Henderson in running for AL ROY; Hyde a MOY finalist

BALTIMORE -- Every MLB season, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America hands out four awards for each league -- Most Valuable Player, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year. This year, the Orioles have a legitimate chance to take half of the American League honors.

Three finalists were named for each of the 2023 awards on Monday, with Baltimore earning a pair of representatives in the AL. Gunnar Henderson is among the trio of players up for Rookie of the Year, while Brandon Hyde is in the running for Manager of the Year.

• Complete awards coverage

Henderson, Cleveland right-hander Tanner Bibee and Boston first baseman Triston Casas are the finalists for AL Rookie of the Year. Hyde, Texas’ Bruce Bochy and Tampa Bay’s Kevin Cash are the AL Manager of the Year finalists.

Members of the BBWAA voted on the awards prior to the start of the 2023 postseason. The winners will be announced next week, with MLB Network airing a special each day at 6 p.m. ET.

2023 BBWAA Awards announcement schedule
Monday, Nov. 13: Rookie of the Year
Tuesday, Nov. 14: Manager of the Year
Wednesday, Nov. 15: Cy Young
Thursday, Nov. 16: MVP

The Orioles haven’t had two BBWAA award winners in the same year since 1989, when right-hander Gregg Olson was named AL Rookie of the Year and Frank Robinson became the first skipper in team history to win AL Manager of the Year.

• All-time winners: Rookie of the Year | Manager of the Year

Baltimore hasn’t had a player named Rookie of the Year since Olson, but Henderson should soon end that 34-year drought. The 22-year-old infielder is the front-runner to claim this year’s award, and if he does, he’d become the seventh O’s rookie to win it.

In addition to Olson, Cal Ripken Jr. (1982), Eddie Murray (‘77), Al Bumbry (‘73), Curt Blefary (‘65) and Ron Hansen (‘60) were all Orioles players to be named AL Rookie of the Year.

This year, Henderson led all AL rookies in bWAR (6.3), fWAR (4.6), home runs (28), triples (nine), RBIs (82) and runs scored (100). Over 150 games, he slashed .255/.325/.489 and collected 66 extra-base hits.

• 2023 BBWAA Awards finalists revealed

On defense, Henderson split time fairly evenly between shortstop (64 starts, 584 2/3 innings) and third base (68 starts, 594 2/3 innings). He ranked third among AL shortstops with 10 defensive runs saved, while also recording three DRS at third.

Henderson’s first full MLB season came in a breakthrough year for the resurgent Orioles, who won 101 games, reached the postseason for the first time since 2016 and won their first AL East title since ‘14. It marked the culmination of a rebuild that began after the 2018 season, when Mike Elias was hired as general manager and Hyde as manager.

Elias stuck with Hyde when Baltimore was struggling at the big league level in 2019 (54-108), ‘20 (25-35) and ‘21 (52-110). The O’s began to show signs of improvement while going 83-79 in 2022, setting the stage for Hyde to guide them to greater success in ‘23.

That’s exactly what happened. Hyde became only the second manager in Orioles history to lead the club to a 100-win season, joining Hall of Famer Earl Weaver (who accomplished the feat five times).

Baltimore’s 101-61 regular season in 2023 was the fifth best in team history and the best since it went 102-57 in 1979. The O’s hadn’t reached the century mark in victories since ‘80 (100-62).

Hyde could become the fourth Orioles skipper to be named Manager of the Year. Buck Showalter (2014), Davey Johnson (1997) and Robinson (‘89) are the previous Baltimore managers to receive the honor.

The Orioles don’t have any finalists for MVP or Cy Young, but they likely had players receive votes further down the ballots for both awards. Henderson and catcher Adley Rutschman (a team-high 5.1 fWAR) were Baltimore’s top MVP candidates, while right-hander Kyle Bradish (a 2.83 ERA in 30 starts) should have received some Cy Young consideration.