It’s awards season, and that means some of MLB’s most prestigious hardware will soon be handed out as the Baseball Writers’ Association of America recognizes the best of the 2024 season with the Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Awards, the Manager of the Year Awards, the Cy Young Awards and the Most Valuable Player Awards.
The American League and National League finalists for each of those awards — representing the top three finishers — were revealed live on MLB Network on Monday night. The 2024 award winners will be announced next week on MLB Network, on the following days at 6 p.m. ET:
Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year: Monday, Nov. 18
Manager of the Year: Tuesday, Nov. 19
Cy Young: Wednesday, Nov. 20
Most Valuable Player: Thursday, Nov. 21
Here’s a look at each finalist, listed in alphabetical order for each award:
NL MOST VALUABLE PLAYER AWARD
Francisco Lindor, SS (Mets)
Lindor started off slow at the plate, but in mid-May, he turned things around and never looked back. On May 20, the switch-hitter had a slash line of .193/.268/.348. From there, he hit .309/.377/.566 with 26 homers to help fuel the Mets’ run to the postseason.
Ketel Marte, 2B (D-backs)
On the heels of helping lead the D-backs to a surprise World Series run in 2023, Marte set career highs in home runs (36), RBIs (95) and OPS+ (155) in 136 games this season. He was named an All-Star for the second time in his career and was selected as a Gold Glove Award finalist and an MVP finalist for the first time.
Hand, back and ankle injuries hampered Marte, but he was able to put up prodigious numbers when in the lineup, particularly from June 2-Aug. 2, when he posted a 1.105 OPS with 16 homers in 48 games to help Arizona go from five games under .500 to eight games over.
Shohei Ohtani, DH (Dodgers)
He wasn’t able to pitch in 2024 due to elbow surgery last fall, but Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to hit 50 or more home runs (54) and steal 50 or more bases (59) in the same season.
He led the NL in runs scored (134, also led the Majors), home runs (54), RBIs (130), on-base percentage (.390), slugging (.646) and total bases (411, also led MLB).
After winning AL MVP in 2021 and ’23 with the Angels, Ohtani is trying to become just the second player to win MVP Awards in both leagues (Frank Robinson, 1961 with Cincinnati and ’66 with Baltimore) and the first to do it in back-to-back years. He would also be the first full-time designated hitter to win MVP.
AL MOST VALUABLE PLAYER AWARD
Aaron Judge, CF (Yankees)
Judge had a record-breaking 2022 season, when he set a new AL mark by hitting 62 home runs, but he somehow topped that campaign this season. Though he hit “only” 58 homers this time, Judge had a higher OPS (1.159 to 1.111), higher OPS+ (223 to 210) and one more total base (392 to 391) than in his 2022 AL MVP season. The 1.159 OPS was the highest in any full season in 20 years (Barry Bonds, 1.422 in 2004). If Judge wins the MVP Award, it will be the second of his career and his second in the last three years.
Juan Soto, RF (Yankees)
Soto was all the Yankees could’ve asked for after he was acquired in a trade with the Padres last Dec. 7. He led the AL in runs scored (128) and hit .288/.419/.569 with a career-high 41 home runs. He was named an All-Star for the fourth time and reached the 200-homer milestone at age 25.
