Jordan Zimmermann’s no-no highlights Nationals’ GIBBY Award nominations
By Pablo Roa
Sep 28, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher
Jordan Zimmermann(27) salutes the crowd after recording his final out of a no-hitter against the Miami Marlins at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit:
Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
While the Washington Nationals ultimately fell short of their goals in 2014, the team celebrated plenty of special moments throughout the season. The Nationals finished the year with the best record in the National League and won the NL East by a whopping 17-game margin to secure their second division title in three years.
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Although the division title was the team’s most memorable accomplishment in 2014, there were many more plays, hits, players and coaches that helped make 2014 the magical season that it was, and several of those have a chance to take home an MLB.com 2014 Greatness in Baseball Yearly (GIBBY) Award this winter.
The Nationals have 10 candidates in this year’s GIBBY awards. Rookie manager Matt Williams, who was recently named Sporting News’ top NL Manager, is up for Manager of the Year in the GIBBY Awards as well.
Relievers Tyler Clippard and Drew Storen are up for the Setup Man award, while Tanner Roark and Anthony Rendon are nominees for the Breakout Pitcher and Breakout Hitter awards, respectively.
Jose Lobaton is a nominee for the Oddity award after he had a foul ball get stuck in his catcher’s mask in a game against the Brewers this season. Denard Span is nominated in the Walk-Off category for his contribution to ‘Walk-Off City’, and even the Jayson Werth bobblehead — The “Rally Gnome” — is nominated in the Cut4 category.
As great as all of those nominees are, none is more deserving than Jordan Zimmermann, who is up for the Pitching Performance award after he threw the first no-hitter in team history on the last day of the regular season. Equally deserving of an award is Steven Souza Jr, whose ridiculous catch in the ninth inning is the reason Zimmermann was able to complete the no-hitter. Souza’s great catch is nominated for Play of the Year.
Here’s more information on this year’s GIBBY Awards from MLB.com:
"This year’s GIBBY Awards feature nominees in 23 categories. Individual honors will go to the MLB Most Valuable Player, in addition to the year’s best Starting Pitcher, Hitter, Closer, Setup Man, Rookie, Breakout Hitter, Breakout Pitcher, Bounceback Player, Defensive Player, Manager, Executive and Postseason Performer.GIBBY trophies also will be awarded for the year’s top Play, Outfield Throw, Storyline, Hitting Performance, Pitching Performance, Oddity, Walk-Off, Cut4 Topic, Regular-Season Moment and Postseason Moment, with video available via MLB.com’s Must C highlight reels."
Fans can vote for this year’s GIBBY awards as many times as they want through Nov. 21 at 11:59 p.m. ET by visiting mlb.com/gibbys. Do you think these Nationals nominees deserve to come away with a trophy in this year’s GIBBY awards? If so, what are you waiting for? Go vote! Winners will be announced live on MLB Network and MLB.com on Dec. 6.