Handing out our major MLB Awards
The 2021 regular season is officially over, and theScore's editors handed in their ballots for major end-of-season awards. Ballots include the top-five players/managers for each award, with 14 points given for a first-place vote, nine points for a second-place vote, eight points for a third-place vote, and so on. Here are the winners:
Guerrero might have won this in a runaway just about any other year. But Ohtani's unparalleled two-way dominance with the otherwise hapless Angels was more than enough for him to be our unanimous choice for AL MVP. Ohtani's 46 homers were third in the AL, he led the Junior Circuit in triples, and he stole 26 bases while pounding out 80 extra-base hits. Oh, and he also had a 3.18 ERA with 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings over 23 starts. Guerrero made a run at the Triple Crown and did enough to make the vote interesting. He'll likely win several of these awards before retiring. But it would be a disservice to deny Ohtani this honor.
Harper's second-best statistical season after his superhuman 2015 campaign looks poised to earn him his second MVP trophy. He wasn't without company, though, as Soto led the majors with an impressive .465 OBP while Tatis was the only player on the Senior Circuit to eclipse 40 home runs. However, this outcome may only further the debate about the actual meaning of the MVP, as those top-three players were on teams that didn't reach the postseason. Meanwhile, Turner, Crawford, and Goldschmidt played integral roles down the stretch and throughout 2021.
Ray posted the best ERA (2.84) in the AL while also leading the Junior Circuit in innings pitched. He was a horse for the Blue Jays, and his reliability every fifth day was a big reason Toronto stayed in the race. Similarly, where would the Yankees be without Cole? He compiled a 16-8 record with a 3.23 ERA and 2.92 FIP. Eovaldi's elevated ERA (3.75) and 11-9 mark don't look impressive, but he led AL pitchers in fWAR (5.6) in large part due to preventing the long ball better than any of his peers. He allowed just 15 homers over 182 1/3 innings.
The real NL Cy Young vote projects to be a photo finish, but ours was a landslide. Burnes got nine of 12 first-place votes after ranking No. 1 in the majors in ERA and FIP while leading the Brewers' phenomenal rotation. He easily outpaced second-place Wheeler, who topped the league in innings pitched and struck out an NL-best 247 batters. Scherzer also got a first-place vote for his brilliance down the stretch in L.A.
In a nail-biter, the preseason favorite winds up following through on all the promise he showed when he won ALCS MVP last season. Arozarena finished the year hitting .274/.356/.459 and going 20-20 with homers and steals. Still, it was a close race. Surprise Astros starter Luis Garcia impressed with a 3.30 ERA over 30 games, while Rangers slugger Adolis Garcia crushed 31 homers but faded in the second half.
India claims the NL award, though it would have been much closer if Marlins lefty Rogers didn't miss time due to injury. The Reds rookie played an integral part in keeping the team's postseason hopes alive and, even though they ultimately fell short, it wasn't India's fault. Becoming the club's go-to leadoff man by early June, India posted a .835 OPS with 21 homers and 98 runs scored.
A skipper hasn't won Manager of the Year in back-to-back seasons since Bobby Cox did it with the borderline dynastic Atlanta Braves in '04 and '05. We have Cash ending that, though. The Rays manager was a slam dunk to win after leading his team to an AL-best record during the pandemic-shortened campaign last year. Then, the front office traded Blake Snell and the club ... somehow got even better, winning a franchise-record 100 games. Scott Servais, who led the Mariners to an improbable 90-win season, earned strong consideration.
Kapler led the Giants to a shocking 107 wins and an NL West title just two years after being fired by the Phillies. That was more than enough to make him the Senior Circuit's top manager in our eyes. Counsell, a two-time runner-up for this honor, got the only other first-place vote for his work with the 95-win Brewers.