FanPost

The 2017 "Turn the Page" Tiger Awards

Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

So the spend to win era is over - for now.

Goodbye to 2017, a year so rooted in what your dentist would call "discomfort" that the mass offloading of Tigers stars felt like a cleansing experience. We’d like to forget this past season, but we need to sift through the ashes one more time, if only to get closure on an era, and appreciate the individual efforts and overall oddities that were lost in the debacle.

One little guideline to this post: Unless you are otherwise notified or it is screechingly obvious, the awards are for players who were on the roster the day the season ended. Also, you will see a number of crossouts on the nominee lists. Feel free to weep a little.

The Best Justin Award

Admittedly, this is a bit irregular since none of these candidates are with the Tigers anymore, but the loss of three Justins (and two Uptons) should not pass without some words.

Candidates: The usual suspects: Justin Verlander, Justin Upton, Justin Wilson

Winner: Actually, the winner of this award may depend on when you ask the question. Upton was hot out of the gate and had a career year, Wilson emerged as a "lights out" short reliever/strikeout king and Verlander started tapping into his inner SuperHuman the month before he joined the Astros.

The winner is Justin Upton, who was strong wire-to-wire. The second half exploits of Verlander make a great case for him, but his first half numbers (4.73 ERA, 1.519 WHIP) were, well, below premium. Besides, most of his good work was done for another team. I had to go with J-Up.

Rookie of the Year

Candidates: Joe Jimenez, Myles Jaye, JaCoby Jones, Daniel Stumpf, Dixon Machado

Winner: Dixon Machado

Assuming he is still a rookie, (pretty sure he was at the beginning of the season) Machado noses out Rule 5 grad Stumpf because he acquitted himself well over much of the season as a young, inexperienced backup infielder who played irregularly until September came around. Does that mean he has a promising future? Many wags say no. I say never say never. He won’t be another Francisco Lindor, but he just might figure out a way to get on base enough to justify a place in the lineup. If he can flash up his glove, muster a .328 OBP and develop a decent back flip, he could be the next Ozzie Smith.

Comeback Player of the Year

Candidates: Mikie Mahtook, Jim Adduci, Shane Greene, Alex Presley

Winner: If it's all about who came back the farthest, it's gotta be Jim "The Duke of Bats" Adduci, who came all the way from the Korean League. Sorry, Jim, but it is not just about that.

The winner is Shane Greene, who had a 2.4 bWAR in 2017, which was quadruple his career WAR, which was already brought up by this year’s performance. He dropped his ERA by almost three runs from 2016, even while raising his FIP. Yeah, he missed the plate too much, but he missed a lot of bats, too. He stepped up when the team was being sold for parts, and did his part to slow the slide, even as the slide turned into an avalanche.

Player Who Most Fulfilled the First Step Toward a Comeback Year in 2018

Candidates: Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez, Jordan Zimmermann, Ian Kinsler

Winner: Victor Martinez

Yeah, I know, why Victor and not Miggy or any of the others? Well, Jordan was nominated last year, and repeating is not the second step. Miguel makes a strong case. His season was a slow rolling saga of torment. But now Victor has the AYP in his favor: Alternate Year Precedent. Victor was a First Step guy in 2013, then won the comeback award in 2014. First Stepper again in 2015, Comebacker in 2016, and now First Stepper again. I know his career slide looks irreversible, but I am not arguing with that AYP karma. Be my guest.

Cy Tiger

Candidates: Michael Fulmer, Justin Verlander, Justin Wilson, Shane Greene

Winner: Michael Fulmer

If there was an award for "squeezes the most out of a low strikeout rate," he'd win that one, too. And throw in lowest rate of home runs, a category in which he led the American League! The elbow injury slowed his effectiveness and eventually landed him on the DL in the second half, but his overall production outdistances that of the other candidates, or candidate, as it turns out.

The "Wait, That Guy? I Thought He Was Washed Up. Really? That Guy?" Award

Candidates: Anibal Sanchez, Jim Adducci, Alex Presley

Winner: Anibal Sanchez

OK, I admit, I invented this award just for Anibal, and probably still need to finesse it. Thanks for standing in the lineup, Duke and Alex. You are both eminently qualified, but you were played.

I based my selection on two essential factors: In his last six starts in September, when nobody cared anymore, Sanchez had a K/9 of 11.7 and a K:BB ratio of 4.5. He also had a 2.73 ERA, 1.304 WHIP during his last four starts. Yeah, I'm cherry picking a little, so I need another factor. The other factor is I haven’t forgotten his contributions during those first three years, when he was a big part of those contending Tigers teams. I hope his season-ending numbers are enough for him to sign with any non-Tiger team he wants.

Names in the Hat a.k.a. Most Valuable Tiger

Candidates: Justin Upton, Michael Fulmer, Justin Verlander, Mikie Mahtook JD Martinez, Ian Kinsler, Shane Greene

Winner: See the problem? This is the most depressing MVT award since 2002, when it was a tie between Randall Simon and the bat boy. It’s interesting to look back on 2017 and say, "Wow we traded away some pretty good talent," then get that sinking feeling when you realize all that talent didn’t matter this year.

Life is complicated.

Oh, I almost forgot. The MVT. I have to pick someone. I really want to give it to Mahtook. I do. He made decent strides this year, was fairly solid in the lineup, and was peppy enough to let you forget about this miserable season for an inning or two. But then, he didn’t even crack the Top Ten WAR on the team with the worst record in the American League. Curse you, analytics and your heartless algorhithms.

Congratulations, Michael Fulmer. You are 2017's MVT.

Best Reason to Look Forward to 2018

Candidates: Jeimer Candelario, Miguel Cabrera and Michael Fulmer healthy again, The return of Arrested Development, Franklin Perez in AAA, Daniel Stumpf (the Sequel), The third annual hope for emergence of Daniel Norris and Matt Boyd, Who will coach first base?

Winner: Winner? I don’t think I’ve even named all the candidates yet! So much to choose from. So much to look forward to….feel free to add to the list.

The "What Was THAT About?" Award

Candidates: Matt Boyd’s near no-hitter, Alex Presley’s unprecedented career year at age 31, Justin Wilson’s coming apart in Chicago, Triple Play!, Justin Upton’s Born Again Consistency

Winner: While I’m sad about Wilson not getting a playoff spot and happy about the triple play and Boyd’s flirt with immortality, I gotta go with the oddball, anything-can-happen, there’s-hope-for-all of-us rise of Alex Presley.

With nothing but a journeyman’s utility kit, left-handed bat and a smile, Alex took his five-team resume and made something out of it. Whatever the future holds for him, Alex will always have that .314 batting average and .770 OPS while he played all three outfield positions (legend has it he once played them all at the same time) in 2017. Congrats, Alex. See you in Lakeland after Christmas, maybe.

One Last Word of Thanks

Many say that you can’t just buy a World Series Championship, but that doesn’t stop some teams from trying. The late Tigers owner Mike Ilitch made a supreme effort to leverage his pizza fortune to bring the multi-flagged trophy of gold to the Motor City. He came agonizingly close in 2006, 2011, 2012, and 2013. Thanks for trying, Mr. I. We know it wasn't just the money you put into this team. Your heart was in it, also.

That's it for the 2017 season. Turn the page.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of the <em>Bless You Boys</em> writing staff.