Monday, November 15, 2010

10 Worst Sports Award Decisions of the Last 25 Years

I'm going give you a tease on this one and then you'll have to go view them for yourself.

There have been players awarded with the likes of baseball's Cy Young or Gold Glove awards, college football's Heisman Trophy, or the NBA and NFL's Most Valuable Player award that just haven't deserved it.

I put a list of 10 players who I thought were on that list and while I'm sure I'll get some heat from fans on this one, you'll just have to deal with that.

Here's your tease...

No. 6: John Smoltz (1996 Cy Young Award)
24 Oct 1996:  Pitcher John Smoltz of the Atlanta Braves delivers a pitch during the Braves 1-0 loss to the the New York Yankees in game five of the World Series at Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Dunn/Allsport
Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

Through the 1990's, the Atlanta Braves were one of the most dominant teams in baseball. Not only that, but they had three of the most dominant pitchers ever to grace the pitching mound.

John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, and Greg Maddux. It's what made the Braves one of the most feared teams during that decade.

However, John Smoltz's Cy Young Award in 1996 should have gone to someone else.

There was no question that Smoltz was a dominant pitcher that year. He finished with a 2.94 ERA through 253.7 innings pitched and 276 total strikeouts. Not only that, but he played for a better team than that of the runner-up, Kevin Brown.

Brown's ERA was even more impressive than that of Smoltz's, finishing with a 1.89 ERA through 233 innings pitched, 23.7 innings fewer than Smoltz.

Besides the difference in innings pitched and strikeouts, I see no reason Brown couldn't have won the award that year.

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