This Year in Baseball Awards by MLB on Baseball Almanac

This Year in Baseball Awards

Major League Baseball (MLB.com) began an online program in 2002 allowing "connected" fans to first select nominees for various awards then vote for those they selected in the categories. Those who were nominated and those who won This Year in Baseball Awards are presented below.

Notes: Each year the list of This Year in Baseball Awards varied so the chart below groups the awards by year with all 2002 awards first, 2003 next and so on. Awards are listed in the order they appeared on MLB.com and bold entries denote the winner of the award.

"I think EVERYBODY was speechless (after the Torii Hunter All-Star catch). It's always awesome in an All-Star Game to see an All-Star do what got him there. Those are the moments people will never forget." - Curt Schilling

2002 This Year in Baseball Awards Image of Actual Award Received by Chris Carpenter For 2005 Starting Pitching of the Year by MLB.com via "The Fans"
2002 Play of the Year Award		% of Votes
Hunter's All-Star Catch		31%
Giambi's Grand Slam		26%
Tejada's Game-Winning HR		16%
Berkman's on the Hill Catch		14%
Long Robs Ramirez		13%
2002 Blooper of the Year Award		% of Votes
Grace the Ace		50%
Piniella Gets Tossed		22%
Millar Takes a Dive		10%
Miscues of Jason Lane		9%
Announcer Call It Like He Sees It		9%
2002 Setup Man of the Year Award		% of Votes
Chris Hammond	Atlanta	36%
J.C. Romero	Minnesota	25%
Octavio Dotel	Houston	19%
Arthur Rhodes	Seattle	11%
Alan Embree	Boston	9%
2002 Defensive Player of the Year Award		% of Votes
Torii Hunter	Minnesota	26%
Andruw Jones	Atlanta	23%
Omar Vizquel	Cleveland	13%
Ichiro Suzuki	Seattle	11%
Mike Bordick	Baltimore	9%
Jim Edmonds	St. Louis	8%
Darin Erstad	Anaheim	8%
Bengie Molina	Anaheim	2%
2002 Pitcher of the Year Award		% of Votes
John Smoltz	Atlanta	27%
Barry Zito	Oakland	19%
Randy Johnson	Arizona	16%
Pedro Martinez	Boston	15%
Eric Gagne	Los Angeles	13%
Derek Lowe	Boston	6%
Curt Schilling	Arizona	4%
2002 Player of the Year Award		% of Votes
Alex Rodriguez	Texas	17%
Barry Bonds	San Francisco	16%
Alfonso Soriano	New York	14%
Albert Pujols	St. Louis	8%
Miguel Tejada	Oakland	5%
Randy Johnson	Arizona	4%
Pedro Martinez	Boston	3%
Vladimir Guerrero	Montreal	3%
Eric Gagne	Los Angeles	3%
Barry Zito	Oakland	2%
Curt Schilling	Arizona	1%
2003 This Year in Baseball Awards Image of Actual Award Received by Chris Carpenter For 2005 Starting Pitching of the Year by MLB.com via "The Fans"
2003 Player of the Year Award		% of Votes
Albert Pujols	St. Louis	24.4%
Javy Lopez	Atlanta	11.1%
Barry Bonds	San Francisco	10.6%
Mike Lowell	Florida	10.4%
Todd Helton	Colorado	10.1%
Eric Gagne	Los Angeles	7.3%
2003 Pitcher of the Year Award		% of Votes
Mark Prior	Chicago	22.3%
Esteban Loaiza	Chicago	12.4%
Andy Pettitte	New York	11.7%
Pedro Martinez	Boston	10.6%
Eric Gagne	Los Angeles	9.7%
Jason Schmidt	San Francisco	9.0%
2003 Rookie of the Year Award		% of Votes
