3rd Annual Halos Heaven Awards: Wrap-Up

Let's be real, folks, this was one heck of a season to watch.

From my point of view as a fan, I'll be honest, knowing that they clinched the division and made the playoffs was half euphoria, half stress-relief. The season was just an all-around joy to watch. We got to see Mike Trout (UNANIMOUSLY) win his first MVP award (as well as his first All-Star Game MVP award), as well as Erick Aybar get his first All-Star nod. Other fun tidbits include Albert Pujols' first walk-off home run as an Angel, as well as his 500th career home run (which stupidly got very little attention); the emergence of Garrett Richards as the new Halos ace; the emergence of Matt Shoemaker as arguably baseball's biggest pitching surprise; Mike Trout's game-tying grand slam off of former Angel killer Chris Sale; Pujols and Trout launching extra-fiery arrows at dimwit Fernando Rodney during a particularly heated late-inning rally; and lest I forget, to make every Angels memory all the sweeter, we got a lovely Oakland collapse and a hobbled Texas team to guide the way.

So I'll pose a discussion question before I get to the wrap-up and look ahead: What was your personal favorite in-game Angels moment this season? For me, it's (perhaps selfishly) Efren Navarro's walk-off single in the 16th against Seattle--partially because this game took place on my birthday, and there was a sweet bit of irony attached. I'd only ever seen ONE other extra-inning Angels game before that one. It, too, was on my birthday. It, too, was against Seattle. At both games, I sat club level. The first one I am referring to was July 18, 2010, where the Angels lost in ten innings, 1-0. The second one, the Navarro game, was a 3-2 Halo victory across a 16-inning marathon.

Now that I'm off the soapbox, let's get to the awards wrapup.

The winner of this season's Trout-Salmon Award (most outstanding rookie) was, not surprisingly, Matt Shoemaker, the only unanimous award winner. Meanwhile, Albert Pujols took home the inaugural Comeback Player of the Year Award (self-explanatory), which I am still taking renaming suggestions for (though the Jerome Williams Award currently strikes my fancy). This season's winner of the David Eckstein Award (most underrated) was, for the second time in three seasons, Erick Aybar, while the winner of the Buttercup Award (most underwhelming) was, once again, Josh Hamilton. The First-Time Halo Award (most outstanding debut Angels season) went to Matt Shoemaker, while the Vladimir Guerrero Award (most outstanding hitter) went undoubtedly to Mike Trout. The Dean Chance Award (most outstanding pitcher) went very narrowly to Garrett Richards, while the Mr. Halo Award (MVP) went to, for the third year running, Mike Trout.

TROUT-SALMON AWARD
2013: J.B. Shuck (OF)
2014: Matt Shoemaker (SP)

COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD
2014: Albert Pujols (1B)

DAVID ECKSTEIN AWARD
2012: Erick Aybar (SS)
2013: J.B. Shuck (OF)
2014: Erick Aybar (SS)

BUTTERCUP AWARD
2013: Josh Hamilton (OF)
2014: Josh Hamilton (OF)

FIRST-TIME HALO AWARD
2012: Albert Pujols (1B)
2013: J.B. Shuck (OF)
2014: Matt Shoemaker (SP)

VLADIMIR GUERRERO AWARD
2012: Mike Trout (OF)
2013: Mike Trout (OF)
2014: Mike Trout (OF)

DEAN CHANCE AWARD
2012: Jered Weaver (SP)
2013: C.J. Wilson (SP)
2014: Garrett Richards (SP)

MR. HALO
2012: Mike Trout (OF)
2013: Mike Trout (OF)
2014: Mike Trout (OF)

Oh, and one more thing.

I am introducing a new component of voting for the 2015 Halos Heaven Awards! In addition to the HHVB balloting that will take place, I am now introducing THE AUDIENCE VOTE. How it will work is this. At the deadline for HHVB voting, I will release posts containing ALL PLAYERS that received votes for each award; these players will not be listed in any particular order. In each post, I will put up a poll containing the names of each person who received at least one vote for that award. For example, if next season, the players receiving votes for the Vladimir Guerrero Award were Albert Pujols, Howie Kendrick, Kole Calhoun, Mike Trout, Chris Iannetta and C.J. Cron, those six names would be in the poll. The top vote-getters in the poll will receive the equivalent of one-third of the HHVB voting body's total vote. For example, if next year there were to be 15 HHVB voters, then the audience vote would be worth five votes (bringing the totals to 20 total votes). For all awards, the top three vote-getters would receive the five respective votes, except for Mr. Halo, in which case the top-five would receive the five respective votes.

This feature, however, comes only if you want it. Below is a poll basically saying yes or no to this idea. If you want an audience vote to be incorporated, let me know! Also, favorite in-game Angels moment of 2014!