Offseason Awards: MVP

So, it's come to this. The final award. MVP.

This is a tough one, let's take a look at the options.

The nominees are:


Randy Wolf
-A nominee for the "J's Dodger Blog Cy Young Award," even though Randy didn't win, one could arguably say he meant more to the team. He delivered quality start after quality start down the stretch for the Dodgers, and there is a lot of value in that.


Matt Kemp
-Gold Glove? Check. Silver Slugger? Check. 26 homeruns and 101 RBIs? Yeah. 34 stolen bases, too? Uh-huh. A breakout season for Matt Kemp as he slowly becomes a top tier player in this league. He's got five tools, and he uses them all. If this season is just a sign of things to come, Kemp is going to have a monster career.


Clayton Kershaw
-He did win the "J's Dodger Blog Cy Young Award." Have I mentioned yet that he's 21 and very good?


Andre Ethier
-A Silver Slugger, too? Yeah. Andre Ethier notched 31 homeruns and drove in 106 RBIs this season. I think most people felt Ethier could be a good player, but I don't know how many people thought Ethier was a 30-100 guy. He not only met expectations, he passed them easily. Oh, and by the way, when the playoffs came around, Ethier only got better: a .355 average, three homers, six RBIs, and a 1.235 OPS.


...and the winner is...

Andre Ethier.

This was a close call for me. Kemp was so good this year, but I can't deny what Ethier did. On top of how good his numbers were, you have to also factor in his six walk off hits.

Six walk off hits... including four homeruns. That, my friends, is a clutch performer.

Ethier was the team leader in homeruns, doubles, RBIs, walks, and walk off hits.

And for all that, Andre Ethier is your "J's Dodger Blog 2009 MVP."