Aaron Judge faces Ohtani, Alvarez challenges to win AL MVP award

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NEW YORK (AP) — The Baseball Writers’ Association of America has picked three players, including Aaron Judge in the final list for the American League MVP award. The other two finalists are Angels’ all-rounder player Shohei Ohtani and Houston’s hitting maestro Yordan Alvarez.

Judge, who scripted an AL record of 62 home runs, is the favorite to win the AL MVP award. He also had 131 RBIs, which tied for the most in the big leagues, and he was second in the AL with a .311 batting average. He also helped the New York Yankees win the AL East by leading the majors in runs (133), on-base percentage (.425), slugging percentage (.686), OPS (1.111), extra-base hits (90), and total bases (391). Sunday, the 6’7″ outfielder became a free agent.

Last year, Ohtani was the AL MVP, and he may have had the best two-way season in baseball history. He did this for the Los Angeles Angels, who finished third with a 73-89 record. The Japanese star pitcher went 15–9, had a 2.33 earned run average, and struck out 219 batters in 166 innings over 28 starts. He hit .273 at the plate with 34 home runs, 95 RBIs, and an OPS of .875.

During the regular season, Alvarez hit .306 with 37 home runs, 97 RBIs, and an OPS of 1.019 to become a contender for the AL MVP award. He hit the go-ahead home run in the game that decided the World Series last weekend. Julio Rodrguez, the center fielder for Seattle, is expected to win the AL Rookie of the Year award. Steven Kwan, the left fielder for Cleveland, and Adley Rutschman, the catcher for Baltimore, are also in the running.

Recently, Aaron Judge pipped Ohtani to win the Players Choice Award for the Player of the Year. The Yankees slugger has also been named for the Outstanding American League Player award. He was voted by the association that has his teammates as well as players who played against him. Their voting for the power hitter above Shohei Ohtani clearly put him ahead in the race for the AL MVP award.

Also, Baseball Digest and eBay chose Aaron Judge as the best major league player of the year. A group of 22 baseball writers and broadcasters, including former players, managers, and executives, all gave Aaron Judge 18 first-place votes compared to Ohtani getting four first-place votes. This adds strength to his claim for the AL MVP award.

On Monday night, the BBWAA also announced the top three candidates for the Cy Young Awards, Rookies of the Year, and Managers of the Year. At the end of the regular season, votes were taken, and the winners will be announced next week.

Pea was the most valuable player in both the World Series against Philadelphia and the AL Championship Series against the Yankees. He won a Gold Glove last week. He was the first batter in baseball history to win all three of these awards in a single season.

The World Series champion Houston Astros’ Justin Verlander is a heavy favorite to earn his third Cy Young Award after going 18-4 with a major league-low 1.75 ERA this season in a remarkable comeback from Tommy John surgery.

The other AL Cy Young contenders are Dylan Cease of the Chicago White Sox and Alek Manoah of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt, and Manny Machado, a third baseman for the San Diego Padres, are still in the running for NL MVP.

Miami ace Sandy Alcantara, Max Fried, a left-handed pitcher for Atlanta, and Julio Uras, a left-handed pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, got the most votes for the NL Cy Young Award.

Houston shortstop Jeremy Pea, a postseason breakout star after a good regular season, was conspicuously excluded from the trio of finalists.

Brendan Donovan, a utility player for the Cardinals, joined Atlanta Braves center fielder Michael Harris II and pitcher Spencer Strider in the top three for NL Rookie of the Year.

AL Manager of the Year is up for grabs, and Terry Francona of Cleveland, Brandon Hyde of Baltimore, and Scott Servais of Seattle are all in the running.

In the National League, it’s Dave Roberts of the 111-win Los Angeles Dodgers, Buck Showalter, the first-year manager of the New York Mets, and Brian Snitker, whose team won the NL East.

Showalter wants to be the only manager to win the award four times, like Bobby Cox and Tony La Russa, who are both in the Hall of Fame.

Rob Thomson didn’t make the cut, even though he led the NL champion Phillies to the playoffs for the first time in 11 years after Joe Girardi was fired in early June. When Thomson was promoted from bench coach to interim manager, Philadelphia was 22–29. The rest of the season, the Phillies went 65–46. Last month, he got a contract for two years as a reward.

Who do you feel will win MLB awards? Tell us about your choice.

(Source: AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports)

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