After some unpleasant news on Sunday night regarding the NL Second Base Gold Glove Award, it was announced that Cubs INF Javier Báez was one of the top vote recipients for the National League MVP Award, a well-deserved honor after an All-Star Game appearance and a league-leading 111 RBI to go along with 34 HR, joining Cubs Hall-of-Famers Rogers Hornsby, Ernie Banks and Ryne Sandberg as the only Cubs middle infielders with a 30/100 season. Báez is the fifth Cub to post these numbers during or before their age-25 season, joining Cubs legends Banks and Ron Santo as well as current stars INF Anthony Rizzo and INF Kris Bryant. “El Mago” finished the season hitting .290/.326/.554 with an .881 OPS and 126 OPS+ and continued to display defensive prowess in multiple positions, winning the Fielding Bible’s Multi-Position Award for the third consecutive year after spending time at second base, shortstop and third base.
Here is a rundown of the major 2018 postseason awards decided by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA).
AL MVP
Mookie Betts, BOS OF
José RamÃrez, CLE INF
Mike Trout, LAA OF
Who Should Win: Mike Trout
Trout has been MLB’s overall best player for years and was a leader again this year in OBP (.460), OPS (1.088) and OPS+ (199).
Who Will Win: Mookie Betts
Betts led Boston to a historic 108-win season and edged out Trout’s 10.2 bWAR with a total of 10.9 after speculation that Trout could post a record WAR total in 2018.
NL MVP
Nolan Arenado, COL INF
Javier Báez, CHC INF
Christian Yelich, MIL INF
Who Should Win: Javier Báez
“El Mago” powered the Cubs offense with a league-leading 111 RBI, and it is clear to Cubs fans that their 95-win season would not have been possible without his contributions due to the slow start by INF Anthony Rizzo and the multiple injuries to INF Kris Bryant, the 2016 NL MVP winner. Báez also played spectacular defense at second base, shortstop and third base.
Who Will Win: Christian Yelich
Yelich’s late season surged pushed the Brewers past the Cubs for the NL Central Division title and helped them make a postseason run to Game 7 of the National League Championship Series before they were eliminated by the Dodgers. He was a leader in BA (.326), SLG (.598), OPS (1.000) and OPS+ (164).
AL Cy Young Award
Corey Kluber, CLE SP
Blake Snell, TB SP
Justin Verlander, HOU SP
Who Should Win: Blake Snell
Snell was one of MLB’s most unhittable pitchers in 2018, with a league-leading 1.89 ERA, an astonishing ERA+ of 219 and an MLB-high 21 wins.
Who Will Win: Justin Verlander
I am pretty cynical about these awards. It’s my opinion that the baseball writers tend to favor previous winners, and Verlander is a highly decorated veteran player ranked at the top of Fangraphs’ advanced stats leaderboard for pitchers in 2018. Verlander had an MLB-leading WHIP of 0.902 and also was a leader in games started (34).
NL Cy Young Award
Jacob deGrom, NYM SP
Aaron Nola, PHI SP
Max Scherzer, WSH SP
Who Should Win: Jacob deGrom
Who Will Win: Jacob deGrom
It would be a crime against baseball not to give this award to deGrom after he posted an MLB-leading 1.70 ERA with an ERA+ of 216, not far behind Snell. deGrom was also a leader in allowing the fewest home runs per 9 innings (0.4) and posted a FIP of 1.98. The only strike against him is his unimpressive win-loss record of 10-9, which was due to his team’s poor run support. MLB fans should mount a rescue mission to relocate deGrom to a team that deserves him.
AL Rookie of the Year
Miguel Andújar, NYY INF
Shohei Ohtani, LAA SP/DH
Gleyber Torres, NYY INF
Who Should Win: Shohei Ohtani
Who Will Win: Shohei Ohtani
Ohtani accomplished a feat that has not been seen in MLB for nearly a century by hitting 15 HR during a season where he pitched 50 IP, which was last accomplished in MLB by Babe Ruth in 1919. Ohtani was later shut down from pitching after a severe elbow injury that later required Tommy John surgery and is unlikely to pitch for the Angels next year, which is a disappointing development to say the least.
NL Rookie of the Year
Ronald Acuña Jr., ATL OF
Walkher Buehler, LAD SP
Juan Soto, WSH OF
Who Should Win: Ronald Acuña Jr.
Who Will Win: Ronald Acuña Jr.
While Soto also had a very impressive rookie season, Acuña was a better power hitter and became the seventh player to hit 25 HR before the age of 21. Acuña finished the year hitting .293/.366/.552 with an OPS of .917 and an OPS+ of 144 with 26 HR and 64 RBI.
AL Manager of the Year
Kevin Cash, TB
Alex Cora, BOS
Bob Melvin, OAK
Who Should Win: Alex Cora
Who Will Win: Alex Cora
Cora’s first year as an MLB manager resulted in a historic run for the Red Sox with 108 regular season wins (best in MLB) and a World Series title.
NL Manager of the Year
Bud Black, COL
Craig Counsell, MIL
Brian Snitker, ATL
Who Should Win: Craig Counsell
Who Will Win: Craig Counsell
Counsell’s Brew Crew surged past the Cubs in September to win the NL Central Division championship and finish with the National League’s best record in a tiebreaking Game 163 thanks to the offensive and defensive leadership of Yelich and OF Lorenzo Cain, who were new acquisitions over the offseason, as well as one of the top bullpens in MLB.
P.S. Fuck the Brewers.
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