Here are the finalists for the 2023 BBWAA Awards
We will soon learn who will take home MLB’s most prestigious end-of-season honors, each presented by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA): 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 2023 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. 13
- Manager of the Year: Tuesday, Nov. 14
- Cy Young: Wednesday, Nov. 15
- Most Valuable Player: Thursday, Nov. 16
For now, here's a quick overview of the three finalists in each category, listed in alphabetical order.
NATIONAL LEAGUE MOST VALUABLE PLAYER AWARD
Ronald Acuña Jr. (Braves)
Before the 2023 season, no player had hit 40 homers and stolen 50 bases in a season. Then Acuña went out and put up a stat line for the ages, featuring 41 dingers and 73 steals. He paced the National League in runs (149), hits (217), on-base percentage (.416), OPS (1.012), total bases (383) and wRC+ (170). He was named NL Player of the Month three times and now might add his first MVP Award to his mantle.
- All-time winners: MVP | Cy Young | Rookie of the Year | Manager of the Year
Mookie Betts (Dodgers)
Betts tied Acuña for the most fWAR among position players this season (8.3). He slashed .307/.408/.579, crushed a career-high 39 home runs and tied a personal best with 79 extra-base hits. He also provided defensive versatility by making 27 starts at second base and a handful more at shortstop. It was his best season since winning AL MVP honors with the Red Sox in 2018, and now, Betts has a shot to join Hall of Famer Frank Robinson as the only players to be named MVP in both leagues.
Freddie Freeman (Dodgers)
Freeman batted .331 this season -- his best in a non-shortened season and the seventh time in eight years that he reached .300. The 2020 NL MVP had 29 homers, 102 RBIs and a .976 OPS. His 211 hits were second to Acuña, but no one recorded more extra-base hits (90). The majority of those were doubles; Freeman’s 59 two-baggers were the most by any player since 1936. The 34-year-old continued to display quality defense at first base, finishing with +3 Outs Above Average.
AMERICAN LEAGUE MOST VALUABLE PLAYER AWARD
Shohei Ohtani (Angels)
Looking for his second AL MVP Award, Ohtani put together another awe-inspiring season for the Angels. He led the big leagues in slugging percentage (.654), OPS (1.066) and wRC+ (180). His 44 dingers were the most in the AL despite the fact that he played in only 135 games. On the mound, Ohtani recorded a .184 opponents’ batting average, a 3.14 ERA and 167 strikeouts through 132 innings before being shut down with a right elbow injury.
Corey Seager (Rangers)
Seager also dealt with his fair share of maladies as he made multiple trips to the injured list. But he made his 119 games count for the eventual World Series champions, batting .327 with a 1.013 OPS. He launched 33 homers for the second straight year, and his 42 doubles were the most in the AL. Seager’s 53.2% hard-hit rate, a personal best in a non-shortened season, ranked 10th in the Majors.
Marcus Semien (Rangers)
Seager’s double-play partner consistently set the tone for the Rangers’ powerful offense. Semien scored an AL-best 122 runs out of the leadoff spot and added 100 RBIs. He led the junior circuit with 185 hits, 29 of which left the ballpark. Semien, baseball’s current iron man, played in every regular-season game for the third time over the past four full seasons and had the most plate appearances for the fourth time in five years.
NATIONAL LEAGUE CY YOUNG AWARD
Zac Gallen (D-backs)
Gallen’s six no-hit innings in Game 5 of the World Series were a snapshot of his brilliance during the regular season. Gallen finished near the top of the Majors in innings pitched (210) and strikeouts (220). His year included a scoreless streak of 44 1/3 innings, the seventh longest in AL/NL history. His 5.3 fWAR ranked third in the NL.
Blake Snell (Padres)
Although no pitcher issued more walks than Snell’s 99, the San Diego lefty was basically impossible to hit in 2023. His 2.25 ERA and 5.8 hits-per-nine rate were the best in the Majors. Batters mustered a paltry .181/.293/.286 slash line against Snell. His 12 scoreless starts tied for the most by a qualified starting pitcher in the Divisional Era (since 1969). The NL Pitcher of the Month in June and September, Snell racked up 234 K’s, and his 31.5% strikeout rate ranked second in the Majors. Snell won the 2018 AL Cy Young Award with the Rays, and now he has a chance to add an NL trophy to his case.
Logan Webb (Giants)
Webb was baseball’s most durable starter, leading the Majors with 216 innings pitched over 33 starts. Appropriately enough, he threw a complete game in his final start of the season. Webb, who struck out 194 hitters, got the job done by filling up the strike zone and creating a lot of harmless contact. His 3.6% walk rate was the lowest in the NL, and his 62.7% ground ball rate was the best in MLB by a significant margin.
AMERICAN LEAGUE CY YOUNG AWARD
Gerrit Cole (Yankees)
A two-time Cy Young Award runner-up, this might be the year the Yankees’ ace takes it home. Cole led the AL in ERA (2.63), innings pitched (209) and opponents’ batting average (.206). No one had a better WHIP (0.98) or a higher pitching run value (45). Cole strengthened his Cy Young case in the season’s final month as he allowed four earned runs over his final five starts, spanning 35 innings. He capped his year with a two-hit shutout in Toronto.
