Look Again Player of the Year

by MikeJ on Oct 26, 2006 10:30 AM CDT

Deadspin had a post about MLB's Look Again Player of the Year award. An award that goes to...

Behind every great team on the diamond, lurking in the shadow of baseball superstars, live the role players who sacrifice for their team in often unrecognized effort. Which of these role players' best deserves recognition for their contributions as the Holiday Inn Look Again Player of the Year?

Yes, it's shamelessly sponsored by Holiday Inn, and Deadspin is "dead on" in noticing that the nominees comprise the whitest ballot since the 1946 all-star game. It's unbelievable that MLB would be so blatant about rooting for the scrappy white guy. "Scrappy" being a word, of course, that is never used to describe a minority.

But check out the Cubs nominee. John Mabry, are you freaking kidding me? He was horrible and the only thing he should be nominated for is "worst bench signing of the year."

If I had to choose a Cub that did his job well with minimal recognition, well, that's actually a hard choice to make. Nobody was hard-nosed and did the little things well. But if I had to choose, I'd actually choose another white guy, though his whiteness is purely coincidental.

Bobby Howry, come on down. Solid middle reliever, led the team in appearances. Pitched well. Unless you're a diehard you probably didn't know who he was. (Anybody here at BCB, of course, is a diehard.)

In second, I'd choose Hank White. Who is, of course, not white, but he fits the description of solid role player that did their job better than could be expected.

In 2005, I'd choose former punching bag Neifi Perez for the award.
2004, resident punching bag Glendon Rusch.
2003, Randall Simon or Mark Grudzielanek

Race aside, those would be my choices. I guess the whole point of this is a) the award is a joke but an interesting topic of conversation, and b) John Mabry sucks.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or Al Yellon, managing editor (unless it's a FanPost posted by Al). FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.

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Comments

That contest...

... is a joke, just another way for MLB to get some sponsorship money.

I note, however, that the player listed for ALL the other teams was at least decent. Only the Cubs didn't have a player who played well on the list. Howry could have been there, as could Scott Eyre.

by Al Yellon on Oct 26, 2006 10:28 AM CDT reply actions

Did you also notice

...that Joe Crede and Brian McCann are on the list? They were all-stars! In what world are they unheralded?

by MikeJ on Oct 26, 2006 10:34 AM CDT up reply actions

Crede.....

wasn't an all-star.

"Some advice: Stop worrying about being a good corporate citizen."-Phil Rodgers to Jim Hendry 10/6/06

by PriorandAramisfan23 on Oct 26, 2006 10:42 AM CDT up reply actions

While I agree the contest is a joke,

I like the idea behind it. It seems like a good way to pick out someone who wasn't an All-Star nor the most popular player on the team, but went out and did whatever he had to do to help the team win when they needed him.

Howry is perfect, same goes for Eyre, but I'd give Howry a slight edge bc of appearances and ERA. Both seem like incredibly nice guys too. I had a brief, but still great, conversation with Eyre once.

I'd hate to see either of them traded, but it just seems like it might just come to that to get a bat that we need.

"Incidentally, Colossus was right and I was wrong about Maddux being dealt." -Al Yellon

by colossus @ Bleed Cubbie Blue on Oct 26, 2006 10:51 AM CDT up reply actions

Neifi

Even Neifi would have been a better choice for the Cubs nomination than Mabry. At least Neifi contributed on rare occasions.

When trouble arises there is always one individual who perceives a solution and is willing to take command. Very often, that individual is crazy. - Dave Barry

by Jesse Guam on Oct 26, 2006 11:01 AM CDT reply actions

You are right

What a joke and too bad, an award like this is actually a good idea. I always like these unsung types of guys.

A few more questionable nominations:

Nick Johnson? How is your #3 or #4 hitter a role player? For the Nationals I'd nominate Jon Rauch. Another setup reliever. They may have been slighted in the process.
Garrett Atkins? How is someone with 120 RBI's considered a behind the scenes role player? An unknown player, yes but he doesn't qualify here. Better options here are tough but Jamey Carroll is a start.

by rlpete on Oct 26, 2006 11:19 AM CDT reply actions

I saw that

and my initial reaction when I saw who was listed for the Cubs was "WTF, Mabry??? Are you kidding me". There doesn't appear to be any rhyme or reason why they chose some of the people they did. I didn't notice the racial makeup of the list though. Very surprising the MLB would let that slip through since they are all about marketing themselves correctly. Curious though, I wonder who looked at the list and first thought to look and see how many minorities were on it. I doubt there was any malice intended by whoever made up the list so maybe this is a case of finding a problem where none existed? If they find out someone setup the list that way on purpose then they should do something about it, otherwise chalk it up to random coincidence, probability or chance.

by pageian on Oct 26, 2006 11:28 AM CDT reply actions

I agree

...that MLB probably didn't choose 30 white guys on purpose. But in a league where 40% of the players are minorities, the fact that only 4% of the "underrated" players are minorities uncovers a truth that Deadspin pointed out:

The legend of the scrappy, hustling, get-yer-uniform-dirty utility player holds a special place in baseball lore, probably because no sport more values its ... well, no sport has more white people. It's a sacred role on a team: White guy who's not that skilled but is popular because he's "gritty." It's one of baseball's uglier underbellys; David Ecksteins will always be more popular than Ronnie Belliards. It's wrong, but it is.

In the case of the Cubs, Augie Ojeda will always be more popular than Neifi Perez. And that's a fact, even though Neifi is 10x better. Even Aramis Ramirez gets slammed on a daily basis for being lazy. Which he is, but that's besides the point.

by MikeJ on Oct 26, 2006 11:42 AM CDT up reply actions

fireJoeMorgan.com

has a hilarious post about this also.

http://firejoemorgan.blogspot.com/2006/10/david-eckstein-memorial-eckstein-of.html

by tal1286 on Oct 26, 2006 1:12 PM CDT reply actions

I mentioned that in another thread

But went unnoticed so it is worth pointing out again. It is a hillarious post, but it is all so true.

I don't understand why people think this is a worthwhile endeavor. Many of the players on that list aren't very good (take, for instance, the guy currently running away with it on the NL side). Should employees also start giving out "At Least He Tried" awards with their "Employee of the Month" awards? Ridiculous.

by gravedigger on Oct 26, 2006 1:24 PM CDT up reply actions

I can't believe.......

3% of the voters voted for Mabry.

"Some advice: Stop worrying about being a good corporate citizen."-Phil Rodgers to Jim Hendry 10/6/06

by PriorandAramisfan23 on Oct 26, 2006 1:54 PM CDT up reply actions

Not quite true

I dislike the MLB nominations but I am one that likes the idea. It's more than just a "He tried" award. I'm sure Mabry tried but he's not any good. The nominees have to be successful. Look at what Howry did. That was excellent work but just doesn't get noticed especially on a losing team. The Cubs problems had nothing to do with him unless he is faulted for not being able to pitch in 120 games.

The other two candidates I mentioned also had outstanding seasons, Carroll hit .300 and Rauch pitched in over 80 games out of the pen with a mid 3.00 ERA.

by rlpete on Oct 26, 2006 2:55 PM CDT up reply actions