This week in Major League Baseball is the 2018 All-Star Game and it marks the start of MLB awards season. The game will be followed by a flurry of events that culminate with all 30 clubs handing out their postseason honors, including most notably World Series MVPs George Springer (Houston Astros) and Corey Kluber (Boston Red Sox).
The “mlb awards voting 2021” is a week which honors the best MLB players and teams. The award show will be held on October 28th, 2021.
It’s award season in Major League Baseball! Following the announcement of Rookie of the Year awards for both the National League and the American League on Monday, Manager of the Year awards will be presented on Tuesday, Cy Young awards on Wednesday, and the crown jewel — each league’s MVP — on Thursday.
We’ve been moving in this way for a decade, but it’s finally official: The Most Valuable Player Award has been renamed the Best Player in the League Award, much to the pleasure of baseball’s analytics community. Traditionally, MVP awards have been awarded based on an undetermined combination of on-field and team performance. The MVP winner came from a playoff club most of the time, but not always.
None of the six finalists made it to the playoffs this year. The National League finalists, led by Bryce Harper’s Phillies, ended 82-80, Fernando Tatis Jr.’s Padres finished 79-83, and Juan Soto’s Nationals finished 65-97. At the very least, the Phillies concluded the season with a winning record — just. It will be the first time since 1987, when both MVP winners, Andre Dawson of the Cubs and George Bell of the Blue Jays, failed to make the playoffs. Since the BBWAA started voting in 1931, only two previous times this has happened: in 1977 (George Foster and Rod Carew) and 1978. (Dave Parker and Jim Rice).
As a result, the discussion is effectively ended. That doesn’t make picking the winner any less difficult.
Here are the latest awards week results and analysis, as well as our ESPN MLB experts’ predictions — and be sure to bookmark this page since it will be updated as each award is presented. David Schoenfield’s quote
Continue to…: AL Manager of the Year: NL | AL Cy Young Award: NL | AL MVP: NL | AL Rookie of the Year: NL | AL Rookie of the Year: NL | AL Rookie of the Year: NL | AL Rookie of the Year: NL | AL Rookie of the Year:
Rookie of the Year in the National League
The Braves have been proclaimed champions for 2021, which means it’s time to start planning for next season! Here’s what’s new in the world of the hot stove and beyond. Complete coverage »
• Way-too-early Power Rankings for 2022 »
• Passan: ESPN+’s early free-agent tiers »
• ESPN+’s Top Q for each non-playoff club »
Schoenfield’s take: In the not-too-distant past, Julio Urias would have won based on his 20 wins and respectable ERA, but voters now prioritize ERA, FIP, strikeout rate, walks, and home runs above victories (and WAR). If you look at the secondary measures, Burnes has the advantage since his 1.63 FIP (fielding independent pitching) was the lowest by a starter since Pedro Martinez in 1999. Burnes finished first in the National League in ERA (2.43) and FanGraphs WAR (7.5), as well as ERA+, Ks per nine, and home runs per nine, and second in walks per nine, behind only Scherzer. The complaint against him is that he was 11-5 and only threw 167 innings, the fewest by a non-reliever Cy Young winner (not counting 2020).
Scherzer was 15-4 with a 2.46 ERA and seemed to be the favorite moving into his last two outings, with Jacob deGrom out due to a season-ending injury in July. However, he gave up 11 runs in 1013 innings, raising his ERA from 2.08 to 2.46. That may have opened the way for Wheeler, who leads the majors in innings pitched with 21313, a massive 46 more than Burnes. In front of a weak Phillies defense, he went 14-10 with a 2.78 ERA and led Baseball-Reference WAR (7.6) and was second in FanGraphs WAR (7.3).
Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler finished second in Baseball-Reference WAR and third in FanGraphs WAR, while teammate Julio Urias went 20-3 with a 2.96 ERA.
Cy Young Award winner in the American League
Wednesday, November 17th, was the day of the announcement.
Gerrit Cole (Yankees), Lance Lynn (White Sox), and Robbie Ray are among the finalists (Blue Jays)
Ray gets ten votes, Cole gets two, and Lynn gets one, according to ESPN’s MLB analysts.
Schoenfield’s take: It might come down to how much Ray’s season is valued by voters. He leads the league in ERA, innings (19313), and strikeouts with 6.7 WAR, according to Baseball-Reference. He finished 13-7 with a 2.84 ERA, leading the league in ERA, innings (19313), and strikeouts (248). FanGraphs assigns him just 3.9 WAR based on his exaggerated home run total of 33. Despite the home runs, Ray’s run prevention was exceptional, and coming off a disastrous 2020 season, he has a chance to become one of baseball’s most unlikely Cy Young Award winners.
