In his second season back in the NFL after going to prison on dogfighting charges, Michael Vick has won the Sporting News’ Comeback Player of the Year Award. Despite not being the Philadelphia Eagles starter at the beginning of the season Vick received over 70% of the vote.

Following Donavan McNabb’s trade to the Washington Redskins, Kevin Kolb was set to take over at QB for the Eagles, but was injured in the first game against the Green Bay Packers. Vick took over when the team was down 20-3 and nearly led the team back, creating instant QB controversy. After being named the starter, Vick went down with an injury in Week 4 and didn’t play again until the eighth week of the season.

In Atlanta, Vick was known as a run-first QB, but he put together his best season throwing the football this past year. His first interception didn’t come until Week 9 and he finished with a QB rating over 100 for the first time in his career.

Vick tweeted about winning the award:

“I’m thankful for all the people in my life who made this possible. They know who they are!”

Vick set career highs in passing yards, passing touchdowns and rushing touchdowns on the year while still proving to be a dynamic force when given room to run. On the season Vick accounted for 30 touchdowns (21 passing, nine rushing) and turned the ball over only seven times.

Vick put himself into the MVP race in Week 10 when he led the Eagles to a 59-28 dismantling of the Washington Redskins. In that contest he accounted for six touchdowns and over 400 yards of offense. His signature moment, however, came in Week 15 when he worked the second miracle of his football career (the first being the Miracle in Morgantown when he was a member of the Virginia Tech Hokies). Down 31-10 with less than eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, Vick hit Brent Celek for a 65 yard touchdown strike. Two minutes later, he scored on a four yard run cutting the Giants lead to one possession. When the Eagles got the ball again, Vick drove them down the field and hit Jeremy Maclin for a 13 yard score, tying the game up at 31. DeSean Jackson secured the win when he returned a punt for a TD as time expired.

The 2010 season marked a remarkable turnaround for Vick both on and off the field. He seems to have completely remade his life and rededicated himself to the game of football. As before, he can wow anyone with his ridiculous athleticism, but the 2010 season was fantastic for Vick both on the ground and through the air.

Used with permission of the author.

Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and writes a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

The votes are in and two players are set to join baseball’s immortals in Cooperstown, NY this year.

Bert Blyleven and Roberto Alomar were elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame on Monday, each getting more than the 75% of votes required for admission. Blyleven pitched for 22 years, 11 of them with the Minnesota Twins and was one of the best pitchers in the 1970’s and 1980’s. He finished his career with 287 wins and a 3.31 ERA.

Blyleven will probably go down as one of the less remarkable Hall-of-Famers, as nothing he did really stands out. In his career, he won 20 games just once, was an All-Star just twice and never finished higher than third in Cy Young voting. He was, however, one of the most consistent pitchers of his era, winning 10 or more games in 17 different seasons.

It took Blyleven 14 times on the ballot to get into the Hall of Fame.

Alomar, like Blyleven, nearly got into the Hall in 2010 but missed by a just a handful of votes. One of the greatest second basemen of all time, Alomar was on twelve All-Star teams, won 10 Gold Gloves and four Silver Sluggers. He batted over .300 for 10 consecutive seasons in his prime and finished with a career batting average of .300. Showing a combination of power and speed with two 20-20 seasons, Alomar was a key member of two World Series Championship teams in Toronto.

Barry Larking finished third in voting as he was listed on 62.1 percent of ballots, and likely will be the leading candidate to go into Cooperstown in 2012. Jack Morris (53.5) was the only other player to be named on more than half of the ballots.

Jeff Bagwell did the best out of the first timers on the ballot, finished with 41.7% of the vote. Larry Walker was listed on 20.3 percent of ballots, showing that the voters will hold Coors Field against him.

Confirmed PED users suffered in the 2011 election. Mark McGwire saw his vote percentage drop, by 3.9% to 19.8 and Rafael Palmeiro was named on just 11% of ballots despite having over 500 homeruns and 3000 hits. This doesn’t bode well for other known users (i.e. Bonds and A-Rod) as Palmeiro would have been a first ballot Hall-of-Famer if only his stats were looked at.

