By Steve Brand
To the surprise of absolutely no one, first baseman Adrian Gonzalez was selected as the San Diego Padres’ Most Valuable Player and closer Heath Bell was both the Pitcher and Reliever of the Year at the 2009 Awards Celebration held today at the San Diego Hall of Champions.
Gonzalez, the Gold Glove first baseman, repeated the team’s highest honor after slamming 40 home runs, a major league leading 28 of them on the road. He also set career highs in on-base percentage (.407), slugging percentage (.551), walks (119) as well as becoming the first San Diego player to get six hits in one game.
Bell recorded 42 saves in just his first year as a full-time closer as he converted 42 of 48 save opportunities. Not only did he perform at the highest level, he also dealt with the pressure of following future Hall of Fame reliever Trevor Hoffman.
“I watch (Hoffman) pitch any chance I get,” said Bell of his former teammate. “He taught me so much about preparation. Things like how batters change from the start of the game to the end.”
Bell said he studies how the hitters he’ll face bat in the final three innings, when he’ll go in, and continues to monitor them during the season to see if they change.
There was some talk that Gonzalez, who could not be at the awards celebration, and Bell could be trade bait for contending teams toward the end of the season but Bell says those rumors have cooled considerably.
“I’m a Padre,” he said, not trying to hide his pride. “I live or die with the Padres. There is such a good core of players and the younger guys I worked with have said they’re coming to camp to win their positions, showing how competitive they are.
“I think Colorado and San Francisco are going to be the teams to beat but we’re right there with those teams. If something were to happen, I’d still pull for them to win.”
Part of the reason for his optimism was in attendance as pitcher Simon Castro and infielder James Darnell of the Fort Tin Cups received the club’s awards as the top pitcher and position players in the minor league system.
The two, along with manager Doug Dascenzo, winner of the organization’s Jack Krol Award winner for contributions to player development, helped push the Tin Cups to an eye-popping 101 wins.
Other awards included the Madres’ Favorite New Padre which was won by second baseman David Eckstein, the Chairman’s Award which went to manager Bud Black for his service in the community and the Denny Galehouse Award for the top scout, which went to Bob Filotei.
Posted on December 2, 2009 by Christian Deleon
