Major League Baseball

Tops in the eyes of writers' bloc | McGehee voted Brewers' MVP /

Published Oct. 19, 2010 10:10 p.m. ET

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After a season in which several players deserved consideration, third baseman Casey McGehee was named the Brewers' most valuable player for 2010 on Monday by the Milwaukee chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

A total of six ballots were cast for each award, assigning five points for first place, three for second and one for third. In a close vote, McGehee (19 points) edged second baseman Rickie Weeks (16) and rightfielder Corey Hart (14) by receiving three first-place votes, one second-place vote and one third-place vote.

In his second full season in the majors, McGehee batted.285 with 23 home runs and a team-leading 104 runs batted in over 157 games. He was among the National League leaders in RBI (sixth), hits (ninth, 174) and doubles (10th, 38). His 102 RBI as a third baseman set a franchise record at that position and tied the New York Mets' David Wright for the NL lead.

For the second straight season, Yovani Gallardo was voted Brewers most valuable pitcher. Gallardo (26 points) narrowly edged closer John Axford (22 points) by receiving four first-place votes and two third-place votes.

Axford received two first-place votes and four second-place votes. Randy Wolf (six points) was the only other pitcher named on the ballots.

Gallardo went 14-7 with a 3.84 earned run average in 31 starts. He led the team in wins and was named to his first All-Star Game. Gallardo joined Teddy Higuera (1986 and '87) as the only pitchers in franchise history to have consecutive 200-strikeout seasons.

Axford (30 points) was unanimously voted the Brewers' top newcomer, receiving all six firstplace votes. Outfielder Lorenzo Cain (10 points) finished second and was among four others named on the ballots.

Axford went 8-2 with a 2.48 ERA and 24 saves in 50 relief appearances after being summoned from Class AAA Nashville on May 15. Axford struck out 76 batters in just 58 innings while holding opponents to a.204 batting average, and his 24 saves were the most ever by a Brewers rookie.

Reliever Kameron Loe (14 points) beat out catcher Jonathan Lucroy (13 points) to earn the Unsung Hero honors. Loe garnered one first-place vote and three second-place votes. Lucroy received two first-place votes and a secondplace vote. Six other players were named on the ballots.

Loe joined the Brewers on June1 after working as a starter at Nashville and went 3-5 with a 2.78 ERA in 53 relief appearances. He led the team in holds (22) and was second in appearances (53).

Reliever Trevor Hoffman (19 points) earned the Good Guy Award, breaking the two-year reign of infielder Craig Counsell (15 points). Hoffman received two first-place votes. McGehee (two), Counsell (one) and Chris Capuano (one) received the other first-place votes.

Cora joins list: Chicago White Sox bench coach Joey Cora joined the list of candidates to be interviewed this week by general manager Doug Melvin for the Brewers' managerial vacancy. Cora, 45, managed three seasons in the minors and has served the past seven seasons as bench coach for White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen.

Cora and Washington Nationals third base coach Pat Listach will interview Tuesday. Former Seattle and Arizona manager Bob Melvin will interview Wednesday.