2014 MLB Season Wrap-Up

The 2014 MLB regular season is in the books and the playoffs begin with wild-card games on Tuesday and Wednesday night. TheSportsNotebook has wrapped up the regular season with award selections that are covered in four different posts below.

I’ve always felt that baseball has missed the boat in not selecting an All-Star team from each league at the end of the regular season. Why have the only All-Star teams on record be ones chosen at the halfway point, or in some cases sooner, as voting starts in May?
Furthermore, there’s reasonable debate about whether the All-Star Game in July should be about showcasing the players having the best years at the time of the voting, or those with the best body of work, or those that fans simply want to see. There’s good arguments on all sides. With a season-ending selection, there’s only criteria, and it’s who had the best year in 2014.
TheSportsNotebook has chosen its American League and National League teams, and they are true teams. At least one of the outfielders has to be a viable centerfielder. There are five starting pitchers, and in the bullpen, two of the relievers have to be regular setup men. That role is important enough in the modern game to merit selection on its own, rather than just picking multiple closers.
After the All-Star team selections, the remaining links have TheSportsNotebook’s choices for the traditional awards—MVP, Cy Young and Manager Of The Year.
READ THE CHOICES FOR THE 2014 AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STAR TEAM
READ THE CHOICES FOR THE 2014 NATIONAL LEAGUE ALL-STAR TEAM
READ THE CHOICES FOR THE 2014 AMERICAN LEAGUE AWARDS
READ THE CHOICES FOR THE 2014 NATIONAL LEAGUE AWARDS