Buster Posey finishes sixth in MVP voting, Hunter Pence 11th

This was not an even year with major awards for the Giants, it seems. Buster Posey finished sixth in the 2014 National League MVP voting, with Hunter Pence finishing 11th. Posey won the Rookie of the Year in the first championship campaign in San Francisco, and he won the MVP in 2012. All the Giants have to show for 2014 are some down-ballot finishes for two hitters, and a fourth-place finish in the Cy Young voting for Madison Bumgarner.

And, you know. That other thing.

Posey appeared on 28 of the 30 ballots, with Adam Rubin of ESPN New York and Mel Antonen of SI.com the only voters to leave him off. That seems like the kind of thing that really would have cheesed us off in 2009. As is ... not so much. It's quirky! Like the love interest in a summer camp movie.

Votes for Posey, by place:

3rd: 1
4th: 6
5th: 9
6th: 6
7th: 3
8th: 1
9th: 1
10th: 1

Andrew Baggarly of CSN Bay Area put Posey sixth on his ballot, and Henry Schulman of the Chronicle put him 10th. Dammit, Henry.

(I put Posey ninth on my IBBWA ballot, for what it's worth. Behind two Dodgers and Russell Martin. Soooooo ....)

Pence appeared on 10 of 30 ballots, with a fifth-place vote (Baggarly), three sixth-place (including Schulman), two eight-place, three ninth-place, and a 10th-place.

I guess this is a good place to mention that Clayton Kershaw won the MVP, the first pitcher to win the award in the National League since Bob Gibson in 1968. Kershaw is also the first Dodger to win the MVP since Kirk Gibson in 1988. Between those two awards, Giants players have combined for eight of them. The year Kirk Gibson won the award was also the last year the Dodgers won the World Series. This is an advertisement from that year:

Is it petty and childish to keep bringing that up? Yes. Yes, it is. Here's something from a popular TV show back then:

Madison Bumgarner won two MVPs this year. Neither of them were this one, though. In this vote, the Giants had two guys toward the middle of the ballot. I'll take it.

Congratulations, Clayton Kershaw!