Chris Davis Denied Silver Slugger Award
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World Champions 1983, 1970, 1966 American League Champions 1983, 1979, 1971, 1970, 1969, 1966 American League East Division Champions 2014, 1997, 1983, 1979, 1974, 1973, 1971, 1970, 1969 American League Wild Card 2012, 1996 Friday, November 13, 2015 Columns: Is South Korean outfielder Ah-seop Son a fit for the Orioles? The Sun 11/13 Orioles shut out of Silver Slugger awards The Sun 11/13 Adam Jones is a class act The Sun 11/13 Orioles' offseason planning coming into focus MLB.com 11/13 Showalter on Wieters, O'Day and more MASNsports.com 11/13 Chris Davis denied Silver Slugger Award MASNsports.com 11/12 Duquette recaps GM meetings MASNsports.com 11/12 Can teams win without an ace pitcher? (Plus a take on Wieters) MASNsports.com 11/13 Orioles find out today if Wieters accepts offer CSN Mid-Atlantic 11/13 Baseball's general managers getting younger and younger CSN Mid-Atlantic 11/13 Baseball hopes for clarification on sliding rules CSN Mid-Atlantic 11/13 Duquette on the way home from General Manager meetings CSN Mid-Atlantic 11/13 Yankees planning to “make a serious run” at Wei-Yin Chen NBC Sports 11/12 http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bal-is-korean-outfielder-ahseop-son-a-fit-for- the-orioles-20151112-story.html Is South Korean outfielder Ah-seop Son a fit for the Orioles? By Eduardo A. Encina / The Baltimore Sun November 13, 2015 The Orioles were one of several teams that lost out on the negotiating rights to first baseman Byung-ho Park, but another player from South Korea who will be posted in the upcoming days might be a better fit. Outfielder Ah-seop Son is expected to be posted by his Korean team, the Lotte Giants, on Monday, according to an industry source. As with Park, major league teams have five days to make a blind bid. Lotte then will decide whether to accept the highest bid, and the winning team has 30 days to negotiate a deal with Son. The 27-year-old profiles as a corner outfielder who can bat leadoff and has a good on-base percentage, both areas of need for the Orioles this offseason. He has been compared to Japanese free-agent outfielder Nori Aoki, whom the Orioles have expressed interest inthisoffseason and last. The big question regarding Son, just like other players coming from South Korea, is whether his success abroad translates to the major leagues. This past season, Son hit .317/.406/.472, with 13 homers, 54 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. Maybe more importantly, he doesn’t strike out often — which would be welcome in the Orioles’ feast- or-famine lineup — striking out in just 15.6 percent of his career plate appearances. Son, a left-handed batter who has hit to all fields during his career in South Korea, is a perennial All-Star in the Korean Baseball Organization and led the league in hits in 2012 and 2013. His KBO numbers, which include a .323 batting average and .398 on-base percentage over nine years, compare to Aoki’s in his nine years in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball league. However, the level of play in Japan is regarded as significantly better than that in Korea. So don’t be surprised if the Orioles place a bid on Son this week, as they did for Park. The Minnesota Twins won the bidding for Parkwith a $12.85 million blind bid. The 29-year-old Park is a power-hitting first baseman coming off back-to-back 50-homer seasons with the Nexen Heroes. But Son would seem to fit the Orioles better. Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette has tapped international markets often, especially Asia. His signing of Taiwan-born left-hander Wei-Yin Chen, who signed with the Orioles after pitching in Japan, might have been his best signing with the club outside of Nelson Cruz’s one- year deal in 2014. Chen gave the Orioles four solid seasons as a below-market-value player before becoming a free agent this offseason. There also have been some failures, such as the Orioles’ last venture into South Korea. They signed right-hander Suk-min Yoon to a three-year, $5.75 million deal before the 2014 season, but Yoon never pitched a regular-season game for the Orioles, and the club absolved itself of Yoon’s contract this past spring by allowing him to return to Korea. This offseason, there could be several South Korean players hoping to sign with major league clubs. The success of Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop-third baseman Jung-ho Kang this season will open the door for other players from the country to play in the majors. Park and Son are just the beginning. The Orioles could avoid having to pay a posting