With the baseball just underway, here are my predictions for who will take home the 2009 baseball awards. While there are a lot of close calls for each award, this is how it see it shaping up.

Here are the KnuckleCurve 2009 MLB awards predictions:

Francisco Liriano, Minnesota Twins

American League Rookie of the Year
Matt Wieters, Baltimore Orioles

American League Manager of the Year
Mike Scioscia, Los Angeles Angels

American League Cy Young
Francisco Liriano, Minnesota Twins

American League MVP
Kevin Youkilis, Boston Red Sox

National League Rookie of the Year
James McDonald, Los Angeles Dodgers

National League Manager of the Year
Bob Melvin, Arizona Diamondbacks

National League Cy Young
Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants

National League MVP
Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals

On Monday, Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice were voted into baseball’s Hall of Fame after they received the required 75% of the vote. Henderson and Rice were two of an impressive list of potential Hall of Famers on the 2009 Hall of Fame ballot.

Henderson was able to get in on his first time on the ballot, while Rice got in on his final time on the ballot. They will be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame in July in Cooperstown, New York.

Here is the final voting numbers for the 2009 Hall of Fame:

Rickey Henderson - 511 votes - 94.8%
Jim Rice - 412 - 76.4%
Andre Dawson - 361 - 67.0%
Bert Blyleven - 338 - 62.7%
Lee Smith - 240 - 44.5%
Jack Morris - 237 - 44.0%
Tommy John -171 - 31.7
Tim Raines - 122 - 22.6%
Mark McGwire - 118 - 21.9%
Alan Trammell - 94 - 17.4%
Dave Parker - 81 - 15.0%
Don Mattingly - 64 - 11.9%
Dale Murphy - 62 - 11.5%
Harold Baines - 32 - 5.9%
Mark Grace - 22 - 4.1%
David Cone - 21 - 3.9%
Matt Williams - 7 - 1.3%
Mo Vaughn - 6 - 1.1%
Jay Bell - 2 - 0.4%
Jesse Orosco - 1 - 0.2%

On Monday, we will find out which players go enough votes to make it into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Although Rickey Henderson is a lock, there is a lot of Hall of Fame worthiness discussions surrounding all the other players. Who do we think will make it into Cooperstown?

Players Who Will Be In The Hall
Bert Blyleven
Andre Dawson
Rickey Henderson
Tim Raines

Players Who Won’t Be In The Hall
Harold Baines
Jay Bell
David Cone
Ron Gant
Mark Grace
Tommy John
Don Mattingly
Mark McGwire
Jack Morris
Dale Murphy
Jesse Orosco
Dave Parker
Dan Plesac
Jim Rice
Lee Smith
Alan Trammell
Greg Vaughn
Mo Vaughn
Matt Williams

Some claim Dustin Pedroia is about 5-foot-5 in real life. However, all must now admit that Pedroia is the 2008 American League Most Valuable Player.

Pedroia, the second baseman for the Boston Red Sox, handily won the award by beating out Justin Morneau of the Minnesota Twins and his teammate Kevin Youkilis. Pedroia not only was very good in the field, at the plate he was one of the most dangerous players in the AL.

He finished the season with a .326 batting average and 17 homers, 83 RBIs, 118 runs scored and 213 hits. The 25-year-old improved his numbers across the board in his second full season in the big leagues.

Morneau, the first baseman for the Minnesota Twins, also had a really good season. He finished 2008 with a .300 batting average to go with 23 homers, 129 RBIs and 97 runs scored. Fellow first baseman Youkilis had 29 homers, 115 RBI to go along with a batting average of .312.

However, when it was all said and done, the big award in the American League was won by the smallest candidate.

Cliff Lee, a starting pitcher for the Cleveland Indians, has been named the American League Cy Young Award winner. Lee, who just last season was sent down to the minors due to ineffective pitching, bounced back in a big way in 2008.

When looking at Lee’s numbers, it’s difficult to keep your jaw from hitting the floor. He had a record of 22-3 to go along with a 2.54 ERA and a microscopic WHIP of 1.11. He also had 170 strikeouts and only 33 walks in 223.1 innings pitched.

