Major League Baseball’s four major end-of-season awards — Most Valuable Player (MVP), Cy Young, Rookie of the Year (ROY), and Manager of the Year — have been announced.
The Cardinals’ Paul Goldschmidt won the National League (NL) MVP award over Padres third baseman Manny Machado and Cardinals teammate Nolan Arenado.
New York Yankee Aaron Judge won the American League MVP award, depriving the Los Angeles Angels’ Shohei Ohtani of a second consecutive MVP award.
For most of the season, Goldschmidt was the hottest hitter in the National League, leading the NL in OBP (.981), slugging (.578), and OPS+ (180), and was the first choice on 22 of 28 ballots.
His hot streak propelled Goldschmidt to his first career MVP and the 18th in Cardinals history.
He was the runner-up for MVP in both 2013 and 2015 with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Judge won his first career Most Valuable Player Award after setting a new AL home run record with 62 home runs and a 1.111 on-base plus slugging percentage. He had the highest OBP (.425), slugging percentage (.686), and OPS+ in baseball (211).
According to some, Judge had one of the best offensive seasons in baseball history, and if not for two writers in the Anaheim area, he would have been the unanimous MVP winner. After finishing second to two-way superstar Ohtani in 2021, Judge left no doubt in many people’s minds that this year would be different. He was named MVP on 28 of 30 ballots, becoming the Yankees’ 21st MVP.
Houston Astro Justin Verlander won his third career Cy Young Award, while Sandy Alcantara made Marlins’ franchise history in the NL, making it the first time since 1968 that the Cy Young winners were both unanimous choices.
Alcantara is the first Florida Marlin to win the award since the team’s inception in 1993. He led the National League in complete games (six) and innings pitched (228.2) while posting a 2.28 ERA in 32 starts.
Verlander won the Cy Young Award for the third time in his career and for the second time as a unanimous winner. Verlander had a 1.75 ERA and an 18-4 record in his return season from Tommy John surgery, and his 220 ERA+ and 0.82 WHIP led the AL. The 39-year-old put on a renaissance performance that culminated in a World Series title.
Atlanta’s Michael Harris II was named NL ROY, while Seattle’s Julio Rodriguez was named AL ROY.
Harris, known for his incredible defense, won the 2022 NL ROY over his teammate, Spencer Strider. He is the first NL center fielder to do so since Bryce Harper, and it is the ninth time a Braves’ player has received the honor. Harris piqued the league’s interest, and after his performance in 2022, he’s off to a fast start with a young and talented Braves team.
Rodriguez, 21, became the AL’s eighth center fielder to win the award and the fifth player named ROY in Mariners’ history. Rodriguez hit .284 with 28 homers and 75 RBI while demonstrating incredible resilience as a young player on his way to becoming one of MLB’s stars.
Terry Francona of the Cleveland Indians was named AL Manager of the Year, while Buck Showalter of the New York Mets was named NL Manager of the Year.
Showalter led his team to 101 victories, narrowly defeating Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts for the award and earning himself his fourth Manager of the Year Award.
This was Showalter’s fourth club to win the award and the first given to a Mets manager since 1983.
Francona became the team’s ninth manager to win their third Manager of the Year award and his third in Cleveland (2013 and 2016). He led the league’s youngest team to the playoffs, compiling a 92-70 record in a division that had written them off.