As a member of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance, I get the privilege of voting on all the awards handed out at the end of the season. Here is my ballot for the Walter Johnson Award, which goes to the league’s best pitcher.

1) Clayton Kershaw, LHP, Los Angeles
Kershaw gets the slight edge in what is probably the closest battle for the top spot in any of the ballots I’ll be casting this postseason. He gets the nod due to leading the NL in ERA (2.53) and having the highest WAR (5.5) among all NL pitchers. His 227 2/3 innings and 230 strikeouts were also both second highest in the league.

2) Gio Gonzalez, LHP, Washington
Gonzalez has proven to be an amazing acquisition for the Nationals as the always solid southpaw posted his best season to date with a 21-8 record and 2.89 ERA. His 5.4 WAR was good for second among NL pitchers and his 9.35 K/9 was highest in the league.

3) R.A. Dickey, RHP, New York
The knuckleballer had a season to remember. Dickey led the NL in innings pitched and strikeouts and was 20-6 with a 2.73 ERA. His previous career high in wins was 11. He baffled hitters all season long at age 37 and seems to have found his calling on the mound.

4) Cliff Lee, LHP, Philadelphia
I don’t even know how it’s possible that a pitcher who started 30 games and posted a 3.16 ERA could end a season with a 6-9 record, but Lee somehow did it. 11 times this year, the Phillies failed to score three or more runs in games he started. He posted the third highest pitching WAR in the league at 4.9, so it is safe to say the Phillies really should have lost more of his starts than they did.

5) Kris Medlen, RHP, Atlanta
Medlen started the year off in the Braves’ bullpen but made his final 12 appearances as a starter. The Braves won all 12 of his starts. For the year, he finished 10-1 with a 1.57 ERA and 120:23 K:BB rate over 138 innings.

As a member of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance, I get the privilege of voting in the awards that are handed out. The Goose Gossage Award is presented to the league’s best relief pitcher.

1) Craig Kimbrel, RHP, Atlanta
Kimbrel was just absolutely lights out for the Braves this year. Over 62 2/3 innings, he posted a miniscule 1.01 ERA and struck out 16.66 batters per nine innings. He also converted 42 of 45 save opportunities. The 24-year-old has emerged as the best reliever in the National League.

2) Aroldis Chapman, LHP, Cincinnati 
Kimbrel’s season was the best in the league this season, but Chapman’s was pretty close. Chapman was slated for the Reds’ rotation this season, but losing Ryan Madson for the year forced him back to the bullpen where he quickly took over the closer’s role. In 71 2/3 innings, he had a 1.51 ERA and struck out 15.32 batters per nine innings. He went until June 7th without giving up an earned run.

3) Sergio Romo, RHP, San Francisco
Romo gets slated into a pretty distant third place, despite putting up his usual solid season. Romo stepped up to help anchor a Giants bullpen that lost Brian Wilson for the year. Over 55 1/3 innings, Romo posted a 1.79 ERA, good for fourth among qualified relievers and struck out 10.25 per nine innings. He also converted 14 of 15 save opportunities.

Ok, finally getting into the awards that matter.

As a member of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance, I have the privilege to vote for all the end of season awards that are given out. The Willie Mays Award is given to the league’s top rookie.

1) Bryce Harper, OF, Washington
I never thought in a million years that it would be possible for Harper to live up to the amount of hype that was bestowed upon him. But at age 19, he did. Harper led all NL rookies in Wins Above Replacement (4.9). He posted a line of .270/.340/.477 with 22 home runs and 18 stolen bases. He also stole 18 bases in 24 attempts and played very strong defensively (11.1 UZR/150).

2) Wade Miley, LHP, Arizona
Miley quietly put together the strongest campaign by any NL rookie pitcher. His 4.8 WAR was well ahead of the next candidate (Mike Fiers, 3.0). He finished the year 16-11 with a 3.33 ERA and 144:37 K:BB rate over 194 2/3 innings. Had it not been for Harper, he would have won this award.

3) Todd Frazier, IF, Cincinnati
Frazier stepped up big time when the Reds needed him when they lost Scott Rolen and Joey Votto for extended periods of time. Frazier hit .273/.331/.498 with 19 home runs. Also, his 2.8 WAR was 3rd among NL rookie position players.

As a member of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance, I get to submit a ballot for all the season awards we give out. The first accomplishment we hand out goes to the league’s best manager in the Connie Mack Award. So here’s my ballot.

#1 Bruce Bochy
The Giants overcame a lot this year, and ended up running away with the NL West, finishing eight games ahead of the Dodgers. Brian Wilson, the team’s All-Star closer pitched all of two games before suffering a season-ending injury. Tim Lincecum had easily his worst season as a pro. Melky Cabrera was suspended on August 15th for 50 games. Somehow, with all of that, the Giants walked into the postseason.

#2 Davey Johnson
Johnson took over the Nationals midway through last year and finished this season with 18 more wins than the 2011 squad and won more games than any other NL team. Also, I feel like he dealt with the whole shutting down Strasburg thing pretty well by just going with it. I don’t think I could just go with that decision if my job is to win games in the present.

#3 Mike Matheny
Matheny took over for future Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa this year and didn’t miss a beat. The Cardinals had their first season without Albert Pujols, lost Chris Carpenter for basically the entire year, and lost Lance Berkman for the year after about a month. But once again, the Cards made the postseason.