Kevin Gausman (Blue Jays)
Speaking of Toronto, Gausman turned in yet another solid season for the Blue Jays. The right-hander recorded a 3.16 ERA and a 2.97 FIP across 185 innings. His 237 strikeouts were the most in the Majors and the fourth most in franchise history. He led all AL starters in fWAR (5.3) and strikeout-minus-walk percentage (31.1%) and limited opposing hitters to a scant .291 on-base percentage.
Sonny Gray (Twins)
Gray helped Minnesota run away with an AL Central championship by registering a 2.79 ERA over 184 innings. That included a season-ending stretch in which he permitted seven earned runs over his final seven starts. His ERA ranked second in the AL, and his 2.83 FIP was the best in the big leagues. Gray allowed just eight home runs on the year, the fewest by a qualified Twins starter in a non-shortened season.
NATIONAL LEAGUE JACKIE ROBINSON ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARD
Corbin Carroll (D-backs)
Carroll accomplished something this season we had never seen before from a rookie: His 25 homers and 54 stolen bases accounted for the first 20-50 campaign by a rookie in MLB history. And he is the first player, rookie or otherwise, to reach those marks with double-digit triples. Besides getting it done with his bat and his elite speed, Carroll also played stellar defense at multiple outfield positions.
James Outman (Dodgers)
Outman opened the year looking like one of the best hitters in the sport. He slugged seven homers and had a .991 OPS en route to being named NL Rookie of the Month for April. He is the first Dodgers rookie to hit 20 homers and steal 15 bases in a season. Defensively, his nine Outs Above Average were the most on the team.
Kodai Senga (Mets)
Following a dominant career in Japan, Senga arrived in the Majors and continued to make hitters look foolish. He tallied a 2.98 ERA with 202 strikeouts over 166 1/3 innings, becoming just the third rookie of the Wild Card Era to finish with a sub-3.00 ERA and 200 K’s. Senga allowed two or fewer earned runs in 14 of his final 16 starts.
AMERICAN LEAGUE JACKIE ROBINSON ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARD
Tanner Bibee (Guardians)
Bibee was consistently stingy against the opposition all year long as he compiled a 2.98 ERA over 142 innings. He went five innings and allowed no more than three earned runs in 23 of his 25 starts. Bibee was also one of eight pitchers with a sub-3.00 ERA to throw at least 100 innings.
Triston Casas (Red Sox)
Casas clocked 24 homers and recorded an .856 OPS during his first full season in Boston. He really came alive after the All-Star break, slashing .317/.417/.617 in 180 at-bats. His 175 wRC+ in the second half trailed only Matt Olson, Mookie Betts and Ronald Acuña Jr. Thanks to a fantastic 13.9% walk rate, Casas paced all rookies with a .367 on-base percentage.
Gunnar Henderson (Orioles)
MLB Pipeline’s No. 1 prospect entering the season lived up to the hype in Baltimore. Henderson led all rookies with 28 homers and 66 extra-base hits. He squared the ball up time and time again, as evidenced by his 52% hard-hit rate, which ranked inside the top 15 among qualified players. Henderson also provided tremendous value as a baserunner, adding an MLB-best six extra runs on the basepaths.
NATIONAL LEAGUE MANAGER OF THE YEAR AWARD
Craig Counsell (Brewers)
The Brewers qualified for the postseason for the fifth time in the past six seasons under Counsell, claiming 92 wins and the team’s sixth division title along the way. Under Counsell’s watch, the Brewers recorded the best ERA in the Majors (2.98). That could earn Counsell his first Manager of the Year Award after three previous runner-up finishes.
Skip Schumaker (Marlins)
The Marlins hadn’t celebrated a non-shortened winning season since 2009 entering this year. In Schumaker’s first season on the job, Miami notched 84 victories -- a 15-win increase from 2022 -- and made the playoffs for the first time in a non-shortened season since its World Series championship year of 2003.
Brian Snitker (Braves)
Behind a relentless, record-smashing offense, Snitker’s Braves steamrolled their way to 104 wins, the most in the Majors. They finished 14 games clear in the NL East to lock up their sixth consecutive division title. Atlanta set the record for single-season slugging percentage (.501) and matched the all-time mark for homers (307). Snitker previously took NL Manager of the Year honors in 2018.
AMERICAN LEAGUE MANAGER OF THE YEAR AWARD
Bruce Bochy (Rangers)
Bochy came out of retirement this year and immediately led the Rangers to the playoffs for the first time since 2016, culminating in the franchise’s first World Series title. After finishing the past seven seasons under .500, Texas led the AL West for most of the year and ultimately ended with 90 victories, the club’s most since ‘16. While he now has four World Series titles, this would be only Bochy’s second Manager of the Year Award -- he won the NL award with the 1996 Padres, in his second season as a big league skipper.
Kevin Cash (Rays)
The Rays won 99 games -- one shy of the franchise record -- and made the postseason for the fifth straight year under Cash despite dealing with numerous injuries to their starting rotation. Tampa Bay effectively punched its ticket to October in April as it went 13-0 to begin the year; no team had done that since the 1987 Brewers. This could be Cash’s third time winning this award in the past four seasons.
Brandon Hyde (Orioles)
Despite the Rays’ fast start, Hyde’s Orioles caught them in the standings by late July and went on to capture their first division title since 2014. After losing more than 100 games in three of the previous four full seasons, the Orioles won an AL-best 101 games, the franchise’s most since 1979. No team had more comeback victories than Baltimore (48).