No question that the Baseball Writers of America have made the right choices for their most valuable player awards.
Toronto's Joey Votto had big numbers in all of the Triple-Crown categories, hitting .324 with 37 homers and 113 RBI. He also was the key contributor to the Cincinnati Reds making the postseason for the first time since 1990.
Votto's win makes him the third Canadian player to capture the top award, after Larry Walker, who did it with Colorado in 1997 -- and will be on the hall-of-fame ballot for the first time in January -- and Justin Morneau, who won it in 2006 with the Minnesota Twins.
In the American League, the voters again picked a player who led a team into the postseason, over a 50-homer-plus player in Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays.
Josh Hamilton was the main offensive force for the eventual American League champion Texas Rangers. His .359 average, 32 homeruns and 100 RBI were numbers very worthy for the award.
Here's the interesting thing: these two players were teammates in Cincinnati, playing together in 2007, albeit briefly toward the end of the season.
So the post-season awards are done and all fans get to do now is think about the 2011 season, with a little free agency thrown in to spice up the winter layover.
Speaking of baseball and next year, the Northwoods League has now announced its 2011 schedule. The Border Cats will open on the road in Willmar June 1, with the home opener set for June 6 against Rochester.
