The MLBPA announced their Players Choice Awards today, which were voted on by the players prior to the postseason. Freddie Freeman was the biggest winner, taking home both the NL Player of the Year honor, as well as the NL Outstanding Player Award, which correlates to the MVP. Jose Abreu of the White Sox took home the AL MVP equivalent award. Nelson Cruz was awarded the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award in the American League, while Andrew Dawson won the inaugural Curt Flood Award, given to “a former player, living or deceased, who in the image of Flood demonstrated a selfless, longtime devotion to the Players Association and advancement of Players’ rights.”
Feel free to read their official press release here, and check out the other award winners as voted on by the players below:
AL Outstanding Pitcher: Shane Bieber
NL Outstanding Pitcher: Trevor Bauer
The Outstanding Pitcher award in each league – or the Cy Young equivalent – went to Trevor Bauer of the Reds and Shane Bieber of the Indians. Bieber was a shoo-in as the best pitcher in the American League, but Bauer faced some tough competition in the NL from Jacob deGrom and Yu Darvish.
AL Outstanding Rookie: Kyle Lewis
NL Outstanding Rookie: Jake Cronenworth
Lewis broke out as a star for the Mariners, an important development for him, of course, but also for the Mariners and their rebuild. Lewis hit .262/.364/.437 with 11 home runs and highlight-reel defensive work in centerfield. The 26-year-old Cronenworth came to San Diego as an unheralded pickup from the Rays, but the two-way player focused on his offense in 2020, got regular reps at second base, and emerged as a star. Cronenworth hit .285/.354/.477 in 192 plate appearances while completing the Padres infield picture.
AL Comeback Player: Carlos Carrasco
NL Comeback Player: Daniel Bard
These are both tremendous stories. Carrasco was treated for leukemia last season before returning at the end of the year. This season he returned to his prior form, going 3-4 with a 2.91 ERA/3.59 FIP across 68 innings. Bard, meanwhile, hadn’t pitched in the majors since 2013, retiring in 2017. He discovered renewed velocity while coaching, then came back to become the Rockies’ closer by the end of 2020. He made 23 appearances with a 3.65 ERA/3.64 FIP with 6 saves. Many have tried and failed to provide steady relief in Colorado, so for Bard to come back where he did is particularly impressive.
The traditional awards that we tend to reference throughout the years are released by the Baseball Writer’s Association of America. They announced their reveal dates today as well: November 11th for the Cy Young and November 12th for MVP.
MVFreeman
Give it to tatis, first base is too easy
oh please. Yes he deserves some votes, but not first place
No MVP to anyone with that ridiculous hair. That’s the rule! That said, Tatis has certainly lived up to expectations so far, but I have no issue with Freeman getting it, and Betts should get consideration as well.
If it’s anything but tatis for mvp and cronenworth for roy then it is confirmed mlb has bias against San Diego
What is wrong with his hair?
Any why would it have any importance in determining his MVP consideration?
Did you really take that seriously? That’s adorable. If you were sitting next to me I would gently pat you on the head.
It seems like you have a bias for the Padres because Freeman should win this by a landslide if we are going strictly based on statistics. There isn’t really a close 2nd. Now if we are giving it away to a guy who draws attention with his playing style while also perform ok, then yes … FT Jr gets it. But on pure #’s it’s not even close
Yeaaaaa Freeman had a better year. 1.100 ops is undeniable compared to Tatis’ .930. Tatis had a great year and got plenty of attention, and Freeman had an amazing year with less attention.
Yea, you don’t typically win the MVP with a .277 average unless your slugging .700. Even then Freeman would still have the stronger numbers. According to OPS+ Freeman was about 36% better with the bat the Tatis Jr. in 2020.
Tatis sucked hard for an extended period of the season so he’s certainly no mvp
Tatis wasn’t even the best shortstop in the league. Big fade despite a woefully short schedule.
Tatis will have at least a few MVP awards in his trophy case before he’s done. Remember he’s only 21.
About time Freeman got some love. No way the Braves go that deep into the postseason without him.
It’s interesting seeing players interact on the base paths and it seems like Freeman is respected by everyone.
All were well deserved
I believe that you meant to write Andre Dawson
I’ll get a MLBTR subscription if they finally hire some copy editors.