Scott Podsednik	Milwaukee	33.1%
Hideki Matsui	New York	17.6%
Brandon Webb	Arizona	12.4%
Miguel Cabrera	Florida	8.1%
Rocco Baldelli	Tampa Bay	7.2%
Dontrelle Willis	Florida	6.9%
2003 Manager of the Year Award		% of Votes
Dusty Baker	Chicago	27.5%
Joe Torre	New York	18.7%
Jack McKeon	Florida	18.3%
Bobby Cox	Atlanta	10.8%
Felipe Alou	San Francisco	7.2%
Tony Pena	Chicago	6.9%
2003 Defensive Player of the Year Award		% of Votes
Jim Edmonds	St. Louis	16.8%
Torii Hunter	Minnesota	15.4%
Ichiro Suzuki	Seattle	13.7%
Eric Chavez	Oakland	13.0%
Brad Ausmus	Houston	11.7%
Bengie Molina	Anaheim	8.6%
2003 Setup Man of the Year Award		% of Votes
Brendan Donnelly	Anaheim	23.4%
Octavio Dotel	Houston	16.5%
Rheal Cormier	Philadelphia	12.6%
Rafael Soriano	Seattle	12.1%
LaTroy Hawkins	Minnesota	11.7%
Joe Nathan	San Francisco	7.9%
2003 Play of the Year Award		% of Votes
Furcal Unassisted Triple Play		19.5%
Matsui's Grand Slam		13.0%
Edmond's Catch		12.4%
Bonds' Homer		10.5%
Giles Robs Homer		10.1%
Boone's Catch and Flip		7.6%
2003 Individual Performance of the Year Award		% of Votes
Mueller First Grand Slams Both Side of Plate		34.0%
Damon's 3 Hits in an Inning		23.4%
Delgado's Four Homers		11.9%
Millwood's No-Hitter		9.4%
Byrnes Hitting for the Cycle		5.8%
Willis' One-Hitter		4.9%
2003 Bizarre Moment of the Year Award		% of Votes
Ozzy Osbourne Sings Take Me Out to the Ballgame		17.9%
Cust Falling Down		15.4%
Very Lucky Fan		13.8%
Misspelled Angels		13.0%
Infield Fly RBI		11.4%
Snow-ball Flight		10.1%
2004 This Year in Baseball Awards Image of Actual Award Received by Chris Carpenter For 2005 Starting Pitching of the Year by MLB.com via "The Fans"
2004 Hitter of the Year Award		% of Votes
David Ortiz	Boston	21.0%
Albert Pujols	St. Louis	16.0%
Ichiro Suzuki	Seattle	16.0%
Gary Sheffield	New York	10.2%
Manny Ramirez	Boston	9.5%
2004 Starting Pitcher of the Year Award		% of Votes
Johan Santana	Minnesota	25.7%
Curt Schilling	Boston	24.7%
Randy Johnson	Arizona	21.2%
Roger Clemens	Houston	8.4%
Carlos Zambrano	Chicago	8.0%
2004 Rookie of the Year Award		% of Votes
David Wright	New York	32.9%
Jason Bay	Pittsburgh	19.3%
Khalil Greene	San Diego	15.7%
Bobby Crosby	Oakland	12.2%
Daniel Cabrera	Baltimore	4.3%
2004 Manager of the Year Award		% of Votes
Terry Francona	Boston	32.7%
Joe Torre	New York	15.6%
Bobby Cox	Atlanta	11.4%
Tony La Russa	St. Louis	9.2%
Phil Garner	Milwaukee	8.0%
2004 Closer of the Year Award		% of Votes
Mariano Rivera	New York	28.5%
Keith Foulke	Boston	25.6%
Brad Lidge	Houston	13.8%
Eric Gagne	Los Angeles	13.1%
John Smoltz	Atlanta	5.9%
2003 Defensive Player of the Year Award		% of Votes
Jim Edmonds	St. Louis	15.4%
Carlos Beltran	Houston	14.6%
Scott Rolen	St. Louis	13.1%
Ichiro Suzuki	Seattle	11.0%
Torii Hunter	Minnesota	8.9%
2004 Setup Man of the Year Award		% of Votes
Francisco Rodriguez	Anaheim	26.3%
Tom Gordon	New York	25.7%
Ray King	St. Louis	9.0%
Akinori Otsuka	San Diego	6.2%
B.J. Ryan	Baltimore	6.2%
