Dodger Thoughts

Jon Weisman's outlet for dealing psychologically with the Los Angeles Dodgers, baseball and life

Category: Awards (Page 1 of 9)

Best of the 2010s:
The All-Decade Dodgers

By

On September 30, 2019

In Awards, Dodgers, History

Raymond Gorospe/MLB.com

We have nearly reached the end of the ’10s, and though selections of the Dodgers’ all-decade team should probably wait until after the 2019 World Series, these few days of relative calm before the storm of the postseason seemed like a good time to reveal them. Nothing is likely to affect these choices between now and then (although I’m fascinated by the idea that something could). 

Most challenging was having to deal with five legitimate candidates for the four openings at outfield/first base. Catcher was nearly a toss-up, and second base yielded its own surprise. 

Here we go … 

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Video: Who was the most underrated Dodger in 2016?

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On November 8, 2016

In Awards

[wpvideo zmh5Z8cE]

By Jon Weisman

Late in October on Twitter, I asked folks whom they would pick for the most underrated Dodger of 2016.

It was a doubly subjective exercise, integrating not only your own perception of Dodger players but your belief in how others feel as well.

From the dozen or so nominees, I picked out the four with the most mentions and put them in a decidedly unscientific poll, narrowly won by Joe Blanton.

Blanton was a fine choice, but my own vote went to Joc Pederson. In this video (edited and produced for Dodger Insider by Julian Gooden) I explain why. Enjoy …

Seager, Roberts, Maeda finalists for top MLB awards

By

On November 7, 2016

In Awards

Juan Ocampo/Los Angeles Dodgers

Juan Ocampo/Los Angeles Dodgers

By Jon Weisman

Corey Seager is a finalist for both the National League Rookie of the Year Award and the NL Most Valuable Player Award, MLB and the Baseball Writers Association of America have announced.

Kenta Maeda is also one of the three NL Rookie of the Year finalists, while Dave Roberts is in the final countdown for NL Manager of the Year.

With Max Scherzer of the Nationals and Kyle Hendricks and Jon Lester of the Cubs announced as finalists for the NL Cy Young, Clayton Kershaw’s streak of five consecutive top-three finishes has ended — though Kershaw still led NL pitchers in WAR despite being limited to 149 innings.

The winner of the NL Rookie of the Year Award will be announced November 14, followed by NL Manager of the Year on November 15, NL Cy Young on November 16 and NL MVP on November 17.

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Willie Calhoun MVP of AFL Fall Stars Game

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On November 5, 2016

In Awards, Minor leagues

By Jon Weisman

Dodger second-base prospect Willie Calhoun went 3 for 3 with a home run to win Most Valuable Player honors and lead the West team to a 12-4 victory over the East at the Arizona Fall League Fall Stars Game tonight.

Calhoun, who turned 22 Friday, singled and scored in a four-run second inning, hit an RBI single in a four-run third inning and knocked a two-run homer in the fifth. In 2016 with Double-A Tulsa, Calhoun hit 27 homers and 25 doubles in 503 at-bats and slugged .469.

[mlbvideo id=”1211461483″ width=”550″ height=”308″ /]

Cody Bellinger, the Dodgers’ No. 1 prospect, added a two-run homer in the sixth. The left-handed swinger hit his off 6-foot-7 southpaw Jared Miller, an Arizona Diamondbacks farmhand.

Kenley Jansen wins NL Reliever of the Year award

By

On October 29, 2016

In Awards

2016 NLCS Game 3---Los Angeles Dodgers vs Chicago Cubs

By Jon Weisman

Kenley Jansen has won MLB’s 2016 Trevor Hoffman National League Reliever of the Year Award.

A panel of eight all-time great relievers — Hoffman, Mariano Rivera, Dennis Eckersley, Rollie Fingers, Bruce Sutter, Lee Smith, John Franco and Billy Wagner — voted on the winners, ranking the top three in each league (based solely on regular-season performance), using a 5-3-1 weighted point system. The American League award is named in Rivera’s honor.

Jansen had a career-best and MLB-leading 0.67 WHIP along with a 1.83 ERA, his lowest since 2010, and he led all MLB relievers in wins above replacement (3.2). A first-time NL All-Star in 2016, he struck out more than 13 batters per nine innings for the seventh time in as many Major League seasons, and he is fourth in big-league history with a 13.9 K/9. His 9.5 K/BB ratio in 2016 led the NL.

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Stewart wins award as top starting pitcher in minors

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On October 27, 2016

In Awards, Minor leagues

Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers

Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers

Brock Stewart, recently named the Dodgers’ top pitching prospect, has won the award from Minor League Baseball — the MiLBY — as its top starting pitcher. Stewart, whom we’ve chronicled throughout the year, was the subject of a new feature by Tyler Maun of MiLB.com.

— Jon Weisman

Sporting News awards honor Roberts, Seager

By

On October 24, 2016

In Awards

Los Angeles Dodgers vs Chicago Cubs

By Jon Weisman

The Sporting News has named Dave Roberts its National League Manager of the Year and Corey Seager NL Rookie of the Year.

Remarkably, Roberts is the first Dodger named Manager of the Year by the Sporting News since Walter Alston, who won the honor in 1955, 1959 and 1963, when there was only one award to cover both leagues. Leo Durocher was the first in the franchise to win the award, in 1939.

During the Dodgers’ two World Series title seasons under Tommy Lasorda in 1981 and 1988, the Sporting News honored Oakland’s Billy Martin (1981 overall winner) and Pittsburgh’s Jim Leyland (NL 1988).

Major League managers form the voting body for this award. Roberts won seven of a possible 14 votes in the NL, followed by Washington’s Dusty Baker and Chicago’s Joe Maddon, who had three apiece.

