And yeah, I am counting the Plug Awards.
From MLB.com :
St. Louis Cardinals shortstop David Eckstein (above) and Detroit Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge have been named the Holiday Inn Look Again Players of the Year for the National League and American League, respectively. Voting took place for the inaugural awards exclusively on MLB.com throughout last month.
Eckstein beat out utilityman Chris Burke of the Houston Astros, Atlanta Braves catcher Brian McCann, Milwaukee Brewers reliever Brian Shouse, Chicago Cubs utilityman John Mabry, outfielder Eric Byrnes of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier, San Francisco Giants utilityman Mark Sweeney, third baseman Wes Helms of the Florida Marlins, New York Mets second baseman Jose Valentin, Washington Nationals first baseman Nick Johnson, San Diego Padres right-hander Woody Williams, outfielder Shane Victorino of the Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates left-hander John Grabow, Cincinnati Reds utilityman Ryan Freel and third baseman Garrett Atkins of the Colorado Rockies.
If intangibles were a quantifiable statistic, Eckstein would surely rank among the league leaders in that category.
There’s a gag in here somewhere about measuring the immeasurable, cockroaches and Holiday Inn, but I’ll save it for an afternoon you’re not eating with the family. Fire Joe Morgan has already weighed in once on this crucial issue, and hot diggity, they’ve done so again.
“it isn’t dumb luck that the year’s top role players came from the season’s World Series opponents.”
No. It’s because the awards were determined by fan voting during the month of October, a month in which the Cardinals and Tigers played more games than anybody else. That’s why.