2004 Individual Performance of the Year Award		% of Votes
40-Year old Johnson Tosses Perfect Game		52.4%
Pujols Has 3 Home Runs & 5 RBIs		13.3%
Vlad Hits 9 RBIs in a Game		9.5%
Sheets Strikes out 18		4.8%
Mackowiak Walk-Off Grand Slam		4.7%
2004 Play of the Year Award		% of Votes
Jeter Catch in the Stands		31.8%
Mueller Sinks Yanks with 9th Inning HR		13.5%
Ramirez Robs Cairo of a HR		11.2%
Edmonds Steals a homer in the 9th		9.9%
Finley's Grand Slam Clinches NL West		8.1%
2004 Blooper of the Year Award		% of Votes
Michaels Bobbles HR		22.7%
Manny Cuts off Damon		17.6%
Squirrel Invades Field		17.0%
Crisp and Duque Dance		11.9%
Fan Makes a Catch in Cup		11.5%
2005 This Year in Baseball Awards Image of Actual Award Received by Chris Carpenter For 2005 Starting Pitching of the Year by MLB.com via "The Fans"
2005 Closer of the Year Award		% of Votes
Mariano Rivera	New York	36.3%
Brad Lidge	Houston	18.3%
Derrick Turnbow	Minnesota	14.5%
Francisco Rodriguez	Los Angeles	6.5%
Chad Cordero	Washington	6.2%
2005 Individual Performance of the Year Award		% of Votes
Alex Rodriguez 3 HR & 10 RBI Game		42.1%
Chris Carpenter 1-Hitter		14.1%
Ryan Freel 3-4 & Team Record 5 Steals in 1 Game		8.5%
Mark Grudzielanek Hitting for the Cycle		8.0%
Randy Winn Hitting for the Cycle		7.9%
2005 Setup Man of the Year Award		% of Votes
Neal Cotts	Chicago	21.7%
Dan Wheeler	Houston	18.2%
Tom Gordon	New York	12.8%
Cliff Politte	Chicago	9.7%
Scott Eyre	San Francisco	8.6%
2005 Blooper of the Year Award		% of Votes
Pedro Gets Soaked		25.3%
K-Rod Misses the Ball		21.5%
Twin Trio of Errors		11.4%
Cordero Bounces it In		10.4%
Security Guard Interference		9.8%
2005 Rookie of the Year Award		% of Votes
Robinson Cano	New York	28.9%
Jeff Francoeur	Atlanta	17.5%
Willy Taveras	Houston	13.4%
Tadahito Iguchi	Chicago	11.2%
Zach Duke	Pittsburgh	8.4%
2005 Defensive Player of the Year Award		% of Votes
Ichiro Suzuki	Seattle	22.7%
Jim Edmonds	St. Louis	18.0%
Andruw Jones	Atlanta	15.4%
Jack Wilson	Pittsburgh	12.3%
Yadier Molina	St. Louis	11.4%
2005 Manager of the Year Award		% of Votes
Ozzie Guillen	Chicago	22.5%
Joe Torre	New York	19.7%
Tony La Russa	St. Louis	14.3%
Bobby Cox	Atlanta	11.9%
Phil Garner	Houston	11.7%
2005 Starting Pitcher of the Year Award		% of Votes
Chris Carpenter	St. Louis	22.4%
Mark Buehrle	Chicago	20.9%
Roger Clemens	Houston	10.1%
Roy Oswalt	Houston	9.0%
Dontrelle Willis	Florida	8.2%
2005 Play of the Year Award		% of Votes
Wright's Barehander		32.8%
Jeter's Catch		13.6%
Linden's Catch		7.8%
Eckstein's Walk-Off Slam		5.9%
Ichiro's Amazing Grab		4.6%
2005 Hitter of the Year Award		% of Votes
David Ortiz	Boston	23.3%
Albert Pujols	St. Louis	20.3%
Derrek Lee	Chicago	19.1%
Alex Rodriguez	New York	18.0%
Andruw Jones	Atlanta	9.1%
2006 This Year in Baseball Awards Image of Actual Award Received by Chris Carpenter For 2005 Starting Pitching of the Year by MLB.com via "The Fans"
2006 Closer of the Year Award		% of Votes
Mariano Rivera	New York	26.7%
