The next phase of the historic American League MVP race will be played. Aaron Judge Yankees Shohei Ohtani According to results of Monday night’s balloting, of the Angels was the top-ranked team on the list for the MLB’s Baseball Writing Association of America Awards.
It is almost an understatement to call the seasons set up by Judge and Ohtani historic.
Judge set an American League record of 62 homers in a long season that captured the attention of all baseball players. Judge also had AL-best stats in RBI (131), runs (1133), walks (1111), on-base percentage (0.425), and slugging percentage (0.686). He was also second to Minnesota’s. Luis Arraez In the AL batting race. Just missed a sweep of all major categories.
Judge was able to compete with Ohtani for the unanimous MVP award. His unprecedented success as both a hitter/pitcher may have elevated Judge’s performance to another level.
After being unanimously selected as the AL’s MVP in 2011, Ohtani hit.273 with 34 homers and 95 RBI. He also scored 90 runs and was stolen bases 11 times. Ohtani also did well on the mound going 15-9 with a 23.3 ERA and 219 strikesouts while remaining in the AL Cy Young conversation.
The unfortunate No. The unfortunate No. 3 finalist in the MVP chase is the fearsome Houston slugger Yordan AlvarezThe second place finisher in all three categories was.306 with an on-base percentage of.406 and a slugging percent of.613. He hit 37 homers and drove in 97 runs, scoring 95.
If, as expected, Alvarez finished a distant No. Alvarez would be able take comfort in his third-place finish in the balloting. Jose Alvarado.
The three finalists for NL are a pair of Cardinals who want to overcome the MVP hump.
St. Louis 1B Paul Goldschmidt He has been in the top 10 in NL MVP voting six times, including four of the top five times. However, he is aiming to win the award the first time.
Goldschmidt had a tremendous season and had a chance at breaking the 85-year-old drought of Triple Crown winners late in the season. He reached.317 with a.404 base percentage and a NL-high.578 slugging rate. He also hit 35 homers, drove in 115 runs and scored 106 runs.
Cardinals third baseman across the diamond Nolan Arenado Also, he is a MVP finalist. Goldschmidt has never won the award, but he has enjoyed a lot of support from his five previous top-10 finishes. He is now in the top three for the second time.
Arenado hit.293 with 30 runs and 103 RBI, while taking home the NL Gold Glove award at third base for the tenth consecutive year.
Manny Machado, San Diego Padres, hit.298 with 32 runs and 102 RBI. His totals are in line with his 11-year career. He has been in the top five for MVP balloting three times before, twice in Baltimore and once with San Diego Padres. He was third in voting after 2020 season.
The AL Cy Young race is now down to one perennial contender and two new names on the awards contention circuit.
Houston Ace is the familiar face Justin Verlander. Verlander, a champion Astros pitcher, returned to the game after sustaining an elbow injury that prevented him from making one start in the 2020 and 2021 seasons. Verlander led the AL in wins (18), and ERA (1.75), which was the highest of a 17 year career. This will most likely land Verlander into the Hall of Fame.
Verlander has won numerous postseason awards. Verlander is bidding for his third consecutive win of three or more Cy Youngs. He won it in 2011 and 2019.
The race’s newbies are righties Dylan Cease The White Sox and Alek Manoah Blue Jays
Cease’s steady progress as a big-league pitcher led to his outstanding performance this season. Cease went 14-8 with a 2.20 ERA, striking out 227 batters. Manoah was 16-7 with a 2.24 ERA, throwing 196⅔ innings while showing signs of become an old school-type of rotation workhouse.
Marlins righty Sandy Alcantara He is a first-time Top 10 finisher in National League Cy Young honours. Considered by many to be the favorite for the award, Alcantara produced a throwback season in which he went 14-9 with a 2.28 ERA over an MLB-high 228⅔ innings with six complete games, the most by any pitcher in six years.
Alcantara’s NL Cy Young finalists have been joined by a pair of lefties. Max Fried Of the Braves Julio Urias The Dodgers.
Fried finished 14-7, with a 2.48 ERA, during All-Star Season. He was also awarded a Gold Glove. In 2020, he was fifth in the Cy Young balloting.
Urias finished his 20-3 season with a 17-7 campaign, which included a NL-best 2.16 ERA. Urias finished seventh in the NL Cy Young race last year and is now bidding to join Sandy Koufax and Fernando Valenzuela. Clayton Kershaw as the Dodgers’ lefty Cy Young winners
Scintillating Mariners center-fielder Julio Rodriguez The list of finalists for AL Rookie Of Year is intense. Cleveland left fielder joins the lead. Steven Kwan Baltimore catcher Adley Rutschman.
Rodriguez, 21 years old, helped the Mariners end a 21-year playoff drought. He hit.284 with 28 homers and 75 RBI, as well as 25 stolen bases. While providing highlights reel defense on the field, Rodriguez has become one of the most charismatic young players in baseball.
Rutschman did not only live up to his potential, but he was also the first pick in 2019’s draft.
Rutschman made his big-league debut May 21, when the Orioles was 16-24. Rutschman quickly became a top-notch all-around catcher in the majors, going 67-55 throughout the season. Sports Info Solutions reports that he was a.254 hitter with 13 homers, 42 RBI, and a.362 On-base percentage. In 113 games, he also saved nine runs.
Kwan was a symbol for the “go-go” style of play that propelled The Cleveland GuardiansThe AL Central crown was won by the team that is considered baseball’s youngest. He walked 62, struck out only 60 times, batted.298, stole 19 base and scored 85 runs while becoming one the four Cleveland defenders to win the Gold Glove.
Rutschman and Kwan were college friends at Oregon State.
This season’s AL rookie class was especially deep, with many accomplished rookies such as Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. Houston’s Jeremy Pena The finalists were not there. Pena spent Monday riding in the Astros’ championship parade. This is Pena who just finished an October where he was named MVP for both the ALCS & the World Series.
The race to win NL rookie honors could be decided by a head-to-head contest between Atlanta teammates.