Juan Gonzalez was the only other first timer to remain on the ballot, as fifteen newcomers were dropped. Harold Baines was the only non-first timer dropped, as he fell to 4.8% of the vote.

Blylevin and Alomar will officially be inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 24^th.

Used with permission of the author.

Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

Now that Tim Tebow has taken over as the starting quarterback for Denver it has many people wondering if he will be able to “resurrect the Broncos.” The whole process started when Tebow was drafted by ex-coach Josh McDaniels way ahead of his projected spot. Weeks ago when McDaniels was fired, it was the start of a long rebuilding process that included throwing Tebow into the starting spot.

Tebow made his first NFL start against the Oakland Raiders in Week 15 and had a solid game with both a passing and rushing touchdown against the silver and black. His overall passing stats were underwhelming (just 138 passing yards) but he picked up 78 yards on the ground and became just the third player in NFL history to throw for a 30+ yard touchdown and run for a 40+ yard touchdown in his first game… the other two were Michael Vick and Kordell Stewart.

Despite a solid debut, it was the Raiders who walked away with a comfortable victory over the Broncos. They ran for over 200 yards and scored 39 against Denver, leaving the Broncos with another loss to a division foe.

Things went better for the Broncos in Tebow’s second start and ended in a come from behind 24-23 win. Tebow threw for 308 yards, one touchdown and one interception (granted, it was against the worst pass defense in the league) and accounted for another score on the ground. At this point, it is yet to be seen whether or not Tebow will become a solid starting quarterback in the NFL, but one thing is for sure: The Broncos will need more than Tebow developing to become a contender.

The main issue is their defense, which ranks 31^st in yards per game, 32^nd in points per game and has struggled to stop both the run and pass; ranked 31^st and 25^th respectively.

So far, Tebow has looked the part of a starting quarterback. Sure, he’s not, and probably never will be, Peyton Manning, but the rookie from Florida has given the Broncos a chance to win games. For the franchise to move forward, however, they will need to improve just about everywhere, especially on defense.

As for now the former SEC quarterback who won a national title in Gainesville will try to motivate the players left after the mass exodus of stars caused by trades when McDaniels was there.

Used with permission of the author.

Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

The New York Yankees are known for their lavish offseason spending which in the recent past has lured in big names like C.C. Sabathia and Mark Teixeira, but things are changing in the AL East.

While the Yankees have been busy re-signing their own veteran players like Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, their rivals the Boston Red Sox have been throwing money and prospects around to try and position themselves for a run to the World Series.

The Red Sox have already bolstered their lineup by acquiring the top free agent hitter and the top bat available on the trade market. Adrian Gonzalez was acquired from the San Diego Padres early in the offseason then the team came out of nowhere and signed Carl Crawford to play left field over the next seven years. The Sox weren’t finished after Crawford, as they began working to strengthen a shaky bullpen with their offensive upgrade complete. Boston signed former closer Bobby Jenks and set-up man Dan Wheeler to shorter contracts to pitch in front of Jonathan Papelbon.

While the Yankees have brought in some outside help by obtaining catcher Russell Martin and reliever Pedro Feliciano, it doesn’t compare to the large moves the Red Sox made. Things would have been fine in New York if the Yankees, who were the clear favorites to land Cliff Lee, had gotten their main target as well. Lee, however, decided to return to Philadelphia leaving the Yankees with a huge hole in their pitching rotation.

A.J. Burnett has been terrible, Javier Vazquez (who was also terrible in New York) has moved on to Florida and Andy Pettitte will most likely retire instead of playing in 2011. After C.C. Sabathia and Phil Hughes, the Yankees rotation is full of question marks.

And if you think things are bad for the Yankees, imagine how the other AL East heavyweight (in recent years at least) must be feeling. The Tampa Bay Rays lost two of their most productive hitters, Crawford and Carlos Pena as well as two (likely three when Rafael Soriano signs elsewhere) key members of their bullpen.

Unlike the Red Sox and Yankees, the Rays don’t have much money to spend and will have to rely on young players like Desmond Jennings and Jeremy Hellickson to pick up some of the slack in the coming season.