Until then you’ll just freeload?
I mean, it’s a free site.
I love the new recognition for Flood, and Dawson is a deserving first recipient for the award.
Andrew Dawson, aka “the Falcon”, my favorite player on that ’87 Cubs World Championship team
I thought he was on the ’87 Bears
The Hawk -never heard of a falcon is nickname
*Facepalm emoji*
He and Ryan Sandberg were my two favorite players.
Yep, 4th best RF in the NL that year.
or maybe Andrea Dawson, the Titmouse…
Yay! Bauer! What about the Roberto Clemente Awards? Shin-Soo Choo needs it.
What is the Marvin Miller award for please?
It’s right there in the press release.
Both comeback player stories are incredible. Great to see Carrasco back to full health, baseball is a bonus.
Wait MLBPA is giving out awards??? Lmao so 60 games they give awards after telling fans they hope they die ala Blake Snell……
Dj lemahieu should have won… plays 3 positions gold glove caliber, leads majors in hitting, with all Yankees injuries, where are they without him??
Oh and by the way Luke voit should have been close as well, maybe not the winner but close. The numbers he put up, and injured most the last 2 months…
I suggest all awards always go to Yankee players. I also suggest that the Yankees be declared the default winner of every game they play. If fact, all other teams should be disbanded, leaving the Yankees as the only team in the major leagues. What do you think, Bigtimeyankeefan?
Oh look, a Yankees homer and a Red Sox hater going at, who’da thunk it?
Aren’t those the same thing?
All I’ll say to realsox is just look at the numbers
“Yo, Braves, I’m really happy for you, I’mma let you finish, but you still lost the NLCS.”
Well..25 other teams finished worse, so.. *shrugs*
“MVP equivalent award. Nelson Cruz was awarded the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award”
That’s appropriate. Marvin Miller was a huge voice in preventing baseball from doing tests in order to have a cleaner game. When Fehr capitulated to Congressional demands that testing was necessary, Miller blew a gasket.
How is wil Myers not the pick for nl come back player ?
Because Bard came back from an enormously lower low. Myers and Rosenthal would have been good candidates in a year without such a great comeback story.
Because of Daniel Bard’s story. Any other year Myers probably would have won or come close.
These golden glove nominations didn’t even include Freddie Freeman in the top three. I believe that makes them irrelevant
Solely based on defensive metrics this year. Belt had a better DRS and TZ.
And Rizzo is a fine choice to win. He will probably be the only Cub to win.
Another year, another Refsnyder snub.
No rave reviews here.
I wonder if Bohm wins Rookie of the Year had the Phillies made the playoffs. Cronenworth was very deserving but he tailed off at the end of the season right when Bohm kept improving. Can’t go wrong with either pick in my opinion, but I think Bohm wins if he has an October appearance.
love the appreciation for Abreu
That’s bullcrap al rookie of the year should definitely be willi Castro from the tigers his numbers are better than Kyle Lewis for sure besides homeruns and Definitely shouldn’t matter if you were on a bad team or not.
#Run-onRodney
Freeman should win MVP without a question and there truly isn’t a close 2nd. Anyone voting for anyone besides Freeman is voting purely on the story rather they the impact they made with their performance on the baseball field. And anyone who attempts to argue the defensive metrics needs to go away.
Again this comment showcases the common casual fan. Overvaluing offense over everything else. Chicks and chads dig the long ball.
Tatis Jr. should win MVP without a question and there truly isn’t a close 2nd. Anyone voting for anyone besides Tatis Jr. is voting purely on the story rather they the impact they made with their performance on the baseball field. And anyone who attempts to argue the offensive metrics needs to go away.
I’m not saying it’s a clear cut winners the same argument could be made for betts who has the best war with a 3.4 compared to freeman 2.9 and tatis 2.2. Looking solely at ops + gives the edge to freeman but again baseball is both sides of the ball and theres a reason why betts is up for the gold glove in right field.
https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/leaderboard/percentile-rankings?type=batter&year=2020&team=&sort=1&sortDir=asc
I prefer using Statcast, as it is owned and used by MLB as opposed to baseball reference and similar websites.
