AL West

Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton was named the American League MVP Tuesday, receiving 22 first-place votes.

He beat out Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera, New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano and Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista for the award.

Hamilton, 29, batted .359/.411/.633 in 571 plate appearances in 2010, belting 32 home runs along the way. His 1.044 OPS led the American League.

Josh Hamilton's story has been told and retold numerous times over the last few years.

The Texas Rangers star outfielder has endured countless peaks and valleys in his well-chronicled rise and fall as a one-time uber-prospect turned casualty of drug abuse and addiction.

His subsequent recovery and return to baseball's highest level represents one of sports' greatest tales of redemption.

However, this time that's not what the story is about.

This year's Cy Young award winner is a pitcher with a:

2.27 ERA (best in baseball) 

249.2 innings (best in the American league)

6 complete games (second in the American League)

232 strikeouts (second in the American League by 1)

1.06 WHIP (second in the American League)

34 games started (best in the American League)

The year 2005 was indeed an interesting year in the baseball world.

The Chicago White Sox won their first World Series since 1917, Alex Rodriguez and Albert Pujols were again having monster years and Jason Giambi and Ken Griffey Jr., again, rose to prominence.

The 2005 season was also a breakout year for the former MVP and six-time All-Star, Jose Canseco.

An important and long overdue message was sent to the baseball world the other day when Felix Hernandez, a 13-game winner, was announced as the winner of the 2010 Cy Young award over CC Sabathia, a 21-game winner.

Texas Ranger outfielder Nelson Cruz has not stopped his torrid hitting, and with not much hoopla, he set a new postseason record in Game 3 Saturday night against the San Francisco Giants.

Cruz's double in the second inning was his 12th extra-base hit of this postseason.

The Dominican Republic-born outfielder broke the mark of 11 extra-base hits, accomplished seven times, most recently the last one was by the New York Yankees Alex Rodriguez in 2009.

The Mariners have a lot of talent in their farm system, much of which has been acquired by Jack Zduriencik, or had their development tweaked for the better by the present regime. Last week, I detailed 20 guys that didn't quite make the cut for the Mariners top 20 prospects, and in this installment, we look at prospects 20-16.

20. Anthony Varvaro, RHP, 25 years old

Down two games to none in the World Series, the Texas Rangers desperately needed some home cookin’, and more importantly needed a win in Game 3. The guy they relied on for a big performance was Colby Lewis and like in his three postseason games prior, Lewis delivered.

Riding the pitching arm of Colby Lewis and a three-run homer from the bat of their No. 9 hitter, the Texas Rangers defeated the San Francisco Giants 4-2 to cut their series deficit to two games to one.

To many, starting pitcher Lewis and rookie first baseman Mitch Moreland (their nine-hole hitter) may not sound like World Series heroes, but tonight their stars shined the brightest before a jubilant crowd at Ranger Ballpark in Arlington.

Well, now it's a series. Returning home to Arlington served to be precisely the remedy to cure the Texas Rangers' woes on the road through the first two games of the World Series.

With a well-played 4-2 victory at home over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday night, Texas showed their mettle and fought their way back into the series, and now only trail two games to one.

In Game 1, the Rangers scored seven runs, but couldn't pitch, and in Game 2, C.J. Wilson pitched a fantastic game but the Rangers couldn't hit Matt Cain.