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National League

West: Arizona

Central: St. Louis

East: Philadelphia

Wild Card: Washington

Wild Card: Miami

NLDS: Phillies def. Nationals in four; D-Backs def. Cardinals in five

NLCS: D-Backs def. Phillies in six

NLCS MVP: Justin Upton

Awards

NL Rookie of the Year (hitter): Devin Mesoraco

NL Dark Horse Rookie of the Year (hitter): Yonder Alonso

NL Rookie of the Year (pitcher): Drew Pomeranz

NL Dark Horse Rookie of the Year (pitcher): Trevor Bauer

NL Reliever of the Year: Brian Wilson

NL Dark Horse Reliever of the Year: Rex Brothers

NL Comeback Player of the Year: Buster Posey

NL Dark Horse Comeback Player of the Year: Adam Wainwright

NL Strikeout King: Clayton Kershaw

NL Dark Horse Strikeout King: Stephen Strasburg

NL Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw

NL Dark Horse Cy Young: Zack Greinke

NL Batting Champ: Joey Votto

NL Dark Horse Batting Champ: Carlos Gonzalez

NL HR Champ: Mike Stanton

NL Dark Horse HR Champ: Jay Bruce

NL MVP: Joey Votto

NL Dark Horse MVP: Troy Tulowitzki

American League

West: Los Angeles

Central: Detroit

East: Tampa Bay

Wild Card Winner: Texas

Wild Card Winner: New York

ALDS: Tigers over Rangers in four; Angels over Rays in five

ALCS: Tigers over Angels in seven

ALCS MVP: Brennan Boesch

AL ROY (hitter): Mike Trout

AL Dark Horse ROY (hitter): Jesus Montero

AL ROY (pitcher): Matt Moore

AL Dark Horse ROY (pitcher): Jarrod Parker

AL Comeback Player of the Year: Joe Mauer

AL Dark Horse Comeback Player of the Year: Joe Nathan

AL Reliever of the Year: Jose Valverde

AL Dark Horse Reliever of the Year: Joe Nathan

AL Strikeout King: Felix Hernandez

AL Dark Horse Strikeout King: Yu Darvish

AL Cy Young Winner: Felix Hernandez

AL Dark Horse Cy Young Winner: Max Scherzer

AL Batting Champ: Miguel Cabrera

AL Dark Horse Batting Champ: Dustin Pedroia

AL HR King: Jose Bautista

AL Dark Horse HR King: Adam Dunn

AL MVP: Miguel Cabrera

AL Dark Horse MVP: Jacoby Ellsbury

2012 World Series

2012 World Series: Tigers over D-Backs in five

2012 WS MVP: Prince Fielder

National League:

West: Diamondbacks

Central: Cardinals

East: Phillies

Wild Card: Marlins

Wild Card: Giants

NLDS: Phillies def. Marlins in 4; Cardinals def. Diamondbacks in 5

NLCS: Cardinals def. Phillies in 6

NLCS MVP: Lance Berkman

Awards:

