30-year old switch-hitting 2B/OF Ben Zobrist finished tied for 16th in the voting for the A.L. MVP Award with James Shields and Victor Martinez of the Tigers. Zobrist played in 156 games for the Rays last year and he was 158 of 588 (.269 avg, .822 OPS) with 99 runs scored, 20 homers, 91 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. He has now played in 604 games in his first six years in the majors and he is 542 of 2,108 (.257 avg, .782 OPS) with 317 runs scored, 72 homers, 314 RBIs and 67 stolen bases. Zobrist is so valuable to his team because he can play almost anywhere on the field defensively while hitting for power and stealing some bases.

57-year old Joe Maddon has won his second A.L. Manager of the Year Award in 2011 (his first one was in 2008). Maddon led the Rays to a 91-71 (56.2%) record as they won the A.L. Wild Card on the last day of the season. He did so despite the Rays cutting $30 million bucks off the payroll heading into last year. Maddon now has a 522-501 (51%) record in his first 8 years as a major league manager. Maddon really knows how to coach up the talent he has on the roster, so the Rays are going to be good for a while.

29-year old righty starting pitcher James Shields finished 3rd in the voting for the A.L. Cy Young Award today. Shields pitched in 33 games (all starts) for the Rays this year and he was 16-12 with a 2.82 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. Shields has now pitched in 185 games (184 starts) in his first six years with the Rays and he is 72-63 with a 3.96 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. “Big Game” James Shields has been a horse for the Rays, as he has always worked deep in games. You have to wonder if they will be open to dealing him this winter to sell high and fill other holes on the roster with rookie Matt Moore ready to step into the rotation. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: (11/21/2011) - James Shields finished tied for 16th in the voting for the A.L. MVP Award with Ben Zobrist and Victor Martinez of the Tigers today.

25-year old righty swinging outfielder Desmond Jennings finished tied for 7th in the A.L. Rookie of the Year voting with 23-year old closer Jordan Walden of the Angels. Jennings played in 63 games for the Rays last year and he was 64 for 247 (.259 avg, .805 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 10 homers, 25 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. He has now played in 80 games in his first two years with the Rays and he is 68 for 268 (.254 avg, .791 OPS) with 49 runs scored, 10 homers, 27 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. If Jennings had made the Rays out of spring training, he might have given Jeremy Hellickson a real run for this award. Jennings is going to be a force in LF or CF (if the Rays deal B.J. Upton) for the Rays at the top of the order and in the field due to his defense.

24-year old righty starting pitcher Jeremy Hellickson has won the Rookie of the Year Award in the American League. Hellickson earned it by pitching in 29 games (all starts) for the Rays in 2011 and he was 13-10 with a 2.95 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. He only gave up 146 hits while whiffing 117 batters in 189 innings for the Rays last year and that was impressive. Hellickson has now pitched in 39 games (33 starts) in his first two years with the Rays and he is 17-10 with a 3.04 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. The Rays thought so much of Hellickson and his future that they dealt Matt Garza to the Cubs last winter to make room in the rotation for them. He rewarded the Rays for their faith in him and I look for him to get even better in the future.