Jonathan Papelbon	Boston	21.1%
Francisco Rodriguez	Los Angeles	11.3%
Trevor Hoffman	San Diego	10.6%
Joe Nathan	Minnesota	10.3%
Billy Wagner	New York	8.7%
B.J. Ryan	Toronto	4.6%
Takashi Saito	Los Angeles	3.6%
J.J. Putz	Seattle	1.6%
Mike Gonzalez	Pittsburgh	1.5%
2006 Starting Pitcher of the Year Award		% of Votes
Chien-Ming Wang	New York	47.0%
Johan Santana	Minnesota	17.6%
Chris Carpenter	St. Louis	12.2%
Justin Verlander	Detroit	5.1%
Carlos Zambrano	Chicago	4.3%
John Smoltz	Atlanta	4.2%
Roy Oswalt	Houston	3.6%
Bronson Arroyo	Cincinnati	2.5%
Roy Halladay	Toronto	2.2%
Brandon Webb	Arizona	1.3%
2006 Starting Pitcher of the Year Award		% of Votes
Endy Chavez: Robs Rolen of home run		30.0%
Magglio Ordonez: Home runs win AL pennant		19.4%
Yadier Molina: Game 7, NLCS homer gives Cards lead		15.5%
Adam Wainwright: Game 7, NLCS Beltran k, NL pennant		11.0%
Paul Lo Duca: Game 1, NLDS Tags out two at home		8.4%
David Eckstein: Game 4 WS double puts Cards ahead		5.9%
Adam Wainwright: Game 5 WS, Inge k wins Series		5.5%
Mark Kotsay: Game 2 ALDS, inside the park homer		4.5%
2006 Defensive Player of the Year Award		% of Votes
Mike Lowell	Boston	21.0%
Carlos Beltran	New York	18.8%
Ivan Rodriguez	Detroit	17.2%
Joe Crede	Chicago	15.2%
Omar Vizquel	San Francisco	13.2%
Mark Ellis	Oakland	9.8%
Adam Everett	Houston	8.7%
Brandon Inge	Detroit	8.0%
Mike Cameron	San Diego	4.8%
Orlando Hudson	Arizona	4.4%
2006 Setup Man of the Year Award		% of Votes
Joel Zumaya	Detroit	32.3%
Adam Wainwright	St. Louis	17.4%
Scot Shields	Los Angeles	9.5%
Juan Rincon	Minnesota	9.3%
Cla Meredith	San Diego	8.5%
Bob Howry	Chicago	6.1%
Dan Wheeler	Houston	5.8%
Justin Duchscherer	Oakland	5.1%
Jonathan Broxton	Los Angeles	3.6%
Salomon Torres	Pittsburgh	2.5%
2006 Hitter of the Year Award		% of Votes
Derek Jeter	New York	21.7%
Albert Pujols	St. Louis	17.4%
Ryan Howard	Philadelphia	14.7%
David Ortiz	Boston	14.0%
Carlos Beltran	New York	6.2%
Joe Mauer	Minnesota	4.9%
Jermaine Dye	Chicago	4.5%
Justin Morneau	Minnesota	4.5%
Travis Hafner	Cleveland	4.0%
Lance Berkman	Houston	4.0%
Miguel Cabrera	Florida	2.3%
Alfonso Soriano	Washington	1.7%
2006 Play of the Year Award		% of Votes
NYY: Melky Cabrera robs Manny Ramirez		14.0%
TEX: Gary Matthews, Jr. goes above and beyond		11.0%
BOS: Mike Lowell dives into crowd		7.4%
PHI: Aaron Rowand runs into fence		7.0%
MIN: Twins turn into triple play		6.9%
SLN: Scott Rolen displays airtight 'D'		6.7%
NYM: Carlos Beltran robs Lance Berkman		6.4%
CHA: Tadahito Iguchi defies gravity		6.3%
DET: Brandon Inge makes backhanded grab		4.1%
ATL: Andruw Jones brings back homer		2.6%
SEA: Ichiro Suzuki fires laser to home		2.4%
CIN: Ryan Freel robs Albert Pujols		2.3%
SFN: Omar Vizquel turns heads-up DP		2.1%
HOU: Willy Taveras displays dominant 'D'		2.0%
TAM: Rays turn historic triple play		1.9%
CHI: Juan Pierre robs Albert Pujols		1.8%
CLE: Grady Sizemore lays out		1.7%
OAK: Barry Zito goes behind the back		1.7%