Detractors will refer to two of his last three outings, when he lost to the Rays (three runs in 423) and then the Yankees (five runs, including four home runs, in 513) when the Blue Jays were hoping to reach the playoffs. Cole, on the other hand, has a 6.15 ERA in his last five outings. Cole’s ERA in the last four months following the grip-substance crackdown was a disappointing 4.15. Then there’s this: Cole went 5-6 with a 4.52 ERA against the other three AL East foes, while Ray went 4-6 with a 3.40 ERA. (This isn’t to knock Lynn, who posted a 2.69 ERA despite pitching just 157 innings.)
Nathan Eovaldi of the Boston Red Sox lead FanGraphs WAR.
MVP of the National League
play
1:38
Bryce Harper of the Philadelphia Phillies shares his favorite moments at the bat and on the field.
On Thursday, November 18th, it was announced.
Bryce Harper (Phillies), Juan Soto (Nationals), and Fernando Tatis Jr. are among the finalists (Padres)
Expert choices from ESPN’s MLB experts: Harper 8, Soto 4, Tatis 1.
This is one of the weaker MVP contests in a long time, according to Schoenfield. Soto led all NL position players with 7.0 WAR, but he put up those statistics with the Nationals out of the postseason race, and his total power figures (29 home runs, 20 doubles) seem a tad low for an MVP winner, despite his.465 OBP. Tatis led the National League with 42 home runs, a.283/.364/.611 batting average, and 97 runs batted in in 130 games (the relevant statistic being the 32 games he missed). He’d probably go 30-30 in 150 games (he ended with 25 steals) and lead the NL in WAR (he finished at 6.5). He also struggled at shortstop, committing 21 mistakes in 102 games (compared to three in 57 games in 2020), finally going to the outfield to preserve his shoulder from stress and injury.
So, after hitting.309/.429/.615 with 35 home runs and leading the National League in OPS, slugging, and doubles, Harper could be the favorite. He batted.338/.476/.713 in the second half, hitting 19 home runs and driving in 46 runs to keep the Phillies in the race. Harper, on the other hand, only drove in 84 runs because he had less power with runners on base, and he only hit.191 with three RBIs in 19 games versus the Braves, the club the Phillies needed to defeat to win the division.
Giants shortstop goes unnoticed Brandon Crawford was the top player on the greatest club (6.1 WAR).
MVP of the American League
play
1:45
Take a look at some of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s most electrifying moments.
On Thursday, November 18th, it was announced.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Blue Jays), Shohei Ohtani (Angels), and Marcus Semien (Angels) are among the finalists (Blue Jays)
Ohtani gets 13 votes from ESPN’s MLB analysts (unanimous choice)
The only issue here, according to Schoenfield, is whether Ohtani will become the first unanimous AL MVP since Angels teammate Mike Trout won in 2014. His unprecedented two-way season was unlike anything we’ve seen in baseball since Babe Ruth more than a century ago. He was not only one of the finest hitters in the league, but also one of the top pitchers. He was third in home runs, second in OPS and slugging percentage, first in triples, and sixth in stolen bases with a.257/.372/.965 batting line. In 1301/3 innings as a pitcher, he was 9-2 with a 3.18 ERA and 156 strikeouts. He had the ninth-best ERA, sixth-best strikeout rate, and sixth-best lowest batting average allowed among AL pitchers with at least 100 innings pitched. When you add it all together, Ohtani has a whopping 9.0 WAR, comfortably leading the AL.
Guerrero would have a better case in most seasons after pursuing a Triple Crown and hitting.311/.401/.601 with 48 home runs while leading the AL in OBP, slugging, home runs (tied with Salvador Perez), runs scored, total bases, and adjusted OPS. He was the league’s top hitter. Semien will place third in the MVP vote for the second time in three seasons, after placing third with the A’s in 2019. He started every game for the Blue Jays, earned a Gold Glove, and established a record for a second baseman with 45 home runs.
Carlos Correa, with 7.3 WAR, topped AL position players, edging out Semien’s 7.2.
The “mlb awards 2021 predictions” is a list of predictions for the coming year. The article includes information about who will win what award, and how many times they have won in the past.
Related Tags
- mlb awards odds
- mlb awards 2021
- mlb awards announcement dates
- mlb awards predictions
- mlb awards race
