As a member of the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA), I have the honor and privilege of voting for their post-season awards which includes the MVP, Cy Young Award, Rookie of the Year, and more. It’s a distinct honor and privilege to have a vote in these awards. This is the first time that my votes will count towards an official published series of baseball awards.
Choosing the correct person to win each award comes with it a tremendous responsibility.
I must note, at the start, that The IBWAA Awards are not the BBWAA Awards. We are not choosing the actual winners – that task falls solely to the BBWAA. Still, the IBWAA is made up of legitimate and highly respected writers, as such, while our recognition is mostly honorary, it still is something that is taken seriously by many in and around baseball.
While throughout baseball history, the BBWAA most often does an excellent job with the task of declaring the winners of the various post season awards, there have been plenty times over the years when their selections have been puzzling at best. It is my hope that when fans and critics look at the award winners as chosen by the IBWAA, that they see that great thought went into the process. While our awards are not as recognized as the BBWAA awards, it is my hope that ours are just as respected.
Like most fans, throughout my life I have followed and opined the BBWAA awards, but never before have I had a vote that is part of a nationally published ballot. It’s easy to say, “Player X should get the award,” but the task of choosing a player for an award is a bit more serious when the decision one makes is actually part of a bigger and more significant discussion – one that all fans, players, and writers will see.
Because of this responsibility I feel that I have to get this correct. In order to determine the most deserving players for each award, I had to develop a logical process that would help guide me in the right direction. I need to have the data and the correct information upon which to choose the names of the players on my ballot. Readers might not agree with my final decisions, but I want them to know that my decisions were thoughtful, well-reasoned, and legitimate.
After reviewing my choices, I am confident that I chose the most deserving players.
Over the next few days, after the season ends and before the playoffs begin, I will share my decision making process and the players I chose to earn each award.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on my thinking.
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