My individual and team awards halfway through the 2009 season

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With two AL batting titles under his belt, Twins catcher Joe Mauer is enjoying his most productive season yet with a .389 average. Tom Dahlin/SI Related Links Keith: Burning questions for second half Baseball America: Ten key call-ups Heyman: Midseason awards (and anti-awards) Sabino: All-Stats All-Stars Tom Verducci's Mailbag Submit a comment or question for Tom. Name: Email: Hometown: Question: SEND

This baseball season is best represented by the Cincinnati Reds. Through their first 80 games, the Reds were 40-40 overall, 20-20 at home, 20-20 on the road, 36-36 in nine-inning games, 4-4 in extra inning games, 28-28 against right-handed pitchers, and 12-12 against left-handed pitchers. And where did such monumental mediocrity get them? Just one game in the loss column out of first place in the NL Central.

Parity -- otherwise known as competitive balance around MLB offices -- means anything close to .500 is contending. As this week began, marking the official second half of the season, 17 of the 30 teams were separated by just five or fewer losses. Eighteen teams were within four games of a playoff spot. The Mariners were closer to the playoffs than the Rays. The Astros were nearer the playoffs than the Mets.

The baseball season breaks down like this: you have the Red Sox, Yankees and Dodgers playing for October, then you have 19 teams that are fairly interchangeable, and then you have eight teams that are playing for next year. Of course, it's not quite that simple, but you get the idea.

Baseball 2009 means a wide-open playing field. It also means possible runs for .400 and a Triple Crown, a generation of young starting pitchers dominating the game, and a golden age of all-time great managers still at the top of their game. To recap a tightly if not always well-contested first half, here are my leaders for the major individual awards and some not-so-major team awards:

Individual Awards

AL MVP: 1) Joe Mauer, Twins. 2) Torii Hunter, Angels. 3) Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox. 4) Justin Morneau, Twins. 5) Derek Jeter, Yankees. 6) Evan Longoria, Rays. 7) Carl Crawford, Rays. 8) Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners. 9) Aaron Hill, Blue Jays. 10) Shin-Soo Choo, Indians.
A Gold Glove catcher hitting .389? Everybody else get in line behind Mauer.

NL MVP: 1) Albert Pujols, Cardinals. 2) Hanley Ramirez, Marlins. 3) Chase Utley, Phillies. 4) Ryan Braun, Brewers. 5) Prince Fielder, Brewers. 6) Raul Ibanez, Phillies. 7) Pablo Sandoval, Giants. 8) Brad Hawpe, Rockies. 9) David Wright, Mets. 10) Adrian Gonzalez, Padres.
And it's not even close. Pujols is Triple Crown material.

AL Cy Young Award: 1) Zack Greinke, Royals. 2) Roy Halladay, Blue Jays. 3) Felix Hernandez, Mariners.
Greinke is so good he has a shot at 200 punchouts with fewer than 40 walks. The only men to do that are Ben Sheets, Halladay, CC Sabathia, Pedro Martinez, Curt Schilling, Ferguson Jenkins, Juan Marichal, Walter Johnson and the man himself, Cy Young.

NL Cy Young Award: 1) Tim Lincecum, Giants. 2) Dan Haren, Diamondbacks. 3) Matt Cain, Giants.
This is shaping up as a great race, but Lincecum holds the slight edge with his strikeouts. He is headed for a third season with more than 10 strikeouts per nine innings.

AL Rookie of the Year: 1) Ricky Romero, Blue Jays. 2) Rick Porcello, Tigers. 3) Brad Bergesen, Orioles.
Seven wins and a 2.96 ERA, and now people have stopped asking why the Jays took Romero instead of Troy Tulowitzki in that 2005 draft.

NL Rookie of the Year: 1) Colby Rasmus, Cardinals. 2) Tommy Hanson, Braves. 3) Jordan Zimmermann, Nationals.
The award may wind up with Hanson, but Rasmus has the edge as an every-day outfielder who has been in the bigs all year.

AL Manager of the Year: 1) Jim Leyland, Tigers. 2) Ron Washington, Rangers. 3) Cito Gaston, Blue Jays.
Leyland has remade the Tigers on the fly into a pitching and defense club with daily lineup uncertainties.

NL Manager of the Year: 1) Tony La Russa, Cardinals. 2) Joe Torre, Dodgers. 3) Bruce Bochy, Giants.
La Russa never gets stale. He's still as good as there is at turning unpredictability into an asset, never allowing his players to grow content with their status or the lineup.