At the halfway point of the 2006 season, it’s time to hand out some midseason hardware.

American League MVP

Preseason pick: Eric Chavez, Oakland Athletics

Mid-way AL MVP: Travis Hafner, Cleveland Indians

David Ortiz seems to be getting more national support for this award, but it’s debatable whether he’s even the best hitter on his team (Manny Ramirez). The same could be said of the White Sox’ trio of Jim Thome, Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye, as well as the Yankees’ star-powered lineup. I would like to give the award to Joe Mauer, who could become the first AL catcher to ever win the batting title, but his counting stats (RBI, runs) are too low as compared to some of the other contenders for this award. Hafner amazingly didn’t even make the All-Star team with a .322 batting average, .461 on-base percentage and .650 slugging percentage. Add in 25 home runs and 74 RBIs, and you have one of the most underappreciated sluggers in all of baseball.

American League Cy Young

Preseason pick: Johan Santana, Minnesota Twins

Mid-way AL Cy Young: Johan Santana

Santana’s teammate, rookie southpaw Francisco Liriano, may give Santana a run for his money for this award if he keeps it up. For now Santana gets the nod since he has more innings under his belt. With a 9-5 record heading into the break, he is fourth in the league in ERA (2.95) and leads the league in strikeouts (138) and innings pitched (131). Santana has become a regular contender for the pitching triple crown each and every year. Roy Halladay deserves an honorable mention for his 12-2 record, and there 11 other pitchers in the AL that have at least 10 wins at the mid-way point.

American League Rookie of the Year

Preseason pick: Brian Anderson, Chicago White Sox

Mid-way AL ROY: Jonathan Papelbon, Boston Red Sox

This category was the toughest one to call, as there are several rookie pitchers in the American League that in any other year would win this award in a landslide. Those candidates include the Tigers Justin Verlander and Joel Zumaya, the Twins Francisco Liriano and the Angels Jered Weaver. Throw in the White Sox’ Bobby Jenks who still qualifies despite being an integral part of last year’s team. Papelbon takes home the AL ROY hardware for his absolute dominance as the Red Sox closer. He has 26 saves already at the mid-way point, with a sparkling 0.59 ERA (he has only allowed three earned runs all season. He has allowed only 25 base hits and eight walks while striking out 47 over 46 innings of work. Last year’s first round pick, Craig Hansen, may have to wait his turn after initially being named the team’s closer of the future.

American League Manager of the Year

Preseason pick: Ken Macha, Oakland Athletics

Mid-way AL Manager: Jim Leyland, Detroit Tigers

My column last week focused on the Detroit Tigers’ success this year, and with that success you have to give a lot of credit to their new skipper, Jim Leyland. Leyland has had plenty of success in the past, and after a hiatus from baseball managing it seems as though he hasn’t missed a beat. One of the most respected men in all of baseball has rallied the Tigers and has propelled them to the best record in all of Major League Baseball.

National League MVP

Preseason pick: Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals

Mid-way NL MVP: Albert Pujols

I don’t even feel as though I need to explain this selection. Pujols quite simply is the most dominant hitter in baseball right now, and seems poised to put up incredible numbers for the next 10-12 years. He even missed a week or two with an injury, and came back as strong as ever. Like David Ortiz of the Red Sox, Pujols also seems to have a knack for getting the big hit late in games when the Cardinals really need it.

National League Cy Young

Preseason pick: Jake Peavy, San Diego Padres

Mid-way NL Cy Young: Brandon Webb, Arizona Diamondbacks

This was a tough award to hand out, not because of an overwhelming number of candidates, but the lack of a clear-cut candidate. There are about a half dozen pitchers from the American League that could win this award if they pitched in the NL this season. Webb gets my vote here, leading the NL in ERA (2.65) and innings pitched (2.65) while posting a 9-3 record for the last-place Diamondbacks (it should be noted that the D-Backs are only two games below .500 at the break playing in the closest division in all of baseball).

National League Rookie of the Year

Preseason pick: Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers

Mid-way NL ROY: Dan Uggla, Florida Marlins

This will be another fun race to watch down to the wire. While the American League is loaded with talented rookie pitchers, the National League has several rookie hitters that will be in contention for this award at the end of the year. A couple of Uggla’s teammates for the Marlins, including Hanley Ramirez and Mike Jacobs, as well as my preseason pick, Prince Fielder, and the Nationals Ryan Zimmerman, are all deserving of this award. Uggla, whom the Marlins plucked from the Diamonbacks’ organization in the Rule 5 draft last December, gets the nod for having the best overall numbers of all NL rookies, hitting .307 with 15 dingers and 32 extra-base hits.

National League Manager of the Year

Preseason pick: Willie Randolph, New York Mets

Mid-way NL Manager: Willie Randolph

Yes, the Mets are loaded with talent, but the Mets have been loaded with talent before and have vastly under-achieved. I have pointed out several times before in this column that the Mets often go out and try to out-spend everyone to try and keep up with their cross-town rivals, and that tactic hasn’t served them well up until this year. This year key additions such as Paul Lo Duca and Carlos Delgado have stabilized the offense, while Billy Wagner has done the same for the bullpen. The Mets own the best record in the National League, and are poised to finally knock the Braves off of the top of the National League East. Willie Randolph deserves a lot of credit for taking the talent he has and turning that talent into victories.

The thoughts and opinions listed here do not necessarily reflect those of Perfect Game USA. Patrick Ebert is affiliated with both Perfect Game USA and Brewerfan.net, and can be contacted via email at pebert@brewerfan.net.