While anything can happen between now and next October, it seems that a changing of the guard will likely take place in the AL East.

Used with permission of the author.

 Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

With their H2O pitching staff already intact, there was little reason to believe that the Philadelphia Phillies who were already among the favorites to win the NL Pennant in 2011, were the “mystery team” that was competing for Cliff Lee against the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers.

Opting to accept a deal from his former team that included less money and years, Lee accepted the Phillies contract offer and surprised the baseball world; turning down a ton more cash that the Yankees threw at him.

After leading the Rangers to the World Series last year, everyone assumed they were the favorite if Lee wasn’t all about the money. Instead, he headed back to where he played in his first World Series, the City of Brotherly Love.

Lee is said to have turned down about $34 million Yankee dollars to return to Philadelphia and with his dominating postseason arm the Phillies should be the favorites to win the World Series this coming season.

The Phillies now have a pitching staff that is the best in baseball since the mid-1990’s Atlanta Braves teams that featured Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz. The addition of Lee should more than make up for the loss of Jayson Werth in free agency.

The foursome looks incredibly scary come playoff time, since no other team will be able to go as deep. Cole Hamels has fared the worst of any pitcher in the group during the postseason, with a 3.45 ERA.

One downside to the signing is that Lee still has a long term deal including a vesting option for a sixth year and he is already 32 years old. Halladay and Oswalt are both 33, so there is a chance the group could begin to decline over the next few years. Also with Halladay and Lee having injury issues in the past, there isn’t a guarantee that they can stay healthy.

In a short series, any team can win, so the Phillies aren’t a stone cold lock to win the World Series in 2011, unless of course MLB goes to the extended series and increases every playoff series to a 7-game series. Either way, with the addition of Cliff Lee they are strong favorite to bring the World Series trophy back after a two year hiatus.

Used with permission of the author.

Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

MLB offseason normally gets off to a slow start then gradually heats up as the winter meetings progress and teams work harder to fill their needs. This year has been an exception. Just barely into December there has already been a flurry of action that includes big names like Uggla, Dunn and Werth.

Shortly after the San Francisco Giants were raising their World Series trophy, the Braves pulled off the first big move by acquiring slugging second baseman Dan Uggla from the Florida Marlins. The Braves didn’t give up any major pieces (although technically Omar Infante was an All-Star) and that quick major move was a sign of things to come.

The Nationals have made the most surprising move so far, signing Jayson Werth to a seven-year contract worth $18 million a year. The deal will lock Werth up until he is 39 years old and is the third largest contract to an outfielder in baseball history. The buzz surrounding the meetings is the Nationals may not be done, as they may offer Cliff Lee a seven year deal, something even the Yankees don’t want to do.

The reason the Nationals had so much money to spend this offseason was the departure of slugger Adam Dunn, who signed a deal with the Chicago White Sox. Dunn is a lock to hit close to 40 homeruns and gives the ChiSox an upgraded lineup which may improve even more if Paul Konerko returns.

The White Sox Division rivals, the Tigers have made a couple big splashes as well. They signed catcher/first baseman Victor Martinez and reliever Joaquin Benoit to bolster their team.

The Boston Red Sox, who were favored to land Werth, made a big move by acquiring Adrian Gonzalez from the Padres. Gonzalez will likely play first base in Boston and Kevin Youkilis will move back to third. The Sox would like to lock Gonzalez up long term, but failed in their first attempt to negotiate with him.

The Colorado Rockies haven’t made any major free agent moves, but locked up two of their own players for the next couple (or ten) years. Signing Jorge De La Rosa is nice, but the notable event was when Troy Tulowitski got a contract extension that will keep him in Colorado through 2020.

Finally, we get to the New York Yankees. One of the major players for Cliff Lee, the Yankees have been in the news despite signing any free agents yet. Talks with Derek Jeter got rather heated (Jeter wanted a huge contract with a ton of years and the Yankees wanted something more reasonable) although the two sides eventually reached a deal. The Yankees also re-signed closer Mariano Rivera for another couple years.

Many big name free agents including Lee, Carl Crawford and Adrian Beltre are still on the market, so look for more action as the winter meetings continue.

