A’s Offseason Hardware

The 2012 A’s season was certainly one to remember.  It was so good in fact, the A’s are actually being acknowledged by others around the league and those that cover MLB.  Both players and management were in the running for some serious recognition this offseason and the majority have panned out. 

This all started with Josh Reddick receiving a gold glove for his outstanding play in RF for the team this past season.  When Reddick was acquired from the Boston Red Sox last offseason, I thought this was a decent move that might pan out over time.  In no way, shape, or form did I think the A’s would be the beneficiary of the deal so fast.  While his bat struggled towards the end of the season, his defense never skipped a beat.  Reddick’s 15 assists from right field were third most in the AL in 2012 and by the time we got to the All-Star Game, teams were largely done testing him. 

Before we get to management’s new hardware, it is worth noting that Yoenis Cespedes came in second place in this year’s AL Rookie of the Year voting.  He was up against a player who had an MVP-type season, let alone a strong rookie year.  In just about any other season, Cespedes takes the award for the type of season he had.  Also noteworthy, Jarrod Parker finished in fourth place in the same poll.  Congratulations to them both and we hope to see much more success from them both in their future. 

Earlier this month, Billy Beane was named the Sporting News’ MLB Executive of the Year.  I don’t believe we need to go over Beane’s accomplishments in great detail.  With the second lowest payroll in baseball, Beane put together a team that won 94 games, beating out two teams that were seen as far superior in the Spring to win the AL West.  Last offseason, Beane once again retooled the pitching staff, trading Gio, Trevor, and Andrew Bailey away for various packages of players that all paid dividends over the course of the 2012 season.  He brought in a handful of serviceable players to plug holes and keep the clubhouse fresh.  Finally, he somehow managed to land Yoenis Cespedes, which will hopefully be paying off for years to come. 

In somewhat of a trickledown effect from Beane’s award, earlier this week Bob Melvin was named the 2012 AL Manager of the Year.  Melvin did a masterful job of plugging holes throughout the season due to injuries, pushed the right button the vast majority of the time, and knew when to ride someone’s hot streak or find a replacement during someone’s cold streak.  He oversaw a team that had 17 rookies, including a starting pitching rotation full of rookies down the playoff stretch in September and into October. 

Melvin received 16 first place votes, outpacing his closest competitor, Buck Showalter who finished with 12 first place votes.  Acknowledging a total bias here, but I don’t think this should have been this close at all.  It isn’t our fault that Baltimore has heavily underachieved for so long despite having a pretty heavy payroll, nor is it our fault that they play in the heavily competitive (and promoted) AL East.  Sure, Showalter oversaw a revitalization of the franchise, but the cards he was dealt were much stronger than what Melvin was playing with throughout the season. 

Congratulations to all of the Athletics players and management on their awards!  Hopefully the team can build on this moving forward!  If only Bud Selig cared enough to resolve the A’s stadium issues … (I really wish he would retire from his post)