Bernie Show: Is Winn Underrated?

The Bernie Miklasz Show

St. Louis Cardinals rookie shortstop did not receive a single vote -- nothing -- in the annual NL Rookie of the Year voting done by the Baseball Writers Association of America. I didn't think Winn had a chance to win the award; Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes was an obvious choice, and Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill deserved to finish second.

I thought Winn would get at least two or three third-place votes, but that didn't happen either. Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga got four third-place votes, meaning that his total ballot points was fourth on the list. Winn's name didn't surface on any of the 30 individual ballots.

I think this is a little unusual for a reason: using the Baseball Reference version of Wins Above Replacement (WAR), Winn led all major-league rookies with 4.9 total WAR. He was the top-rated rookie in the majors defensively. He was No. 2 among major-league rookies for offensive WAR. (To repeat: not just the National League - but in all of the majors.) Moreover, Winn won the Fielding Bible Award for the best shortstop (defensively) in the majors. And he led MLB shortstops in defensive runs saved. Winn was a NL finalist for a gold glove at shortstop this season but didn't win the award.

Question: with Winn being overlooked in the voting -- or at least underrated -- what does this say, if anything, about the Cardinals' two-year decline and the loss of prestige and prominence as a franchise? The Cardinals haven't been a postseason factor since 2019, do they have faded from the October platform. I think the loss of relevancy makes it hard for a candidate like Winn to win an award. The Fielding Bible award is a different honor, handled with great care by Sports Info Solutions. And the panel at Sports Info Solutions doesn't care about where a player's team finished in the standings.

I am interested in your opinion on this. Please comment. And I thank you for watching.