Freeman was the best offensively overall, Tatis Jr. was the best defensively and in barreling up the baseball, whilst Betts was probably the best well rounded player (just above Trea Turner by defense alone).
Everyone has their own lenses though, so I’m not preaching the universal truth but instead my own opinion.
I agree the argument for betts or tatis, but Freeman is just a bat although a great one his impact in the field is pretty non existent. Betts literally saved Dodgers in playoffs against freeman and Braves!
The fact that you used WAR pretty much voids your opinion since it’s a made up stat that can’t be proven.
Plus, if you think GG first baseman don’t have an impact, you know nothing about the game. I’m sure the pitchers and infielders appreciate the great plays and all the errors saved and the runs they keep off the board.
How many balls do 1st basemen scoop out of the dirt, pick errant throws? The semi wild throws from shortstops and 3rd basemen wouldn’t be highlights if it wasn’t for the 1st basemen adjusting to the throw.
First, y’all are placing way too much value on defense. 2nd, y’all are undervaluing Freeman defense. Freeman was a difference maker on the field for the braves this year, yes I understand he’s not an OF or SS, but at the professional level, most players are decent defensively but the same can’t be said with the bat. From what I can see, only betts might have the defense that might help lift is lack of offensives productions (compared to Freeman, because betts still killed it) to make it an argument. Tatis just didn’t perform with the bat at the same lvl and although his glove is good, it’s not enough to justify the lack of production at the plate to be an MVP. If I have to get off my homer train, it’s betts or Freeman… but even then Freeman’s production was just sooooooo good I can’t justify Betts defense enough to say he’s an mvp.
This league really overvalues offense over being the best overall player. Betts gets no love when he was clearly the best in baseball, making crazy catches, hitting, stealing and hitting homers. Respect to Freddie, but Mlb is becoming a 1 dimensional sport.
Betts gets no love? Betts got $365MM in love. That’s Trout love. That’s plenty. That’s enough.
Yea, there are 365 million reasons your statement is completely false and quite outrageous. You’re placing too much value on defense. Yes, betts is great. But runs are what win games. There is no way he has betts has saved enough runs with his glove to justify the clear difference in offensive production between him and betts. Yes, MVP should consider both defense and offensive production… but as a cumulative whole… not a equal weighted avg. Unless there is no other option, there is a reason teams don’t start guys who are amazing with the glove but are literally an automatic out at the plate for the entire season on the entire roster. However, they do play bats that can produce when defense is a real concern for those players. It’s because defense isn’t equally as important as offense…
In a ceremony conducted at the empty Polaroid Theater in Hollywood for later broadcast on FOX.
The winners of the following awards as follows….
Cheatum if you cant Beatum Award
Winner-The entire 2020 Houston Astros team.
The Randy Watson Award for Best Hair….
Fernando Tatis Mr. Tatis also scored a lifetime supply Soul Glo. And front seats to a future Randy Watson Concert.
The Drano “Clog Up The Base Path Award”
Winner- Albert Pujols (5th year in a row)
The Ron Burgundy “San Diego Hates Your Guts Award”
Winner- Dodger Manager Dave Roberts.
(Last years winner Will Meyers not was present to hand out the award)
Freeman was Player of the Year (as in, all of MLB) not NL Player of the Year. How would that even differ from NL Outstanding Player?
Met Andre Dawson when I was a kid. It was at the Big O. The Hawk stood and talked to me about my little league team for several minutes. Class guy and great choice for such an award.
What I want to know is, Who is the imbecil at Rawlings that dropped the XL Deuce in the punch bowl by picking Brandon Belt over Freddie ?
If MLB went an entire season, maybe TBR Randy Arozarena and PIT Ke’Bryan Hayes are ROY. This is my Rookie All-Star Team:
C OAK Sean Murphy
1B LAA Jared Walsh
2B SDP Jake Cronenworth
3B PHI Alec Bohm
SS DET Willi Castro
OF SEA Kyle Lewis
OF BAL Ryan Mountcastle
OF CHI Luis Robert
SP ATL Ian Anderson
RP MIL Devin Williams
Interesting, who would fill out the rest of your rotation, bullpen and bench?
Freeman: thank you Ozuna