Used with permission of the author.

 Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

As we are into the MLB winter meetings and heading to the start of the 2011 season, we can look back on the year that

Ernie Harwell in Detroit

was in 2010. While the Giants were improbably winning the World Series and seemingly everyone was throwing no-hitters, there were some tragic events inside of baseball that included the passing of three iconic broadcasters who undoubtedly changed baseball broadcasting.

Early into the 2010 season during the month of May, Ernie Harwell passed away at the age of 82. Harwell was a long time Detroit Tigers broadcaster who became the team’s voice back in 1960. When Harwell wasn’t offered a contract following the 1991 season, the state of Michigan was in an uproar. When the team was sold the following year, the new owner, Mike Ilitch, made it a priority to bring Harwell back.

Harwell officially retired following the 2002 season, although he did some guest commentary for ESPN, Fox and the Tigers Radio Network following his retirement. Interestingly enough, Harwell was the only announcer in baseball history to be traded for a player when Branch Rickey acquired him for catcher Cliff Dapper in 1948.

In July, Yankees Public Address Announcer Bob Sheppard passed away at the age of 99. Sheppard, who worked with the Yankees for over 50 years, helped create the magic atmosphere in Yankee stadium for more than six decades. Sheppard, who has a plaque in Monument Park was known for his trademark greeting “Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Yankee Stadium.”

The cliché saying “things happen in threes” unfortunately became true for baseball fans when MLB lost another beloved figure when Ron Santo passed away last week. Santo was an icon who left a mark in 14 seasons with the Cubs as a third baseman and moved to the broadcast booth in 1990 as he was still an avid Cubs fan. Santo was known for his extreme enthusiasm in the broadcast booth, and spent many years working with Pat Hughes on the radio.

While most baseball fans are constantly looking to the future, it’s important to remember the members of our large baseball family that passed over this past year. All three were iconic announcers who changed the way that their hometown fans followed the game. In the coming years, they will surely be missed.

Used with permission of the author.

Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

With the deadline to offer salary arbitration to outgoing free agents passing, the Yankees have sent a message to Derek Jeter:

“Test the Market.”

Coming off the most disappointing season of his career, Jeter, shown in his rookie card on the right, is seeking a four-year deal with the Yankees that would potentially keep him in New York for the rest of his career.

The Yankees, who don’t want to overpay for a shortstop who may be declining rapidly at age 36, have been unwilling to give Jeter what he wants, instead offering  a three year, $45 million dollar deal.

Jeter was named a type A free agent this offseason, meaning that if the Yankees had offered him arbitration they could have gotten two compensation draft picks had he signed with another club. It also meant they could wind up paying Jeter up to $25 million (in a one year contract) had he accepted arbitration and returned to the Yankees.

At this point, it’s nearly impossible to come up with a “fair” market value for Jeter, who means more to his team than any other player in Major League Baseball. “Mr. November” has been a Yankee his entire career and helped lead the team to many World Series titles.

However, Yankees GM Brian Cashman says the team is taking Jeter’s value to the franchise into consideration, and wants Jeter’s camp to treat him fairly in the negotiating process.

Although Jeter is coming off the worst year of his career (.270/.340/.370), it’s hard to see him playing anywhere but New York. Jeter has been the captain and face of the Yankee franchise for over a decade.

Jeter’s teammate, Mariano Rivera was also declined arbitration by the Yankees. Rivera has also been with the Yankees since his rookie season in 1995, and, like Jeter, has played a crucial part in many World Series victories.

While Rivera’s strikeout rate took a dip in 2010, all of his other stats were phenomenal, and he has had good seasons in the past while not striking many batters out (1998, 2006). Like Jeter, it’s almost impossible to imagine Rivera playing anywhere other than New York.

Jeter and Rivera have helped the Yankees to five World Series titles and even if there are differences between the two sides (more so with Jeter) the pair will likely be back in New York for the rest of their careers.

Used with permission of the author.

 Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

The votes are in and Roy Halladay and Felix Hernandez are the winners of the 2010 Cy Young Awards.

