By: Jonathan Goad
Major League Baseball has announced the winners of the season awards. If you’d like to see our predictions before finding out who won, go here first.
Here are the finalists for each award, our prediction, and the actual winner.
AL Rookie of the Year:
Gleyber Torres, 2B, Yankees – .271/.340/.820, 24 HR, 77 RBI
Miguel Andujar, 3B, Yankees – .297/.328/.855, 27 HR, 92 RBI
Shohei Ohtani, DH/SP, Angels – .285/.361/.925, 22 HR, 61 RBI | Pitching: 51 2/3 IP, 3.31 ERA, 63 SO
Our Pick: Miguel Andujar
Winner: Shohei Ohtani
Ohtani had a fine season. The combination of pitcher/outfielder/DH may have been enough to win him this award. His versatility is unmatched in the league as he was solid both at the plate and on the bump. It’s hard to compare Ohtani because it’s been a long time since we’ve seen someone pitch and play the field regularly. Ohtani deserves this award, but I think Andujar or Torres might have gotten snubbed. Torres finished second in the voting while Andujar finished third.
NL Rookie of the Year:
Ronald Acuna Jr., OF, Braves – .293/.366/.917, 26 HR, 64 RBI
Juan Soto, 2B, Nationals – .292/.406/.923, 22 HR, 70 RBI
Walker Buehler, SP, Dodgers – 137.1 IP, 2.62 ERA, 151 SO
Our Pick: Walker Buehler
Winner: Ronald Acuna
Buehler finished third in the voting. Soto was second. This was a tough one. All three players had great rookie seasons. I thought Buehler would take it partially because of his post season play. He had been pitching well recently, so he was in the minds of the voters. Apparently, I was wrong. Acuna has a great season. He helped lead the Braves to a division title that many people thought Atlanta wouldn’t win for a couple more years.
AL Manager of the Year:
Kevin Cash, Rays – 90 wins, no playoff appearance
Alex Cora, Red Sox – 108 wins, World Series champion
Bob Melvin, A’s – 97 wins, AL Wild Card appearance
Our Pick: Alex Cora
Winner: Bob Melvin
What Melvin did with that Athletics club is pretty amazing. Similar to the Braves, he led a team that not a lot of people had much confidence in to a playoff berth. I understand rewarding that. However, winning 108 games, leading the league almost the entire season, and winning the World Series is slightly more deserving, in my honest opinion.
NL Manager of the Year:
Bud Black, Rockies – 91 wins, NLDS appearance
Craig Counsell, Brewers – 96 wins, NLCS appearance
Brian Snitker, Braves – 90 wins, NLDS appearance
Our Pick: Craig Counsell
Winner: Brian Snitker
As I mentioned before, the Braves were not expected to compete like they did, and especially not win the division. Credit Snitker with bringing a mixture of young players and veterans together to have a very nice season.
AL Cy Young:
Corey Kluber, SP, Indians – 215 IP, 2.89 ERA, 222 SO
Blake Snell, SP, Rays – 180 IP, 1.89 ERA, 221 SO
Justin Verlander, SP, Astros – 214 IP, 2.52 ERA, 290 SO
Our Pick: Blake Snell
Winner: Blake Snell
Finally, we got one correct. Snell obviously had a great season. Our reasoning that he should win it was because of his 1.89 ERA while pitching the the same division as the two best offenses in the league, the Red Sox and Yankees. While he did pitch fewer innings than Kluber or Verlander, his ERA was a whole run lower than Kluber’s and over half a run lower than Verlander’s. All three had great season, but Snell deserved this one.

NL Cy Young:
Jacob deGrom, SP, Mets – 217 IP, 1.70 ERA, 269 SO
Aaron Nola, SP, Phillies – 212 1/3 IP, 2.37 ERA, 224 SO
Max Scherzer, SP, Nationals – 220 2/3 IP, 2.53 ERA, 300 SO
Our Pick: Jacob deGrom
Winner: Jacob deGrom
DeGrom was solid all season long despite playing for a poor Mets team who couldn’t provide any support. He did only win ten games, but as I’ve stated before, win-loss record isn’t a good way to measure a pitcher’s season. His ERA alone made him a front runner, and that paid off.

AL MVP:
Mookie Betts, OF, Red Sox – .346/.438/1.078, 32 HR, 80 RBI
Jose Ramirez, 3B, Indians – .270/.387/.939, 38 HR, 105 RBI
Mike Trout, OF, Angels – .312/.460/1.088, 39 HR, 79 RBI
Our Pick: Mookie Betts
Winner: Mookie Betts
In my opinion, Betts was a no brainer to win AL MVP. Look at those numbers. That was all done from the lead off spot. Plus, he scored 129 runs and stole 30 bases. He finished the season with a WAR of 10.9. What a year for Betts!

NL MVP:
Christian Yelich, OF, Brewers – .326/.402/1.000, 36 HR, 110 RBI
Nolan Arenado, 3B, Rockies – .297/.374/.935, 38 HR, 110 RBI
Javier Baez, IF, Cubs – .290/.326/.881, 34 HR, 111 RBI
Our Pick: Christian Yelich
Winner: Christian Yelich
As mentioned before, all three of these finalists had solid cases for the NL MVP. I think what decided it was Yelich’s average combined with the way the Brewers finished the season. They went on a tear late and overtook the Cubs to win the division.

Well, we were right about both Cy Young awards and both MVPs. We missed the ROYs and Manager of the Years. That puts us at 50%. Not too shabby especially considering the year all of these players had. Here’s to hoping next season will be just as competitive.
Now let’s see what happens in what should be a wild off season.
Categories: MLB, Uncategorized
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