the only one where a Cardinal isn't at least a serious candidate. Colby Rasmus could appear on some ballots for Rookie of the Year, but he is unlikely to finish anywhere near the top of the balloting.
On Wednesday, Nov. 18, the Managers of the Year will be announced, and skipper Tony La Russa will likely be considered. Colorado's Jim Tracy is a strong favorite, but La Russa could well finish second. La Russa is a four-time winner of the award, most recently in 2002.
Probably the most eagerly anticipated award announcement in St. Louis comes the next day, Nov. 19. That's when the NL Cy Young Award winner will be revealed. Two Cardinals are among the three leading candidates. It's widely believed to be down to Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter and the Giants' Tim Lincecum. Carpenter won in 2005, while Wainwright has not won it before.
And it ends, appropriately, with a coronation. Pujols is the prohibitive favorite to win his third NL Most Valuable Player Award on Tuesday, Nov. 24. He would be the 10th player in baseball history to win three MVP Awards, and the fifth to be a three-time NL MVP.
Matthew Leach is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