Halladay, who finished his first season in Philadelphia, was unanimously selected in the National League, receiving all 32 first place votes.

The Cy Young is the second of Halladay’s career, and he is now one of fifteen pitchers to win multiple Cy Young awards and one of five pitchers to win one in both the NL and AL.

This past season, Halladay threw a perfect game (as well as a no-hitter in the playoffs) and led the Phillies to the NL East Crown. He led the National League in Wins (21), Complete Games (9), Shutouts (4), Innings Pitched (250.2) and K/BB Ratio (7.30).

Halladay was also the among the league leaders with a 2.44 ERA and 219 strikeouts.

Adam Wainwright and Ubaldo Jiminez finished second and third in the NL while Tim Hudson, Josh Johnson, Roy Oswalt, Brian Wilson, Heath Bell, Mat Latos, Brett Myers, Tim Lincecum, Bronson Arroyo and Matt Cain also received votes.

With just a 13-12 record, it wouldn’t have surprised most people if voters overlooked Seattle pitcher Felix Hernandez in favor of another teams ace, but King Felix got 21 (out of 28) first place votes to win the AL Cy Young.

Hernandez led the American League in ERA (2.27) and innings pitched (249.2) and struck out 232 batters on the season.

Hernandez is the first pitcher to win a Cy Young Award with fewer than 16 wins, but the blame for his mediocre record can be placed on the Mariners terrible offense. On the season, the barely scored three runs a game when Felix started.

David Price, who received four first place votes finished second and CC Sabathia finished third. Jon Lester, Jared Weaver, Clay Buchholz, Cliff Lee, Rafael Soriano, Trevor Cahill, Joakim Soria, Francisco Liriano and Justin Verlander also received votes.

Both Roy Halladay and Felix Hernandez deserved to win the award in their respective leagues, and will look to continue their success into 2011.

Used with permission of the author.

Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

The votes have been tallied and Buster Posey and Neftali Feliz have won the Baseball Writers Association of America’s Rookie of the Year Awards.

Posey, of the San Francisco Giants, received 20 of the 32 first place votes beating out Jason Heyward to win the award. Earlier in the offseason, Heyward won Baseball America’s Rookie of the Year Award.

The 23-year-old Posey had a higher batting average and slugging percentage than Heyward and finished with a .305 batting average with 18 home runs and 67 RBIs. Heyward finished with one of the highest on-base percentages in an age-20 season all time, but the voters were swayed toward Posey.

Jaime Garcia and Gaby Sanchez finished third and fourth respectively. Neil Walker, Starlin Castro, Ike Davis, Jose Tabata and Jonny Venters also received votes.

Feliz, of the Texas Rangers, also finished with 20 first place votes out of 28 possible votes in the American League to beat out Austin Jackson. As a closer, Feliz notched 40 saves this year for the AL Champion Rangers.

Jackson hit .297 this year but some voters may have considered him to have a little luck on his side since he had a .383 BABIP. Danny Valencia of the Twins finished third, receiving one of the two second place votes that didn’t go to Feliz or Jackson.

Wade Davis, John Jaso, Brian Matusz and Brennan Boesch also received votes.

As with seemingly every other award, there will certainly be some people questioning the voting. While Posey and Heyward were both worthy candidates, it recently came out that one writer didn’t list Heyward on his ballot at all.

The writer, Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, gave his second and third place votes to Pirates Neil Walker and Jose Tabata. Tabata. Tabata, like Heyward, is also an outfielder. Heyward bested Tabata in just about every major stat (HR, RBI, H, R, OPS, etc.) except batting average and stolen bases. To sum it up, Tabata finished the year with 2.0 WAR while Jason Heyward accumulated 5.0.

While Posey won by 22 points, it would have been a shame had Heyward been cost the award because of a rogue writer clearly showing home-team bias and ignoring what actually happened this past baseball season.

In the end, the writers picked two deserving candidates, Posey and Feliz, who met in the World Series. With one of the more talented Rookie classes in recent memory (remember, Stephen Strasburg likely would have factored into the decision had he not been injured) there should be plenty of stars lighting up the diamond in coming years.

Used with permission of the author.

Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC