Although no Phillie was named a finalist for the BBWAA annual awards, two of our own have been nominated for the less-glorified GIBBY Awards. GIBBY (Greatness In Baseball Yearly Awards) have been handed out to players who achieve great play throughout the season since 2002. Formerly known as the "This Year in Baseball Awards", these awards are the MLB's annual awards.
Cole Hamels and Carlos Ruiz have been named finalists for the MLB MVP Starting Pitcher and MLB MVP Breakout Hitter, respectively. Hamels, who finished the year with a career-high in wins (17), is among the best pitchers of the game, as well as three finalists for the NL Cy Young Award. Hamels went 17-6 with a 3.05 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP this season. The lefty, who also signed a six-year extension with the Phillies in July, racked up a career-high 216 Ks.
Carlos Ruiz, who had an outstanding first half before becoming injured, is among seven other hitters who are well-deserved of the honor as well. Chooch batted .325 with a career-high 16 HR, and a career-high 68 RBIs. Along with his breakout numbers, Ruiz had a .935 OPS and did his part on the field with a .994 Fld%. If it weren't for his injury-shortened season, Ruiz could have easily been in the race for the NL MVP award. Chooch was named this year's Phillies' MVP by the Philadelphia writers.
It sucks that the Phillies had a bad year, but on top of that it also sucks that even the one's who shined still get stiffed by the BBWAA. You can give our guys an award, however.
Go to MLB.com and vote for Cole Hamels and Carlos Ruiz for this year's GIBBYs.
Follow Erik on Twitter @ErikSeyboldPHI.
