The finalists for Major League Baseball’s major awards, including the MVP, Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year, were announced Monday.
Voting was conducted at the end of the regular season and the winners will be announced next week, beginning Nov. 14. The World Series champion Chicago Cubs, Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers led the way with four nominees each.
Perhaps the most noticeable omissions were Baltimore Orioles closer Zach Britton, who was not a finalist for the American League Cy Young Award despite having 47 saves and an 0.54 ERA, and Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who missed a large portion of the season with a back injury and is not among the Cy Young Award finalists in the National League despite a 12-4 record and 1.69 ERA.
New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez played in just 53 games this season but was a finalist for American League Rookie of the Year after belting 20 homers.
The nominees are as follows:
–AL MVP: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels center fielder; Jose Altuve, Houston Astros shortstop; Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox second baseman/outfielder.
–NL MVP: Kris Bryant, Chicago Cubs third baseman/outfielder; Corey Seager, Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop; Daniel Murphy, Washington Nationals second baseman.
–AL Cy Young Award: Boston Rick Porcello, Boston Red Sox; Corey Kluber, Cleveland Indians; Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers.
–NL Cy Young Award: Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals; Kyle Hendricks, Chicago Cubs; Jon Lester, Chicago Cubs.
–AL Rookie of the Year: Michael Fulmer, Detroit Tigers pitcher; Gary Sanchez, New York Yankees catcher; Tyler Naquin, Cleveland Indians outfielder.
–NL Rookie of the Year: Kenta Maeda, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher; Corey Seager, Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop; Trea Turner, Washington Nationals shortstop/outfielder.
–AL Manager of the Year: Jeff Bannister, Texas Rangers; Terry Francona, Cleveland Indians; Buck Showalter, Baltimore Orioles.
–NL Manager of the Year: Dusty Baker, Washington Nationals; Joe Maddon, Chicago Cubs; Dave Roberts, Los Angeles Dodgers.