1 burning question for each award this week

By Paul Casella | November 17, 2024

Awards season continues this week with the Baseball Writers' Association of America set to hand out some of the game's most prestigious honors.

Here's the schedule for the 2024 awards set to be handed out this week on MLB Network (6 p.m. ET each day):

While some winners may seem more obvious than others, there are plenty of intriguing storylines surrounding the finalists in each category.

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Let's take a closer look at the biggest question for each award:

1) Will both MVP winners be unanimous again?
Last year was the first time we had unanimous MVPs in each league in the same season, with Shohei Ohtani (AL) and Ronald Acuña Jr. (NL) receiving every first-place vote. But after not happening in the first 92 years of balloting (which began in 1931), could it now happen two years in a row?

Ohtani is once again the front-runner, albeit in the NL this time, while Yankees slugger Aaron Judge is the favorite in the AL.

On the NL side, Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor made a late push with a strong second half. Meanwhile, in the AL, Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. continued his meteoric rise with another incredible season.

But did either player do enough to claim some first-place MVP votes over Ohtani and Judge? Only time will tell.

2) Will Triple Crown translate to Cy Young in both leagues?
Tarik Skubal earned the pitching Triple Crown in the AL and Chris Sale did the same in the NL, marking just the fourth time that a pitcher won the Triple Crown in each league in the same season -- and just the second time in the past 100 seasons:

Skubal (18 wins, 2.39 ERA, 228 K's) seems like the surefire Cy Young winner on the AL side , but the NL race may not be as open and shut.

Sure, Sale paced all NL pitchers in the three Triple Crown categories (18 wins, 2.38 ERA, 225 K's), but he also missed his final couple of starts due to injury. He finished with 177 2/3 innings -- significantly fewer than fellow NL finalist Zack Wheeler, who hit the 200-inning mark.

Wheeler also led the NL with a 0.96 WHIP, and he was the only pitcher to finish in the top five across MLB in innings (200), wins (16), ERA (2.57) and strikeouts (224).

Of course, no pitcher has ever not won the Cy Young Award after a Triple Crown season -- but it's at least worth a discussion in the NL.

3) How will the NL ROY race shake out?
To be clear, the AL Rookie of the Year Award is an interesting race in its own right. On that side, Yankees righty Luis Gil likely has a small edge, but teammate Austin Wells and Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser could make it interesting.

But the NL boasts a star-studded rookie class in Paul Skenes, Jackson Chourio and Jackson Merrill.

Chourio had a historic season for the Brewers, becoming the first player to record a 20-20 season before his 21st birthday. The outfielder, who turns 21 in March, finished with 21 homers and 22 stolen bases over 148 games.

And yet, many believe the NL ROY race is a two-player race between Skenes and Merrill.

Merrill, who turned 21 in April, slashed .292/.326/.500 with 24 home runs, 31 doubles, six triples and 16 stolen bases over 156 games after breaking camp as the Padres' everyday center fielder. He also tied for the NL lead among all center fielders with eight assists.

Then, there's Skenes. The 22-year-old Pirates right-hander burst on to the scene after making his MLB debut on May 11 -- less than a year after being selected first overall by the Pirates in the 2023 Draft. He went 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 starts, all while racking up 170 strikeouts over 133 innings. Skenes was the first rookie pitcher to start the All-Star Game since 1995 (Hideo Nomo).

Basically, voters had to decide how to compare an everyday center fielder who turned in excellent all-around production for an entire big league season with a starting pitcher who put up historically good numbers after making his MLB debut in mid-May.

4) Which AL Central skipper will be Manager of the Year?
The NL Manager of the Year race features a former winner (Mike Shildt) against a pair of first-year full-time skippers (Carlos Mendoza and Pat Murphy).

But on the AL side, it's a divisional battle between A.J. Hinch (Tigers), Matt Quatraro (Royals) and Stephen Vogt (Guardians).

Hinch led the Tigers to their first postseason berth in a decade, Quatraro guided the Royals to a 30-win improvement and a playoff appearance after winning just 56 games last season, and Vogt steered the Guardians to the AL Central title in his first year at the helm.

All three have a worthwhile case, so it'll be interesting to see which one claims his first MOY Award.

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