It has been a week filled with accolades in the MLB as the league's top players have been taking home the hardware for several different awards. It all comes to an end on Thursday with the announcement of the AL and NL Most Valuable Player award.
While there are no representatives from the Dodgers for the MVP award, they have been involved in the discussion for most of the awards so far. Out of the big-name awards--Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, Rookie of the Year, Manager of the Year, Cy Young Award, MVP--the Dodgers had a representative in all but two of them.
It started last week as Zack Greinke won a Silver Slugger. This award is handed out to the best-hitting player at each position, and it was not even close at pitcher.
Greinke put up a .328/.400/.779 line with five runs scored, four RBIs, three doubles, and six walks in 58 at-bats. Being the best-hitting pitcher in baseball may not be the award Greinke is on the hunt for, but it sure does make a difference when the nine-hole in the batting order is not a free out.
The Rookie of the Year award was announced on Monday, with the trophy going to the Marlins Jose Fernandez. It was a deserving honor to one of the best pitchers in the league this season, rookie or not.
He beat out Dodgers' Yasiel Puig and Hyun-Jin Ryu for the title of best rookie. Puig finished in second place, with four first-place votes and a total of 95 points.
The third place finisher, Shelby Miller of the Cardinals, had just 12 points, and Hyun-Jin Ryu rounded out the top four with 10 points.
Should be safe to say that this is not the last time we will hear Puig's name tossed around in awards consideration, if his rookie season is any sign of what is to come.
Don Mattingly also finished as the runner-up in the category of Manager of the Year. He fell to Clint Hurdle, who coached the Pirates to their first winning season in over 20 years. Mattingly received two first-place votes and a total of 68 points.
It is almost impossible to compare the two managers. While both squads made it to the playoffs, Mattingly did it with a team that was expected to be there all along. Hurdle did it with a low-budget roster that had been the laughing-stock of the NL for years.
The award considerations are almost ironic considering the number of people calling for Mattingly's head back in May and June when the Dodgers were in last place.
Not to diminish the value of Greinke's Silver Slugger honors, but Clayton Kershaw brought home the most respectable hardware of the season on Wednesday when he was named the top pitcher in the league. He won the NL Cy Young Award for his second in three years.
After leading the league with a 1.83 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, and 232 strikeouts he ran away with the Cy Young honors. He received 29 out of 30 first-place votes for 209 points, the second-place finisher, Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals, finished with one first-place vote and 86 points.
This is his second Cy Young in three years, and you could easily make an argument that he should have been 2012's victor. At 25 years old, Kershaw is the best pitcher in baseball and will be a free agent at the end of the 2014 season.
While many feel a contract extension is looming, it is very possible that Kershaw may take his talents to Free Agency to see what kind of bidding war he can create. The Dodgers will have to deliver a record-breaking contract in order to lock this kid up long-term.
That wraps up the off-season awards activity in Los Angeles. There are no Dodgers listed as finalists for the NL MVP, although Kershaw did deserve consideration in that category as well.
It has been a noteworthy year, and the names of Dodger players that showed up in 2013 will likely pop back up in years to come.
