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2006 League Award Winners Announced December 9, 2006 -- In what may be no surprise around the league, the 2006 world champions, Toronto, came away the big winners in the 2006 SPIBL awards. Announced earlier today, Roger Clemens took home the NL Cy Young award, first baseman Derrek Lee won NL Most Valuable Player honors, and reliever Huston Street is the 2006 NL Rookie Of The Year. Clemens, who posted a 23-7 record with a 2.45 ERA and 245 strikeouts, was the big story of the day. The first SPIBL Cy Young Award of his illustrious career comes unanimously, nabbing first place votes on all 16 ballots. Clemens dominated the entire year while winning the pitching triple crown and leading his team to 109 wins and a world championship. Roy Oswalt (Seattle) finished second in the voting with six 2nd place and six 3rd place votes. C.C. Sabathia (St. Louis) finished third with three 2nd place and four 3rd place votes. Also receiving votes were Dontrelle Willis (Seattle), Carlos Zambrano (Toronto), B.J. Ryan (Atlanta), and Francisco Rodriguez (Kansas City). Derrek Lee won a closer race for NL MVP, with Andruw Jones (Anaheim), Miguel Cabrera (Philadelphia), and Clemens all within striking distance. Lee, who hit .323 with 42 homeruns and 131 RBIs, received seven 1st place, eight 2nd place, and three 3rd place votes out of 20 ballots. Jones and his league-leading 57 homeruns finished 25 points behind while Cabrera was 28 points shy. Clemens made a decent showing in third place. Brian Roberts (Florida), Ken Griffey Jr. (St. Louis), B.J. Ryan (Atlanta), and Michael Young (Colorado) also received votes. Huston Street was perhaps the surprise winner for NL Rookie Of The Year, with some experts picking Robinson Cano (St. Louis), who finished second, to take this award. Street had a phenomenal season for Toronto, posting a 1.88 ERA over 81 innings. In the American League, Pedro Martinez (Chicago) was one vote shy of joining Clemens as an unanimous winner for AL Cy Young. Out of 18 ballots, Martinez received 17 1st place votes and one 2nd place vote. His 27-win season, a new SPIBL single-season record, was a big reason. In 2006, he won 27 of 34 starts to lead his team to the best record in the American League. His teammate, Johan Santana, received the other first place vote and finished second overall. Also receiving votes were John Patterson (San Diego), Aaron Heilman (Houston), and Mark Mulder (Milwaukee). The AL Most Valuable Player was definitely the closest race, with nine of the ten nominees receiving votes. Furthermore, seven players received at least one first place vote! After all 21 ballots were counted, Milwaukee's big slugging designated hitter David Ortiz came out on top. Ortiz, who batted .284 with an AL-best 54 homeruns and 123 RBIs in 2006, garnered six 1st place, four 2nd place, and four 3rd place votes. He is the first player not named Bonds to win the AL MVP award in SPIBL history. Cy Young winner Martinez finished second for AL MVP, a mere nine points behind, while Brian Giles (San Diego) and Albert Pujols (Cleveland) were also close. Randy Winn (Chicago), Vlad Guerrero (Houston), Alex Rodriguez (Cleveland), Travis Hafner (New York), and Ortiz' teammate Manny Ramirez also received votes. The AL Rookie Of The Year went to Ryan Howard of the Pittsburgh Conspiracy. In just 98 games, he hit 28 homeruns with 78 RBIs. Willy Taveras (Houston) and Gustavo Chacin (Boston) finished second and third respectively. This award comes on the heels of Howard's trade to the Minnesota Moose. All ten Rookie Of The Year nominees from both leagues received at least 11 points.
Click HERE to check out all of the 2006 SPIBL Awards voting results. Click HERE to check out the SPIBL Awards History. |
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