It's baaaaaaaaaack!
Last year, eight HH members and Baseball Prospectus' Sam Miller all voted on five different awards for Angels players. This idea wound up becoming more popular than expected, and so the pool of potential voters was expanded. Eventually, over 30 HH members would submit their names to become members of the Halos Heaven Voting Board (HHVB).
This year, we have 11 different ballots turned in, so although the uptick in voters is only slight, and although Sam Miller did not have a vote this year, we do have two new awards debuting this year. But for those who weren't around for last year's debut, let's review:
David Eckstein Award: This award is given to the player voted by the HHVB who had the most underrated season for the Angels. All players with at least 25 IP, 250 PA or 60 games played are eligible. Voting is conducted on a 5-3-1 scale: 5 points for a first-place vote, 3 points for a second-place vote, and 1 for a third-place vote.
First-Time Halo Award: This award is given to the player voted by the HHVB who had the most outstanding debut season for the Angels. One change to this award from last year is that rookies are now eligible, after some controversy arose over Mike Trout's ineligibility for the award last year. Aside from that new qualification, eligible players must have at least 400 PA or 50 IP. Voting is conducted on a 5-3-1 scale.
Vladimir Guerrero Award: This award, named after the fan favorite, bad-ball hitting, hard-slugging outfielder, is given to the player voted by the HHVB to have had the most outstanding hitting season for the Angels. All players with at least 400 PA are eligible. Voting is conducted on a 5-3-1 scale.
Dean Chance Award: This award, named for the first Angel to win the Cy Young Award, is given to the player voted by the HHVB to have had the most outstanding pitching season for the Angels. All players with at least 50 IP are eligible. Voting is conducted on a 5-3-1 scale.
Mr. Halo: This award is given to the player voted by the HHVB to have had the most oustanding and valuable overall season for the Angels. How a voter quantifies "valuable" is up to them and them alone. All players with at least 400 PA or 50 IP are eligible. Voting is conducted on a 9-7-5-3-1 voting scale: 9 points for a first-place vote, 7 points for a second-place vote, 5 points for a third-place vote, 3 points for a fourth-place vote, and 1 point for a fifth-place vote.
And now, the two new awards:
Trout-Salmon Award: This award, named for the two fish-surnamed outfielders to have both won the AL Rookie of the Year Award, is given to the player voted by the HHVB to have had the most outstanding rookie season. The award can only be given if more than one rookie is eligible; players must have at least 125 PA or 20 IP to be eligible. Voting is conducted on a 5-3-1 scale.
Buttercup Award: You don't want to win this. This award, named for the hit song by The Foundations which is horribly broadcast through the PA system at all Angels home games, is given to the player voted by the HHVB to have, to paraphrase the song, "built us up and let us down" during the season; that is, the player that most failed to meet his expectations during the season. All players with at least 400 PA or 50 IP are eligible. Voting is conducted on a 5-3-1 scale.
With these seven awards, we collectively look back on the 2013 season and its high and low points.
If you cast a ballot this season, I ask that you do not reveal it until all award winners have been individually announced.
The purpose of this thread, then, is for those of you who did or did not vote to recap your thoughts on the season, and for those of you who did not vote, to make your guesses or arguments for who should win each award. Have some fun with this!
The schedule for each award's announcement is:
Thursday, October 10: David Eckstein Award
Friday, October 11: Trout-Salmon Award
Saturday, October 12: Buttercup Award
Sunday, October 13: First-Time Halo Award
Monday, October 14: Vladimir Guerrero Award
Tuesday, October 15: Dean Chance Award
Wednesday, October 16: Mr. Halo
Each award will be announced on its respective day at 1:00 PM PDT.
Thank you to all who participated in voting this year, and let's kick off this dreary offseason in as fun a manner as we can!