Congratulations go out to Matt Kemp, who won a GIBBY award (Greatness in Baseball Yearly) for Player of the Year. He beat out a bunch of other studs, such as Jose Bautista, Miguel Cabrera, Jacoby Ellsbury, Curtis Granderson, Albert Pujols, and the synthetic Ryan Braun.
Kemp collected 33.2% of the vote, well ahead Bautista's 19.8%. Votes are from a collection of the fans, media, front-office personnel, and alumni.
The win isn't much of a surprise, as despite the Dodgers finishing well out of the playoff race, Kemp was clearly the top dog in baseball this past year. He was one homer away from joining the prestigious 40/40 club, while still leading the league with 39 homers, 126 RBIs, 115 runs, and 353 total bases. He also finished second in a bunch of other categories, and was the starting center fielder and #3 hitter in the All-Star Game.
The awards have come in waves this offseason, including a Gold Glove, Sliver Slugger, and Hank Aaron. To get a complete list, click on the link above. There's plenty there to keep you busy.
About the only award that alluded him was the NL MVP, as it went to Braun. And as we recently found out, Braun had some help from a little friend. But as Ted Lilly pointed out, Kemp should've won the award to begin with. How right he is.
Kemp recently signed an eight-year, $160 million extension, and is the clear face of the franchise for many years to come.
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