Major League Baseball capped off an exhilarating season of surprises that included unexpected teams reaching the World Series, with new names for the major awards in 2008. The American League MVP, Cy Young Award, National Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year 2008 were all first-time winners.
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Dustin Pedroia was named the American League baseball MVP by a healthy voting margin from national newspaper reporters. The right-handed batting machine in his second year in the majors had another great season for the Boston Red Sox. Even though the Sox did not reach the World Series, as they did and won in 2007 when Pedroia was voted the 2007 Rookie of the Year, Pedroia was a consistent bat averaging .327 over the course of the season. He was also a key defensive presence taking the duties as second baseman and performing at a Golden Glove level, another award he took in 2008. The very well-rounded baseball MVP also stole 20 bases last season.
Cy Young Award winners often follow an expected and hard-won course, getting better and better each season in front of a waiting sports audience until they perfect their game and finally win the coveted title. Cliff Lee defied the conventional path by having a horrendous 2007 season, which even saw him pitch some minor league ball, only to come back in 2008 and win the Cy Young Award for pitching. The Cleveland Indian left-handed pitcher dominated the regular season with a 22-3 record and a stunningly low 2.54 ERA. The record left him with one of the greatest winning percentages in league history and he is the first Cleveland Indian in over 30 years to win over 20 games in one season.
The national Rookie of the Year winner was a key member of the upstart Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who made it to the world series for the first time in the history of the ball club. Evan Longoria, a slugger who missed over 30 games due to injury, managed 27 home runs, a .272 batting average and 85 RBIs, on his way to propelling the Devil Rays to a 31-game win improvement in his first season with the team. He was also a key defensive player for the team. He dominated at third base and picked up a Golden Glove award for his great effort on defense.
At the beginning of the 2008 season, manager Joe Maddon had little reason to feel the weight of expectations from the team management or the fans of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. But Maddon did not let that deter him as he set the bar high with his players at the outset of the season and never let up. His resoluteness lead the Tampa Rays into the postseason for the first time in club history and it lead Maddon to win the Manager of the Year 2008 for the American League. The Devil Rays improved their win record by 27 games from the 2007 season and, of course, made their first showing ever in the World Series, eventually losing to the Philadelphia Phillies.