By Kevin McCormick, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 
This past weekend concluded the 2019 season for the Philadelphia Phillies. After a roller-coaster of a summer, the Phillies ended the season with a record of 81-81 and missed the playoffs for the eighth straight season.
Although this season did not meet the expectations that were set before Opening Day, the Phillies still have a lot to "hang their hats" on this season. Now that the regular season is over, it's time to give out our end-of-season Phillies awards.
Most Improved Player: Scott Kingery
Arguably the biggest bright spot of this season was the emergence of Scott Kingery. He made a huge jump in his second season in the majors, which is why he takes home the Most Improved Player Award.
This season, Kingery racked up 118 hits, 19 home runs, and 55 RBI, to go along with a .258 batting average. In Kingery’s rookie season, he posted 102 hits, eight home runs, and 35 RBI, with a .226 average. What makes Kingery’s jump in year two even more impressive, is that he "upped" all of his stats while playing fewer games than he did in his rookie campaign.
Kingery stepped up big this season and started to look like the player that he was in the minors. He showed that he is a cornerstone for this franchise and will be a valuable piece moving forward. Hopefully, Kingery will continue to grow as his career advances.
Rookie Of The Year: Adam Haseley
Although there were not many Phillies who made their debut this season, Adam Haseley partially wins the Rookie of the Year Award by default, but that does not take away that he had some impressive moments in his rookie season.
In 67 games with the big-league club, Haseley batted .266 to go along with five home runs and 26 RBIs. Along with some nice plays at the plate, he also showed impressive skills with his glove – robbing multiple home runs this season.
The Phillies have a lot of things to figure out in the outfield moving forward, but having a young player like Haseley around, who showed in a small sample that he can play at the big-league level, might just earn him a spot on next year’s roster.
Cy Young: Aaron Nola
This Cy Young Award has the most obvious winner. For the second season in a row, Aaron Nola showed that he is the best pitcher on the Phillies. Although he had five fewer wins this year than he did last year, the ace still had a good 2019 campaign. In 34 starts, Nola had a record of 12-7, with a 3.87 ERA and 229 strikeouts.
Nola broke 200 innings for the second straight season, pitching in 202 this season. That number is 10 innings less than the year before, but that didn’t stop him from upping his strikeouts to 229, as opposed to 224 the year prior.
It is safe to say that Nola is one of the best starters in the National League right now. He has shown that he is here to stay with another stellar season, and now the Phillies need to focus on adding arms to put in the rotation behind him to capitalize on his prime years. Maybe 2020 will be the year that we get to see “playoff Aaron Nola.”
MVP(s): Bryce Harper & J.T. Realmuto
This pick was too close to make so there had to be Co-MVPs for the Phillies this season. Both Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto were very impressive in their first season in red pinstripes. Harper and Realmuto both lived up to the expectations that were put on them after what it took to acquire them.
In year one of his 13-year mega-deal, Harper had a 2019 campaign where he played 157 games, batted .260, and blasted 35 home runs en route to 114 RBIs. Along with one of his best years at the plate, Harper had a great defensive year, racking up a career-high 13 outfield assists.
Realmuto also had a great season on offense and defense. He played a career-high 145 games, and racked up 25 home runs to go along with 83 RBI. He finished the season batting .275, and showed that he is in a "class of his own" as one of, if not the best, defensive catchers in the league. In 2019, Realmuto caught a career-high 43 runners stealing. Realmuto showed to be a great investment after the Phillies gave up their top prospect in the deal with the Miami Marlins to acquire him.
All of these players deserved their awards for their good play for the Phillies this season. Even though the team was unable to make the playoffs, it does not take away the good season we saw from multiple players this season.
