From Buster to Dusty, these guys merit kudos

• NL MVP: Buster Posey over Ryan Braun
• AL Cy Young: David Price over Jered Weaver
• NL Cy Young: Gio Gonzalez over R.A. Dickey

In his column, USA TODAY Sports' Bob Nightengale voted for Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera over Los Angeles Angels rookie Mike Trout for the American League MVP award. Find out why.

But, there are other awards besides the hotly contested AL MVP up for grabs.

Nightengale breaks down his choices:

National League MVP

Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants, over Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers, and Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates

Rationale: We saw what the Giants looked like a year ago without Posey. Now we're seeing what they're like with him healthy and hitting cleanup. He leads the league in hitting and is tied for sixth in RBI. If the Brewers had reached the postseason, the vote would have gone to Braun, who had the finest offensive season. Yet with his team sitting home, he gets penalized, just like Matt Kemp a year ago with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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AL Cy Young Award

David Price, Tampa Bay Rays, over Jered Weaver, Los Angeles Angels, and Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

Rationale: Price has had an overpowering season with 20 victories and a majors-low 2.56 ERA while pitching in the AL East, where four of the league's top eight offenses reside. Remarkably, 13 of his 20 victories are against teams with records currently above .500. He could have been a 25-game winner considering the Rays were shut out in three of his starts, and he's one of five pitchers since 1918 to have two no-decisions in which he pitched eight shutout innings and yielded three or fewer hits. Weaver's stint on the disabled list might have cost him the award.

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NL Cy Young Award

Gio Gonzalez, Washington Nationals, over R.A. Dickey, New York Mets, Johnny Cueto, Cincinnati Reds, and Craig Kimbrel, Atlanta Braves

Rationale: Dickey is the best story in baseball. But Gonzalez is the best pitcher in the league. Gonzalez carried the Nationals to the NL East title, yielding a league-low .206 batting average. Dickey, 20-7, led the league with 233 innings, 230 strikeouts and three shutouts, but he hasn't pitched in a meaningful game in three months while Gonzalez pitched in the heat of a pennant race. Cueto's struggles in September wiped him out, and sorry, if Mariano Rivera can't win a Cy Young Award, neither can Kimbrel, despite his domination.

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AL rookie of the year

Mike Trout, Angels, over the rest of the free world

Rationale: Simply one of the greatest rookie seasons ever. There's not even a close second on this ballot, but Yoenis Cespedes of the Oakland Athletics, with his 23 homers and 82 RBI, should be runner-up over Yu Darvish (16-9, 3.90 ERA) of the Texas Rangers.

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NL rookie of the year

Bryce Harper, Nationals, over Wade Miley, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Todd Frazier, Reds

Rationale: A month ago, this award belonged to Frazier, who helped save the Reds' season the way he filled in for third baseman Scott Rolen and first baseman Joey Votto, who both missed time with injuries. But he hit .181 with one homer and five RBI in September. Harper has hit 12 homers since mid-August. Miley easily was the league's best rookie pitcher with 16 victories and a 3.33 ERA.

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AL manager of the year

Buck Showalter, Baltimore Orioles, over Bob Melvin, A's, and Robin Ventura, Chicago White Sox

This may be the most hotly contested award of the postseason. It's a shame it can't be split between Showalter and Melvin. Showalter gets the nod simply for doing it the AL East, ending 14 years of losing with a makeshift starting rotation, and making the New York Yankees sweat every step of the way. This is a man who turned around the Yankees and Rangers and made the Arizona Diamondbacks a contender quicker than any expansion team in history. Now he has worked his magic in Baltimore.

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NL manager of the year

Dusty Baker, Reds, over Davey Johnson, Nationals, and Bruce Bochy, Giants

There is no finer motivator in baseball than Baker. He has proven that year after year, and he steadied the club after losing closer Ryan Madson in spring training and going without Votto for 48 games. The Reds went 32-16 without their All-Star first baseman, including a stretch where they won 22 of 25 games.