Two of the Baseball Contests from 2016 must be decided by MillersTime readers:

Please vote for one winner in each of the two contests listed below. You can put your votes in the Comment section of this post or send them to me at Samesty84@gmail.com. And of course you can vote for your own prediction if it is listed below.

Votes must be sent in by Tuesday, November 22.

Contest #2:

Make a prediction about something that will happen during the 2016 MLB season:

Predictions that came true, or close to true:

1. The 2016 MLB season will see the decline on and off the field of that beloved Washington National – Bryce Harper. (Ed. Batting average dropped from .330to .243, Home Runs went from 42 to 24, RBIs from 99 to 86, and OPS from 1.109 to .814.)
2. The World Series will feature two teams that haven’t been there in a long time: Cubs vs Astros. (Ed. Actually, the first sentence is true, tho the two teams were the Cubs & Indians)
3. David Ortiz will his 35 HRs in his final season. (Ed. He hit 38.)
4. Pablo Sandoval will exceed 265 lbs. (Ed. His exact weight was never revealed. He said he didn’t get on a scale all winter. In Spring Training, and his weight became a significant issue. In May he injured his shoulder, had surgery and was out for the season.)
5. The Cubs will win the World Series with Theo Epstein punching his ticket to the Baseball Hall of Fame. (Ed. Cubbies did win it all, and Epstein was given much of the credit for turning the team around.)
6. Samantha Tilis, daughter of Elizabeth & Brandt Tilis, daughter and son-in-law of this editor, will become a loyal Red Sox fan and carry on the Miller family tradition. (Ed. This prediction was made by a friend of Elizabeth’s. Samantha attended her first Royals-Sox game in April at the age of two months. She wore red socks, PJs, and sound protecting ear phones. At home, she was often seen dressed in a Red Sox onesie.)
7. Michael A. Taylor will become the Nationals’ regular left fielder by August. (Ed. Not exactly. He did play in 76 games, getting 221 AB, hitting .231 and stealing 14 bases. He was up and down from the minors several times.)
8. Papi will go out on top with the most Sox HRs. (Ed. He did retire after playing the entire season, hitting .315, 38 HRs, 127 RBIs, with an OPS of 1.021).
9. The Sox will sweep the Yankees in New York and the Yankees will sweep the Sox in Boston. (Ed. Sox took four straight in NY in Sept., and Yunkees returned the favor by taking three straight in Boston two weeks later.)
10. There will be three or fewer no hitters. (Ed. Jake Arrieta had the only no hitter in 2016.)

Extra Credit Question:

Contestants were asked to make up their own question and answer it with the winner to be decided by a poll of the MillersTime readers. This winning question will appear in the 2017 Baseball Contests.

1. Which team will have the best fielding average. How many double plays will they turn? Cardinals, 62. (Ed. Giants & Nats had tied for the best fielding pct. at .988. Texas turned the most, 192.)
2. Who will win the NL MVP? Kris Bryant. (Ed. Kris Bryant did win it.)
3. How many no hitters will be thrown in 2016? 6. (Ed. One.)
4. What will the end look like for A-Rod? Will rupture an Achilles in April and never play again. (Ed. His season ended in August 12 when he played his last game with the NYY. He was released by the Yankees the next day and has joined their front office.)
5. How many MLB team will finish below .500? 15. (Ed. 14. Five in the AL and 9 in the NL.)
6. Which pitchers will be the surprise Cy Young candidates this year? Carrasco and Salazar, each getting one vote. (Ed. Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello won the Cy Young awards. Porcello is the suprise.)
7. Who will lead the AL in HRs? Bautista. (Ed. Trumbo with 47.)
8. Which pre-season favored team will be sellers at the trade deadline? Nationals. (Ed. Probably Yankees or the Phillies.)
9. Who will be the Rookies of the Year? Seager & Buxton. (Ed. Announced 11/15 – Corey Seager and Michael Fulmer.)
10. Which team will have the worst record? Phillies. (Ed. Twins – .364.)
11. World Series will involve which two team who have not been there in a long time? Cubs, Houston, but Nats or Angels could be there too. (Ed. Cubs & Indians.)
12. Will Panda hit above his weight? No. (Ed. Panda was injured and out for most of the season, hitting .000 in the three games he did play.)
13. Who will have the longest hitting streak in the regular season and how long will it be? Cabrera, 25 games. (Ed. Freddie Freeman, 30 games.)
14. What pair of teammates will hit the most HRs? Rizzo & Bryant. (Ed. Trumbo & Davis out hit Bryant and Rizzo 85 to 71.)
15. Will a World Series game be postponed for any reason? Yes. (Ed. No, but one was moved up an hour because of the weather forecast.)
16. Will Billy Hamilton have twice as many steals as walks? Yes. (Ed. Nope. Walked 36 times, stole 58 bases.)
17. How far out of the playoffs will the Yankees finish? 6 Games. (Ed. Close. 5 games out of the WC spot.)
18. How many no hitters and perfect games this year? 3 no-nos and 1 perfect game. (Ed. One no hitter and no perfect games.)
19. Will Abby Orgad, age 5, learn the names of the major Red Sox players this year. Yes. (Ed. Nope. But she, our grand daughter, did learn of Trea Turner and Bryce Harper of the Nats.)
20. After yet another disappointing sesason in the Mets’ shadow, will Steinbrenner scions realize the it’s time to blow the team up and officially cede the decade to the Mets, to really build for another dynastic run? No. (Ed. He did sell at the deadline and moved to a more youthful team.)
21. Who wili win the Cy Young in both leagues? Kluber & Kershaw. Who will win the MVPs? Correa & Goldschmidt. Who will win the ROY? Buxton & Seager. (Ed. Winners: MVPs Mike Trout & Kris Bryant. Scherzer & Porcello won Cy Young awards. Seager & Fulmer won ROY.)
22. Will CC Sabathia relapse? Big Time. (Ed. No “Big Time” relapse as far as we know, and he was 9-12 with an ERA of .370, better than last year.)
23. Who among us will fall asleep the most watching baseball this season in order from most times to least? GrandPapa, age 73, Dad, age 31, Samantha, age 2 months. (Ed. Wrong, Wrong, Wrong. Dad, Samantha, GPapa.)