Assessing my 2014 predictions

Hello!
This is now my third blog attempt, as my first two are no longer accessible for various reasons. My most recent blog can be found at thegeneral13.blogspot.com, but due to an email change is no longer accessible by me. So I am starting anew! Last year, before the 2014 MLB season began, I made 15 predictions for the upcoming season. I am going to list them here so we can see how I did! (Hint: Not Great).

1. Miguel Cabrera wins the 2014 MVP award, but not the triple crown. 0/1

I was correct (in a sense) that Miguel Cabrera did not win the triple crown, however he also only finished 9th in MVP voting after somewhat of a down year for the slugger. Cabrera's triple crown numbers were 25/109/.313, which is very good, however he finished 7th in batting average, 2nd in RBI's and outside the top 10 in HR. Mike Trout took home the MVP award, and deservingly so.

2. Chris Davis will hit less than 35 home runs this year. 1/2

Chris Davis finished the 2013 season with 53 home runs, so predicting such a big power drop was rather bold. However, Davis finished 2014 with only 26 home runs, after struggling most of the year and eventually being suspended 25 games for aderall use.



3. Taijuan Walker wins the AL Rookie of the Year award. 1/3

This prediction was made somewhat lazily, as I did not take into account both Jose Abreu and Masahiro Tanaka, who finished 1st and 5th, respectively. Walker did not place, as he only threw 38 innings last season due to injury and some conflict between him and Mariners manager Lloyd McLendon. I also predicted that Nick Castellanos (8th) and James Paxton (NR) would be Walker's main competition. Definitely incorrect here.

4. Robinson Cano suffers a home run drought, but still hits over .300. 2/4

Robinson Cano finished his first year in Seattle with a .314 average and only 14 home runs, firmly inside the prediction that I made. Cano had quite a few more singles than previous years, but a .314 average and a .382 on base percentage will continue to make Cano an invaluable piece to this Mariners team, and one of the most valuable second basemen in the game.



5. Brian McCann hits over 30 home runs for the first time in his career. 2/5

Brian McCann finished his first season in New York with 23 home runs, tied for the second most of his career. He still fell short of the 30 that I predicted, possibly because of an early season DL-stint.

6. Derek Jeter plays over 100 games this season, and hits over .280. 2/6

Derek Jeter played in 145 games in 2014, accruing 634 plate appearances. He only hit .256, but the memories and milestones he set last season were beyond measure.

7. CC Sabathia outpitches Mashahiro Tanaka this season. 2/7

Sabathia: 3-4, 5.28 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 46 innings, 48/10 K/BB ratio
Tanaka: 13-5, 2.77 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 136 innings, 141/21 K/BB ratio

Nope.

8. Justin Verlander rebounds from a poor 2013 season and wins the AL Cy Young award. 2/8

Verlander took a huge step backward in 2014, finishing 15-12 with a 4.54 ERA (his highest since 2008) and only 159 strikeouts, his lowest full season total since 2006. Here's to continuing to hope for a bounce back for the guy.

9. Eric Hosmer wins the AL batting title, with a .324 batting average. 2/9

Eric Hosmer his .270 last year, which is quite a ways off of the .324 I predicted. This was a self claimed crazy prediction, but I was still expecting more out of the young first baseman.

10. Matt Kemp wins comeback player of the year award, finishes top 5 in NL MVP voting. 2/10

Casey McGehee from the Pirates ended up winning the award, and Kemp was not a Top 5 MVP candidate, but he did make somewhat of a bounce back and landed himself a job on the rebuilding San Diego Padres.

11. Yasiel Puig does not finish in the top 15 for MVP voting, begins his slow fade into obscurity. 3/11

Yasiel Puig finished 19th in MVP voting, and while the fans voted him a starting OF in the All-Star game, "Puig-mania" has definitely slowed down since his debut in 2013.



12. Yankees, Tigers, Rangers win their respective divisions, Athletics and Red Sox play for the Wild card. 5/16

Orioles, Tigers, Angels ended up being the winners, with of course the up and coming Royals as the wild card winner over the A's. So 2/5 for a total of 5/16

13. Nationals, Cardinals, Dodgers win their respective divisions. Padres and Braves play for the Wild Card. 8/21

Nationals, Cardinals, Dodgers was a perfect 3/3. Giants and Pirates were in the Wild Card game, so 0/2 there. 3/5, total is 8/21.

14. Tigers and Nationals play for the World Series. 8/23

0/2 - 8/23

15. Tigers win in 6. 8/24

Nope. 

Here's to hoping I make better predictions for next season!