Marlins have strong awards season

MIAMI -- Another year, another MVP-worthy season for Hanley Ramirez.

If only the Marlins shortstop didn't have to play in the same league as Albert Pujols.

The Baseball Writers' Association of America awards concluded, with the naming of the American League Most Valuable Player on Monday followed by the National League MVP on Tuesday.

The NL honor went to Pujols, the Cardinals first baseman who led the NL in homers while finishing third in batting average and RBIs.

Ramirez got his fair share of the votes, finishing in second place -- the highest for a Marlin in team history.

Ramirez is fresh off winning his second consecutive Silver Slugger Award last week after batting an NL-leading .342 with 24 home runs and 106 RBIs. In a year when his RBI total jumped by 39 from last year -- thanks in large part to a .373 batting average with runners in scoring position -- Ramirez became the first NL shortstop to win a batting title since Dick Groat in 1960.

In his four full seasons in the big leagues, Ramirez sports a .316 batting average while averaging 26 homers, 78 RBIs and 41 stolen bases.

Perhaps an NL MVP Award won't come calling this season, but it's becoming more and more evident that they will in the near future.

"Every year, he has improved," Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez said during the season. "Obviously, you see the defense improve, the batting. This guy likes to work. He doesn't shy away from working. And you know what? He wants to be good. He wants to be good, and he knows that his work habits, that's what's going to separate him from the rest of the pack."

Last week, Chris Coghlan was named NL Rookie of the Year by the BBWAA, continuing the Marlins' streak of three: three winners in club history, with each coming in three-year spans.

It started with Dontrelle Willis winning the NL Rookie of the Year Award in 2003, continued with Ramirez claiming the honor in '06 and now the torch has been passed to Coghlan.

Coghlan finished his first pro season batting .321 with nine homers, 47 RBIs and eight stolen bases in 128 games.

The lefty contact hitter posted back-to-back 47-hit months -- becoming the first NL player with 94 hits in a two-month span since 1978 -- finished sixth in the NL in batting average and led Senior Circuit rookies in runs (84), hits (162), total bases (232), doubles (31) and on-base percentage (.390).

His batting average was the highest by a Marlins rookie, easily topping the .292 clips at which Ramirez and Jeff Conine hit.

"We're very proud of him, no doubt," Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest said recently. "We thought he was the Rookie of the Year for quite some time, and it was cemented."

Also, in the NL Manager of the Year balloting, Gonzalez finished seventh to winner Jim Tracy of the Rockies after receiving four third-place votes. Gonzalez, who finished third in the NL Manager of the Year voting and was named Sporting News' NL Manager of the Year in 2008, led the team with the lowest payroll in the Major Leagues to an 87-75 record and kept it in postseason contention up until the end.

Since their inaugural year in 1993, the Marlins have had two Managers of the Year (Jack McKeon in 2003 and Joe Girardi in '06), eight Gold Glove Award winners (three by Charles Johnson and Luis Castillo, as well as one each by Mike Lowell and Derrek Lee) and seven Silver Sluggers (two each by Gary Sheffield, Miguel Cabrera and Ramirez, and one by Lowell).