King Felix is Crowned, among others

Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners headlines the list of 2010 award winners, taking home the AL Cy Young for the first time in his career. 

Major League Baseball began handing out its hardware for the 2010 season and, so far, there haven't been too many surprises. Here's the rundown:

AL Cy Young: Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners. On a hopeless, cellar-dwelling Seattle club with no offense to speak of, King Felix was the lone bright spot. His 13-12 record is deceiving for the simple fact that he got nothing in the way of run support (in ten of Felix's starts the Mariners were either shut out or scored just one run). Still, Hernandez was a workhorse, throwing 249.2 innings while also leading MLB with a 2.27 ERA. His 232 strikeouts were just one less than Jered Weaver of the Angels, who led all of baseball with 233. Remarkably, he posted a 1.53 ERA in his last 15 starts. While David Price (19-6, 2.72 ERA), CC Sabathia (21-7, 3.18 ERA) and Jon Lester (19-9, 3.25 ERA) were very much deserving, King Felix was just too dominant not to win. 

NL Cy Young: Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies. Hard to argue against a guy who puts up numbers like Halladay did (21-10, 2.44 ERA, career high 219 strikeouts). One statistic even more amazing was that in 250.2 innings he walked just 30 batters. Throw in a perfect game in May against the Marlins and a no-hitter in the playoffs (even though postseason play shouldn't influence voters for a regular season award) and it adds up to a unanimous win for Halladay. Halladay, who also won the AL Cy Young in 2003 with the Toronto Blue Jays, now joins Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens and Gaylord Perry as the only pitchers to win one in both leagues. 

AL Manager of the Year: Ron Gardenhire, Minnesota Twins. After finishing as the runner-up in five previous seasons, Gardenhire finally received the recognition he deserves. He led the Twins to a 94-68 record and their sixth Central Division crown since he took over behind the bench in 2002. It was simply a matter of time for Gardenhire, who quietly builds tough, fundamentally sound, hit-and-run, advance the runner style teams in Minnesota that seem to reach October year after year. Kudos to Terry Francona for leading a Sox team decimated by injury to a 89-73 record. Quite possibly his best year behind the Sox bench yet. He finished fourth in the voting, behind Ron Washington (Texas) and Joe Maddon (Tampa Bay).

NL Manager of the Year: Bud Black, San Diego Padres. In a tight race, Black edged out Dusty Baker of the Cincinnati Reds by just a single vote (104-103). You couldn't go wrong with either coach. Both led small-market clubs devoid of true superstars to superb records, with Baker's Reds going 91-71 and winning the Wild Card before being rocked by the Phillies in the first round of the playoffs. But, as good as Baker was, Black still deserves the award. His Padres began 2010 with the second lowest payroll in baseball at $38 million (some five million less than A-Rod and Jeter made combined last season). If someone told you before the season started that the Padres would finish 90-72 and miss the playoffs by just one game you would have laughed at them. And that's just what they did. The Padres were the NL's Cinderella team, cruising all season long with a lineup of no-names and cast-offs making peanuts. Gotta love that.

AL Rookie of the Year: Neftali Feliz, Texas Rangers. No-brainer here. The 22-year-old Feliz saved 40 games for the AL Champs, posting a 4-3 record with a 2.73 ERA along the way. Feliz also made the All-Star team. The Rangers have a lights-out closer for the foreseeable future in Feliz, who approaches 100 on the radar gun in addition to an arsenal of ridiculous off-speed pitches.

NL Rookie of the Year: Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants. The 23-year-old catcher came up to the Big Leagues in late May and instantly became a core member of the eventual World Series Champion Giants. In a balanced lineup full of older veterans, Posey was the perfect complement, a youthful, energetic three-hitter with a great eye and some serious pop in his bat (.305, 18 homers, 67 RBI's). Did I mention he was wise beyond his years behind the plate and has a rocket arm? Jason Heyward of the Braves finished second.

Stay tuned as the MVP awards are announced Nov. 22 and 23. My predictions: Josh Hamilton in the AL and Joey Votto in the NL.