2009 SoxSpace Player Awards by Jared Carrabis
Handing out some hardware to the Wild Card champs


Each year I like to take a moment to recognize some of the individual achievements of the Boston Red Sox, because you will never hear any of the players on this team ask for individual praise. It's all about winning a World Series, and as thanks to the players for keeping the right mindset, here are some individual awards selected by yours truly.

Let's start from the bottom and work our way up:

The Pokey Reese Award - Nick Green
This trophy is the SoxSpace version of the "10th Man Award."

Where would this team be if it weren't for the performance put on by Nick Green in the first half? With Jed Lowrie on the shelf indefinitely and with the subpar play of Julio Lugo, Green was an anchor at the shortstop position for much of the first half of the 2009 season. From April 17 to June 2, Green batted .292 with 14 RBI and a .352 OBP, as the Red Sox went 21-10 over that span during games in which Green started at shortstop. On June 21, Green tagged an opposite field walk-off home run on the first pitch of the ninth to give the Red Sox a 6-5 win over the Atlanta Braves.

The Curt Schilling Award - David Ortiz/Clay Buchholz
This trophy is awarded to the player(s) who overcome a bad season or an injury-plagued season to have an outstanding season the next year.

This was a toss-up for me, so I had to go with both. David Ortiz got over his "bloody sock", which was a nagging wrist injury, to hit nearly 30 home runs and drive in 99 RBI. After a horrendous 2008 season, Clay Buchholz bounced back to become the X-factor in Boston’s march to the postseason. Like Lester and Beckett, the right-hander also put on quite the display of dominance himself in 2009. He only made 15 starts in ’09, but in his ten trips to the mound spanning from August 8 to September 24, Buchholz logged 62.2 innings with an ERA of 2.37. Opposing batters hit just .212 over that span, as the Red Sox went 8-2 in the ten highlighted outings.

The Tony Conigliaro Award - David Ortiz
This trophy goes to the player who best overcomes an obstacle and adversity through the attributes of spirit, determination and courage.

After it was leaked that David Ortiz was on the list of players who failed a PED test back in 2003, the left-handed slugger did to silence his critics was lead the American League in home runs from June 6 until the end of the season with 27 long balls. After dipping as low as .188 on the season and waiting until May 20 to hit his first home run, Ortiz battled back by belting 28 home runs and coming just one RBI shy of the 100-RBI mark.

The Mark Bellhorn Award - Clay Buchholz
This trophy is the SoxSpace version of the "Unsung Hero Award."

After spending the entire first half of the season down in Triple-A Pawtucket, Clay Buchholz joined the Red Sox rotation and became a staple in the three-slot. Though he only went 7-4 after getting the call on July 17, his great pitching allowed the Red Sox to post an 11-5 record in the 16 starts he made for Boston.

The Carl Yastrzemski Award - Victor Martinez
This trophy is awarded to the best clutch performer

Though he only spent half of a season in Boston, Victor Martinez came through in the clutch almost every time his manager needed him to. From bases clearing doubles against the Orioles to win a game, to late-inning home runs to take the lead in Yankee Stadium, every time the team needed a big hit, he got it.

The Pedro Martinez Award - Jon Lester
This trophy is the SoxSpace version of the "Cy Young Award."

From May 31 until his final start of the season on October 1, Lester was arguably the best left-hander in the game. Posting a 12-3 record with an ERA of 2.31 while striking out 163 batters in 144 innings, I don’t think anyone can argue why Lester will be leading this Red Sox team into October in game one. Since May 31, opponents are hitting just .213 against the lefty and on the season, Boston holds a 22-10 record when Lester takes the mound.

The Ted Williams Award - Jason Bay
This trophy is the SoxSpace version of the "MVP Award."

Setting new career highs in home runs and RBI, while leading the team in both categories, Jason Bay is a no-brainer for this award. Bay launched 36 HR and drove in 119 runs to make him the centerpiece of the Red Sox's offense in 2009. Boston will hope that he will duplicate his postseason numbers of a year ago, when Bay batted .341 with 3 HR and 9 RBI in 11 postseason games.

That's all for this year! Feel free to agree, disagree and debate the winners. Also, if you have any suggestions for other awards, feel free to leave a comment.

-Jared Carrabis

To order Jared's debut book, One Fan's Story: If This Hat Could Talk, click HERE!





Published on October 05, 2009

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