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In case you missed it: Pre-NLDS news and notes

By

On October 6, 2016

In Awards, In case you missed it, Postseason

Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers

Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers

By Jon Weisman

Tomorrow really is just a day away. Friday’s opening game of the National League Division Series between the Dodgers and Nationals comes in about 24 hours, depending on when exactly you’re reading this.

Here’s what been percolating …

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Orel Hershiser to get second look for Hall of Fame

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On October 3, 2016

In Awards

83

By Jon Weisman

Dodger pitching great Orel Hershiser is one of five former Major Leaguers who will be considered for Hall of Fame election this winter.

Former Dodger manager Davey Johnson and coach Mark McGwire are also among the 10 names on the Today’s Game Era ballot that will be reviewed and voted upon December 5 at the Baseball Winter Meetings in National Harbor, Maryland, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum announced today.

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Kershaw, Seager, Hill, Turner finalists for MLB Players Choice Awards

By

On September 30, 2016

In Awards

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS VS LOS ANGELES DODGERS

By Jon Weisman

Clayton Kershaw, Corey Seager, Rich Hill and Justin Turner are finalists in four categories of the MLB Players Choice Awards, which will be announced November 9 on MLB Network.

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Justin Turner nominated for Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award – vote now

By

On September 13, 2016

In Awards

Arizona Diamondbacks vs Los Angeles DodgersHey kid, you like voting? Well, in addition to the MLB Fan of the Year competition below, there’s a fan ballot for the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award.

The first step in the process is choosing who will be the finalist from each division. Justin Turner is the Dodgers’ nominee for the National League West.

A regular participant of his teammate, Clayton Kershaw’s Ping Pong 4 a Purpose, Justin is always active in his local community. This past August, he joined the Los Angeles Dream Center for their annual Back to School Bash in distributing 2,000 backpacks, each field with supplies including pencils, paper, and notebooks to families from the Echo Park, Rampart District, Skid Row, Lincoln Heights, South Central and Watts neighborhoods.

Kershaw won the award in 2014.

Turner’s competition from the NL West is made up of A.J. Pollock, Carlos Gonzalez, Jon Jay and Jake Peavy. Vote here. Finalists will be announced September 20.

— Jon Weisman

Vote for MLB’s Dodger Fan of the Year

By

On September 13, 2016

In Awards, Fans

fans

You can now vote for the Dodgers’ Fan of the Year in an MLB contest sponsored by Esurance.

Each of the four finalists has a video supporting his or her candidacy — click the image above to see them. They are:

  • Laura Zimmerman: Zimmerman is passionate about all things Dodgers, as she attends every home game and follows the club’s Minor League affiliates.
  • Vincente Reyes: Reyes dedicates his Instagram to sharing the dazzling photos he personally captures at Dodgers games in various locales.
  • Danny Del Toro: Elvis tribute artist Del Toro has combined his love of the King and the Dodgers, and he is now renowned as Dodger Elvis.
  • Emma X Amaya: Season-ticket holder Amaya is a savvy fan who rarely goes a day without posting about the Dodgers on her Facebook page.

Voting is takes place through 10:59 a.m. PT on September 19. To vote, you must use a valid, public Twitter account to submit a tweet with the unique hashtag assigned to the nominee (limit one hashtag per tweet).

— Jon Weisman

Adrian González nominated again for Clemente Award

By

On September 6, 2016

In Awards, Community

Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers

Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers

By Jon Weisman

Adrian González is the Dodgers’ nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, which honors the player who best represents the game of Baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.

This is the third time in the past four seasons that González has been the Dodgers’ nominee. In 2012 and 2014, Clayton Kershaw was the Dodger representative, and he went on to become the youngest ever to win the prestigious prize in 2012.

“The Adrian and Betsy González Foundation empowers underprivileged youth in many ways, from the awarding of college scholarships to pediatric cancer support to ballpark access to low-income families and field renovations in his native Tijuana,” MLB says in its official description.

Fans can vote for the overall winner on social media using hashtags beginning on Wednesday’s Roberto Clemente Day through October 2 — for Gonzalez, the hashtag is “#VoteAdrian.” More information will be available at mlb.com/clemente.

The full list of nominees follows:

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Could Clayton Kershaw still win the NL Cy Young?

By

On September 4, 2016

In Awards

Jill Weisleder/Los Angeles Dodgers

Jill Weisleder/Los Angeles Dodgers

By Jon Weisman

This was the kind of thing I was afraid to say out loud, because it almost sounds too silly. But this post by Dave Cameron at Fangraphs gave me the opening I needed.

Even though Clayton Kershaw won’t finish the 2016 season with enough innings to qualify for the National League ERA title, when all is said and done in October, he could still be the league’s best choice for the Cy Young Award.

Cameron explains why at length, so I’ll just bullet-point a few of the main arguments:

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Farm Fresh: Brock Stewart, Edwin Rios win Dodger Player of the Year awards

By

On September 2, 2016

In Awards, Minor leagues

Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers

Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers

By Jon Weisman

Brock Stewart has been named the Dodgers’ Branch Rickey Minor League Pitcher of the Year, and third baseman Edwin Rios is the franchise’s Minor League Player of the Year.

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Attendance

1991-2013
Dodgers at home: 1,028-812 (.558695)
When Jon attended: 338-267 (.558677)*
When Jon didn’t: 695-554 (.556)
* includes road games attended

2013
Dodgers at home: 51-35 (.593)
When Jon attended: 5-2 (.714)
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Note: I got so busy working for the Dodgers that in 2014, I stopped keeping track, much to my regret. 

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