MIL: Bill Hall delivers Mays-like grab		1.4%
SDN: Khalil Greene starts sweet DP		1.4%
BAL: Corey Patterson holds on		1.3%
LAN: Greg Maddux snares liner		1.2%
LAA: Juan Rivera nails Mark Kotsay at home		1.2%
TOR: Eric Hinske flies to make game-ending grab		1.1%
COL: Brad Hawpe displays arm strength		1.0%
KCR: Middle men turn spectacular DP		0.8%
WAS: Ryan Zimmerman snags tough pop		0.7%
PIT: Freddy Sanchez snags foul pop		0.6%
ARI: Eric Byrnes, Johnny Estrada deny Jamey Carroll		0.5%
FLO: Diving Miguel Cabrera flashes leather		0.5%
2006 Blooper of the Year Award		% of Votes
Sean Casey: Casey thrown out on sure-fire single		38.1%
Andruw Jones: Andruw floored over homer		24.8%
Giants Balldude: Balldude wins battle for ball		16.4%
President Race: Thomas Jefferson bites the dust		8.3%
Jeter and A-Rod: Yanks' duo flubs easy fly out		5.4%
Reggie Sanders: Big swing leads to sanders' stumble		3.6%
Giles and Walker: Padres pair teams up on bobbled ball		1.8%
Rios and Cora: Rios gives away Red Sox homer		1.8%
2006 Blooper of the Year Award		% of Votes
Francisco Liriano	Minnesota	21.0%
Jonathan Papelbon	Boston	20.7%
Justin Verlander	Detroit	14.9%
Jered Weaver	Los Angeles	10.7%
Matt Cain	San Francisco	8.7%
Ryan Zimmerman	Washington	6.9%
Prince Fielder	Milwaukee	4.0%
Dan Uggla	Florida	3.7%
Kenji Johjima	Seattle	3.1%
Takashi Saito	Los Angeles	3.0%
Hanley Ramirez	Florida	2.8%
Josh Johnson	Florida	0.5%
2006 Single-Game Performance the Year Award		% of Votes
Albert Pujols	3-4, 3HR (walk off), 5RBI	26.7%
Anibal Sanchez	No Hitter	25.4%
Ryan Howard	4-4, 3 HR, 4 RBI	13.0%
Dontrelle Willis	3-4, 2 HR & 8.1 IP	12.0%
James Loney	4-5, 2HR, 9RBI	5.0%
John Lackey	1-Hitter	4.9%
Carl Crawford	5-5, HR, 5 R, 4SB	3.5%
Gary Matthews, Jr.	Hit fo the Cycle	3.3%
Marlon Anderson	5-5, 3B, 2HR, SB	3.2%
Jason Schmidt	CG, 7 H, 16K's	3.0%
2006 Single-Game Performance the Year Award		% of Votes
Jim Leyland	Detroit (95-67)	19.9%
Willie Randolph	New York (97-65)	17.9%
Joe Torre	New York (97-65)	17.2%
Tony La Russa	St. Louis (83-78)	16.5%
Ron Gardenhire	Minnesota (96-66)	10.6%
Joe Girardi	Florida (78-84)	8.8%
Grady Little	Los Angeles (88-74)	4.0%
Jerry Narron	Cincinnati (80-82)	2.1%
Ken Macha	Oakland (93-69)	1.5%
Bruce Bochy	San Diego (88-74)	1.5%
2006 This Year in Baseball Awards		% of Votes
This Year in Baseball Awards

The description (on MLB.com) of the Play of the Year Award was, "Torii Hunter jumped high above the wall to rob Barry Bonds of a first-inning home run at the 2002 All-Star Game."

This Year in Baseball Awards are the brainchild of Greg Klayman, the director of fantasy and interactive games at MLB.com, who hit a grand slam — in 2006 more than two million fans voted for their favorites!

Did you vote? Do you agree with the choices made by the fans? What bloopers do you recall and which ones were your favorite? Share the answers to these questions and these awards on Baseball Fever.

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