fee with three other South Korean players expected to test the big league waters. Hyun-soo Kim, also a 27-year-old left-handed hitting outfielder, is now an international free agent after playing the past 10 years in the KBO, so major league teams are free to sign him without having to go through the posting process. Kim, who played mostly left field and occasionally first base, hit .326, with 28 homers, 121 RBIs, 11 steals and 101 walks with the Doosan Bears in 2015. In addition to being one of the top run producers in the KBO, Kim also has shown exemplary plate discipline, finishing among the top five in walks five times. Two other players who previously played in Japan, closer Seung-hwan Oh and first baseman Dae-ho Lee, are also free agents. The 33-year-old Oh was one of the top relievers in the Japanese Central League, posting 2.25 ERA and averaging 40 saves over the past two seasons. He has a 1.81 ERA and has averaged 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings over his 11-year career in Korea and Japan. Lee, also 33, spent four years in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific league before declining his 2016 option with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. Lee hit .282/.368/.524, with 31 homers and 98 homers this past season, and has a .303/.387/.514 hitting line in his 15-year career in Korea and Japan. Since joining the Orioles, Duquette often has said that cultivating the international market, along with drafting well, having solid player development and making savvy trades, will be key to sustaining success. Given Duquette’s previous attempts in Asia, expect the Orioles to make a play for some of these South Korean players. http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bal-orioles-shut-out-of-silver-slugger-awards- 20151112-story.html Orioles shut out of Silver Slugger awards By Eduardo A. Encina / The Baltimore Sun November 12, 2015 It looks like leading the majors in home runs these days doesn’t guarantee a Silver Slugger anymore. Despite leading the majors with 47 homers this season, Orioles free-agent first baseman Chris Davis did not win the American League Silver Slugger at first base. Instead, the Silver Slugger – which is awarded to the top offensive player at each position in each league – went to Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera on Thursday night during an MLB Networkannouncement show. The Silver Sluggers, which have been awarded since 1980, are decided by a vote of major league managers and coaches. This marked the second straight season that the majors’ home run leader did not win a Silver Slugger. Last year, Nelson Cruz hit a major league-leading 40 homers for the Orioles, but did not win the award. Cruz, however, did win the Silver Slugger this year after hitting a career-high 44 homers in his first season with the Seattle Mariners. The last major league home run king to win the Silver Slugger was Davis in 2013 following his 53-homer campaign for the Orioles. Cabrera was limited to 119 games because of injury, but still won his fourth AL batting title with a .338 average. He also led the AL in on-base percentage (.440) while finishing with 18 homers and 76 RBIs. Silver Slugger ballots are filled out in September, so Davis’ fantastic finish to the season – he hit .318/.463/.748 with 12 homers and 25 RBIs in September and October – likely didn’t have as much of an impact with voters. Orioles third baseman Manny Machado was also a Silver Slugger finalist, but AL MVPfavorite Josh Donaldson won the AL award at third base. The 23-year-old Machado set career highs in batting average (.286), runs scored (102), home runs (35), RBIs (86) and stolen bases (20) this past season. Davis, whose 159 homers since the beginning of the 2012 season are the most in the majors over that span, has until Friday at 5 p.m. to accept the Orioles’ one-year, $15.8 million qualifying offer. That’s a formality. Davis is expected to get a lucrative long-term deal on the free-agent market, so he will decline the qualifying offer by the deadline. But the Orioles are still attempting to re-sign Davis. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/readersrespond/bs-ed-jones-letter-20151110- story.html Adam Jones is a class act By Ralph E. Moore Jr / The Baltimore Sun November 13, 2015 We can personally attest to how well deserving Adam Jones is to be named Marvin Miller Man of the Year as detailed in The Baltimore Sun ("Latest award for Adam Jones," Nov. 10). This past July, Mr. Jones was invited to Restoration Gardens, an apartment building and resource center for formerly homeless youth in southern Park Heights, to speak to the residents.