NL Rookie of the Year (hitter): Devin Mesoraco

NL Dark Horse Rookie of the Year (hitter): Bryce Harper

NL Rookie of the Year (pitcher): Trevor Bauer

NL Dark Horse Rookie of the Year (pitcher): Shelby Miller

NL Reliever of the Year: Jonathan Axford

NL Dark Horse Reliever of the Year: Jason Motte

NL Comeback Player of the Year: Hanley Ramirez

NL Dark Horse Comeback Player of the Year: Dan Uggla

NL Strikeout King: Clayton Kershaw

NL Dark Horse Strikeout King: Madison Bumgarner

NL Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw

NL Dark Horse Cy Young: Josh Johnson

NL Batting Champ: Carlos Gonzalez

NL Dark Horse Batting Champ: Starlin Castro

NL HR Champ: Giancarlo Stanton

NL Dark Horse HR Champ: No one is going to hit more HRs than Stanton

NL MVP: Justin Upton

NL Dark Horse MVP: Giancarlo Stanton

American League

West: Angels

Central: Tigers

East: Rays

Wild Card Winner: Yankees

Wild Card Winner: Rangers

ALDS: Angels def. Yankees in 3; Tigers def. Rays in 4

ALCS: Tigers def. Angels in 7

ALCS MVP: Prince Fielder

AL ROY (hitter): Jesus Montero

AL Dark Horse ROY (hitter): Yoenis Cespedes

AL ROY (pitcher): Matt Moore

AL Dark Horse ROY (pitcher): Yu Darvish

AL Comeback Player of the Year: Ichiro Suzuki

AL Dark Horse Comeback Player of the Year: Vernon Wells/Adam Dunn

AL Strikeout King: Felix Hernandez

AL Dark Horse Strikeout King: Matt Moore

AL Cy Young Winner: Felix Hernandez

AL Dark Horse Cy Young Winner: Ubaldo Jiminez

AL Batting Champ: Adrian Gonzalez

AL Dark Horse Batting Champ: Eric Hosmer

AL HR King: Jose Bautista

AL Dark Horse HR King: Evan Longoria

AL MVP: Miguel Cabrera

AL Dark Horse MVP: Albert Pujols

2012 World Series:

2012 World Series: Tigers def. Cardinals in 6

2012 WS MVP: Justin Verlander

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With the college season — and high school season, for the most part — already under way, speculation is swirling regarding who will be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 draft in June.  Due to the quality of arms, both collegiate and prep, in this year’s draft class, it’s likely that first player off the board will be a pitcher.  And considering our ongoing fascination with the prospects in the 2012 draft class, it’s only appropriate to open a poll while the season is still young.  Therefore, the staff at The Golden Sombrero is curious as to who, you, our faithful readers, believe will be the No. 1 selection in the 2012 draft:

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Griff’s neet feet

Via the Confederation of European Baseball:

This evening Herts Baseball Club confirmed the acquisition of pitcher and infielder, Robbie Unsell, from the Richmond Flames. This is arguably the biggest player transaction so far this winter in the National Baseball League (NBL).

The 25-year-old American who is now based in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, confirmed his decision late last night. He said: “Herts’ home ballpark has been one of my favourite places to play at since joining the League three years ago. The Club has some of the best facilities in Great Britain and fantastic organisation, which makes it a very attractive club to play for.” He added: “I am also really impressed with the club’s marketing efforts and the promotion of baseball in the UK. That’s why the prospect of playing for Herts is exciting for me.”

Herts Falcons Manager, Lee Manning, is also excited to have Unsell in his team: “Robbie would be one of the first players in the starting lineup in any of the NBL teams, so for us this is a major boost. I am looking forward to working with him.’

Unsell makes the move to Hertfordshire as a free agent after spending the last three seasons with the Flames. During that period he has become one of the most valuable players in the NBL picking up a large collection of awards. He is considered one of the best short stops in the country and was given the NBL Short Stop Fielding Award in 2011. Last year he was also added to the Richmond pitching rotation and his performances on the mound were phenomenal. He had the lowest ERA (earned run average) of 0.90 and WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) 0.98. We have to go back to Troy Kantor of the 2008 London Mets (ERA 0.51) and Simon Pole in 2002 with the London Warriors (ERA 0.62) to see the kind of pitching stats which Robbie Unsell had last year. He deservedly received the 2011 NBL Most Valuable Pitcher Award*.

Unsell will also bring a lot to the Herts Falcons offensively. His speed around the bases has caused havoc for opponents over the years winning the Most Stolen Bases title in 2009 (21) and 2010 (23). Last year he led the league in On-Base Average (.589) and in Runs Scored (42) confirming him as one of the most dangerous lead-off men in the country. The arrival of Robbie Unsell in Hertfordshire will open up the opportunity to compare his speed with that of the 2011 MVP for the Herts Falcons, the lightning-fast Sri Lanka National team player, Mahendra Prasad.

Unsell’s time with the Flames proved to be one of the most successful periods in Richmond’s history. They won the NBL title in 2010, runner-up in 2009 and reached the postseason playoffs in 2011. Herts is one of the biggest sleeping giants in British baseball. Will Robbie Unsell’s arrival bring the same kind of success for Herts?

The Falcons have struggled in the last two years in the NBL, however Unsell sees this as an exciting challenge and an opportunity to turn the team around. ‘I honestly think that with a few additions, we can have a real positive impact on the Herts team this year’ he said.

Aspi Dimitrov, President of Herts Baseball Club, explained how significant Robbie Unsell’s arrival is for the club as a whole. He said: ‘Whether it is fans of MLB baseball clubs or Premier League football clubs, new players can bring a lot of excitement in the hope of success on the field of play. However, acquiring players like Robbie means a lot more to our club. It will add value in every department. It enables us to market our club and the game of baseball much better. Members and fans of the club can look forward to seeing the highest quality of baseball at Grovehill Ballpark. Adding such talented players will also inspire the players of the Herts youth teams to emulate them.’

Herts expect to make several other recruitment announcements shortly. Dimitrov added: ‘We are in advanced discussions with more players and we hope that Robbie will be the first of many more players to join Herts this year and for many years to come.’