The 30-year-old Lee had by far his best season in 2008. In 2007, Lee had a 6.29 ERA and a record of 5-8. In fact, in his previous four seasons, he only had one campaign with an ERA under 4.00.

Second place in the AL Cy Young Award balloting was Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Roy Halladay. Halladay, who already has a Cy Young Award to his name, finished 20-11 with a 2.78 ERA.

Lee finished with 24 first place votes, while Halladay got four. Lee joins National League Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum.

Photo credit: Newscom

Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants was named the winner of the 2008 National League Cy Young Award. The 24-year-old right-hander proved during the 2008 campaign why he’s regarded as one of the best young pitchers in Major League Baseball.

On the season, Lincecum went 18-5 with a 2.62 ERA. He also struck out 265 batters in 227 innings pitched. Throw in a WHIP of 1.17 and it’s no wonder how Lincecum was able to win the NL Cy Young Award.

Brandon Webb of the Arizona Diamondbacks finished second and Johan Santana of the New York Mets finished third, while Brad Lidge, CC Sabathia and Ryan Dempster round out the top six. Lincecum received 23 first place votes — far and away the most.

The generously listed 5-foot-11 Giants pitcher is the unquestioned ace of San Francisco’s pitching rotation and has replaced Barry Bonds as the face of the franchise.

Photo credit: Newscom

Like the National League Gold Glove winners, the American League Gold Glove winners feature a lot of young faces. Apparently, the best fielders in 2008 were young players who had never won this award before. Here is a look at the 2008 AL Gold Glove award winners:

Pitcher - Mike Mussina, New York Yankees - 8th Gold Glove
Catcher - Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins - 1st Gold Glove
First Baseman - Carlos Pena, Tampa Bay Rays - 1st Gold Glove
Second Baseman - Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox - 1st Gold Glove
Shortstop - Michael Young, Texas Rangers - 1st Gold Glove
Third Baseman - Adrian Beltre, Seattle Mariners - 2nd Gold Glove
Outfielder - Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners - 8th Gold Glove
Outfielder - Torii Hunter, Los Angeles Angels - 8th Gold Glove
Outfielder - Grady Sizemore, Cleveland Indians - 2nd Gold Glove

The National League had a youth movement of sorts when it came to the Gold Glove winners. Five of the players who won the 2008 Gold Glove award were first time winners. Here’s a complete list of the NL Gold Glove winners for 2008:

Pitcher - Greg Maddux, Los Angeles Dodgers - 18th Gold Glove
Catcher - Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals - 1st Gold Glove
First Baseman - Adrian Gonzalez, San Diego Padres - 1st Gold Glove
Second Baseman - Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati Reds - 1st Gold Glove
Shortstop - Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia Phillies - 2nd Gold Glove
Third Baseman - David Wright, New York Mets - 2nd Gold Glove
Outfielder - Shane Victorino, Philadelphia Philles - 1st Gold Glove
Outfielder - Nate McLouth, Pittsburgh Pirates - 1st Gold Glove
Outfielder - Carlos Beltran, New York Mets - 2nd Gold Glove

The Phillies did it!

What does it feel like to be a World Series champion? Ask the Philadelphia Phillies, who on Wednesday took home the 2008 World Series title. These Phillies are now the champions of baseball for the year of 2008 and no one can take that away from them.

Ryan Howard has now established himself in history.

You can see Phillies World Series celebration videos here:

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Albert Pujols will eventually need surgery on his troublesome elbow. Although he indicated that he might have that surgery this offseason, he has decided he’ll likely have the surgery in the fall of 2009.

Pujols has been dealing with a sore elbow for more than a year. The good news for the St. Louis Cardinals is that the injury doesn’t seem to be limiting Pujols too much. He remains one of the best, if not the best, hitters in the game of baseball.

The reason Pujols is hesitant about the surgery is that he’ll need six to eight months to recover. Even if he has the surgery early in an offseason, he’ll most likely still end up missing game action.

This season with the Cardinals, Pujols is hitting .361 and has 33 homers and 98 RBIs. While he has tough competition for the National League MVP award, Pujols has to be considered the favorite.

Photo: Newscom