MLB First Quarter Awards

Most baseball teams have played at least forty games of the season and, even with my English major math, that means they are a quarter of the way through the 2016 marathon. The clubs making the most headlines so far have been both Chicago teams, the Mariners, and the Orioles.

For some teams, such as the Phillies and the Tampa Rays, the season has brought somewhat surprising success. On the other hand, however, are the teams have struggled more than they imagined when they broke from spring training camp in late March. These disappointing clubs include the Minnesota Twins, the Atlanta Braves, and the Houston Astros.

Here are the players who would win the major individual awards if the season were to end now.

National League Most Valuable Player

Yoenis Cespides of the New York Mets, who re-signed a free agent contract for just one year, has picked right up where he left off. After being acquired from Detroit before the deadline, Cespides led the Mets the National League pennant. He now leads the Senior Circuit in home runs (14) and runs batted in (35), while also hitting at a .300 clip for the second place Mets.

Runner Up: Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals

American League Most Valuable Player

David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox leads the Amercan League in RBI with 37, is third in home runs with eleven, and has a .358 batting average. These Triple Crown numbers could make Big Papi reconsider his decision to retire at the end of this season.

Runner Up: Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros

National League Cy Young Award

Jake Arrieta has been the ace of the Chicago Cubs, who have boasted the best record in the Major Leagues for most of this season. He is 8-0 with a 1.20 earned run average.

Runner Up: Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers

American League Cy Young Award

Chris Sale has won his first nine decisions with the Chicago White Sox, who have been in first place in the A.L. central all season. His 1.58 ERA is also tops in the Junior Circuit.

Runner Up: Jordan Zimmerman of the Detroit Tigers

National League Rookie of the Year

Trevor Story of the Colorado Rockies set a record by homering in his first seven games, nearly making fans in Mile High forgive their club for trading All-Star shortstop Troy Tulowitski to Toronto at the trade deadline last year.

Runner Up: Aledmys Diaz of the St. Louis Cardinals

American League Rookie of the Year

Nomar Mazara of the Texas Rangers has helped solidify the left field carousel that has for several seasons dogged the defending A.L. West champions, as he is hitting.304 with surprising power.

Runner Up: Joey Rickard of the Baltimore Orioles

National League Manager of the Year

Pete Mackanin of the Philadelphia Phillies has been nothing short of a miracle worker, having taken a team predicted to finish last and led them to one of the best records in the N.L.

Runner Up: Dusty Baker of the Washington Nationals

American League Manager of the Year

Robin Ventura of the Chicago White Sox has led the South Side team to the top of the A.L. central ahead of the defending World Series Champion Kansas City Royals, in spite of the team turmoil over the Adam Laroche controversy coming out of spring training.

Runner Up: Scott Servais of the Seattle Mariners

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