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1) using profanity or any euphemisms for profanity
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4) arguing for the sake of arguing
5) discussing politics
6) using hyperbole when something less will suffice
7) using sarcasm in a way that can be misinterpreted negatively
8) making the same point over and over again
9) typing "no-hitter" or "perfect game" to describe either in progress
10) being annoyed by the existence of this list
11) commenting under the obvious influence
12) claiming your opinion isn't allowed when it's just being disagreed with
Check out the results on the home page of All-Baseball.com. I was one of the 37 voters, so if you don't like the results, take out 2.7 percent of your anger on me.
Here is my ballot, with official IBWA finish in parentheses.
2004 IBWA END-OF-YEAR AWARDS
NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
1. Barry Bonds (1)
2. Adrian Beltre (2)
3. Scott Rolen (5)
4. Jim Edmonds (4)
5. Albert Pujols (3)
6. J.D. Drew (6)
7. Lance Berkman (9)
8. Bobby Abreu (7)
9. Todd Helton (8)
10. Mark Loretta (10)
Though not quite in exact order, my top 10 matched the final top 10. When in doubt, I tended to favor non-first basemen over first basemen.
AMERICAN LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
1. Vladimir Guerrero (1)
2. Johan Santana (2)
3. Melvin Mora (7)
4. Alex Rodriguez (10)
5. Michael Young (13)
6. Miguel Tejada (5)
7. Carlos Guillen (9)
8. Ivan Rodriguez (15)
9. Gary Sheffield (4)
10. Manny Ramirez (3)
My ballot looks a little quirkier as you move away from my National League familiarity - but I don't believe I was alone on any of these picks, even Michael Young.
NATIONAL LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE YEAR
1. Randy Johnson (1)
2. Ben Sheets (3)
3. Roger Clemens (2)
I think Sheets' strikeout-walk ratio had something to do with my elevating him over Clemens. It was a tough call, though.
AMERICAN LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE YEAR
1. Johan Santana (1)
2. Curt Schilling (2)
3. Brad Radke (4)
I'm still biased toward starting pitchers. I thought Jason Schmidt should have won the NL Cy Young last year, so I wasn't about to turn around and put Mariano Rivera too high.
NATIONAL LEAGUE DEBUT OF THE YEAR
1. Khalil Greene (1)
2. Jason Bay (2)
3. Akinori Otsuka (3)
More close calls. Otsuka was a great reliever who got no publicity this year.
AMERICAN LEAGUE DEBUT OF THE YEAR
1. Zack Greinke (2)
2. Lew Ford (x)
3. David Newhan (10)
Yes, I was one of those fools who didn't research the eligibility requirements. I deserve full criticism for not taking this aspect of the process seriously enough, and I apologize.
NATIONAL LEAGUE MANAGER OF THE YEAR
1. Bobby Cox (1)
2. Tony LaRussa (2)
3. Jim Tracy (3)
October aside, Cox has proven he can win with whatever he's given.
AMERICAN LEAGUE MANAGER OF THE YEAR
1. Buck Showalter (1)
2. Ken Macha (9)
3. Mike Scioscia (2)
I'm not sure why I'm the only person who gave even a third-place vote to a manager whose team contended, despite a number of problems and limitations, to the final weekend. Do Ron Gardenhire, Joe Torre, Alan Trammell, Eric Wedge, and Lou Piniella really deserve more credit than Macha?
NATIONAL LEAGUE EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR
1. Walt Jocketty (1)
2. Gerry Hunsicker (3)
3. Dan Evans (7t)
"I’m at a loss for how to interpret the Dan Evans vote — anyone want to help me out?" Christian Ruzich asks. Here's my answer, since I'm the guy: I'm a Paul DePodesta fan and think he will be great for the Dodger future, but when you talk about who did the most to create this year's division-winning Dodger team, it's Evans who laid the groundwork.
AMERICAN LEAGUE EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR
1. Billy Beane (7)
2. Brian Cashman (4)
3. Bill Stoneman (5)
I really don't consider myself a Beane worshipper. At the same time, I think the backlash is getting overwrought. Once again, with a limited payroll, he has a 90+-win team under his belt. Yet Beane gets four votes, and the Detroit general manager gets 12? Seems strange to me.
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