2021 2nd Annual Sockies
Before we get started with the new season we look back and give our awards for the previous one via the Rockem Sockem Writers Awards (based on the league attending the 2019 New York Chapter of the Baseball Writers of America Dinner) which were christened The Sockies! (Thanks Mike). They are held the first weekend in February over lunch and drinks. The first was kicked off at McSorleys and the locations vary each year.
For 2021, like everything over the last 11 months, it was done virtually on Friday February 5th.
MVRSFP - The Most Valuable Rockem Sockem Fantasy Player goes to….
Fernando Tatis Jr. - MamaRyu
This year on the player rater, slots 1-5 were all every day players…on shitty Rockem teams…Tatis was 6th overall on the winning squad so he gets the short season MVP award. The truncated season meant every day guys were much more valuable than pitchers, or maybe pitchers just sucked?
Rockem Sockem CK Goes to the best fantasy pitcher this year, just like the CY in real baseball (Renamed it CK in 2016 for Clayton Kershaw because he kept winning it):
Trevor Bauer - Ocean’s Blyleven
The twitter instigator (and maybe future Met?!?!) won the real Cy Young for his killer season and grabs the CK after almost leading Mike to the top of Rockem. Finishing 8th overall he edges out Fattys homeboy Justin Bieber and G.Cole who threw mean innings for Jay Vig.
The Zeddemore Poles Coach of the Year Award Goes to the best Rockem Manager (named for Winston's Historic 11 point last day jump in 2008):
Jeff Winston - MamaRyu
So in 2008 Jeff made a historic last day jump of 11.5 points to propel himself up into second place, but this year's “Saturday Surprise” topped even that. It will probably not be remembered as fondly as the season was only 60 games, but the person who the award is named after wins it easily this year.
The Eric Hinske Memorial (he's dead right?!) goes to the Biggest Bust Drafted that Year (Named for the Commish drafting Hinske in the 4th round of 2003):
Nolan Arenado - ephedraheartstoppers
What a fickle beast Rockem (and baseball) is/are/will always be. Just last year Nolan was the MVRSFP cornerstone of Eben’s championship squad. Now he is traded to the Cardinals as shit falls apart in Colorado. From MVRSFP to Bust: The Nolan Arenado Story. While that is a juicy one, NA was not alone sucking in the corona compromised year… Yelich for Wilson, Bregman for Fatty, Baez for Tom, Altuve for McNally and JD Martinez for Birdie all wrote their own shitty stories, just not as large.
The Edwin Encarnacion Elation goes to the biggest positive surprise of the year who was drafted after the 10th Round. (Named after EE's amazing jump a few years back):
Luke Voit - Land of Chapman
Eben wins this award for back to back years with New York First Baseman, meaning he is clearly the best when it comes to drafting….what a sad sorry bunch the rest of us who put in literal days of research, just proves it all means nothing….Anyways…Voit finished 12th overall but there were a lot of late draft surprises this year with Will Myers for Tom, and Maeda for Birdie were surprisingly amazing and Ozuna just missed wrapping this up for Bird, but that big bat was drafted in the 9th round.
The Nomar Broken Everything Award: Goes to player whose injuries who sink a team (named for Nomar Garciapara sinking multiple teams early in Rockem History)
Stephen Strasburg - WrightPlaceWongTime
As always, lots of options for this award. Mike probably would have won the whole league with a few more games from Acuna or Flaherty and Verlander going out early sunk Fatty, likewise for Buehler and Bull, but Tom had zero from his Ace and still finished third…what could have been…
The Cliff Lee Award : Goes to FA Pickup that changes the league (Named for Bull snatching Lee in Rockem 7)
Teoscar Hernandez - Ocean’s Blyleven
This one surprised me, I had no idea Hernandez finished 21st overall. I was just going to write in Tom’s pickup of Dom Smith who ended up ranked 32nd but Teoscar edges him out and Mike even picked him up earlier. Marco Gonzales shockingly finished 30th overall for Fatone so let’s give him some love. Speaking of love…
W.W. Rockem Sockem Spirit Award : A special award for special actions (Named for Winston Walters delivering the highlight of the Baltimore Orioles 2019 season and the true reason baseball/life is so grand)
NO ONE!!!!
There is no love for 2020 and no one is getting the Winston Walters Spirit Award this year.