LOS ANGELES — They were still sweeping up the confetti from Monday’s parade and World Series championship celebration when baseball’s awards season kicked into gear.
Finalists for the major awards were announced with Shohei Ohtani a finalist (and the favorite) to win his third consecutive MVP award and fourth in the past five seasons.
A fourth MVP award would separate Ohtani from three other players who won three times (Albert Pujols, Mike Trout and Alex Rodriguez). Only one player has won more than four MVPs – seven-time winner Barry Bonds.
Coming off his 50/50 season in 2024, Ohtani returned, going 1-1 with a 2.87 ERA in 14 starts on the mound. At the plate, Ohtani hit .282, was second in the National League in home runs (55), second in the majors in OPS (1.014) and led everyone with 146 runs scored.
The other finalists for the NL MVP were Philadelphia Phillies DH Kyle Schwarber and New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto.
Additionally, Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto is one of three finalists for the NL Cy Young Award along with Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes (the favorite) and Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sanchez.
Before his postseason heroics, Yamamoto was 12-8 with a 2.49 ERA (second in the NL only to Skenes’ major MLB-leading 1.97) and an 0.99 WHIP, tied for second behind Skenes.
As expected, Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh and New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge (a two-time winner) were finalists for AL MVP. They are joined by Cleveland Guardians third baseman José Ramírez.
The AL Cy Young finalists are 2024 winner Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers, the Houston Astros’ Hunter Brown and Garrett Crochet of the Boston Red Sox.
Winners of the MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year awards will be announced next week.
Here are the three finalists for each of the awards that were announced on Monday:
NL MVP
Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers
Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies
Juan Soto, New York Mets
AL MVP
Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners
José Ramírez, Cleveland Guardians
NL Cy Young
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers
Cristopher Sánchez, Phillies
Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates
AL Cy Young
Hunter Brown, Houston Astros
Garrett Crochet, Boston Red Sox
Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers
NL Rookie of the Year
Drake Baldwin, Atlanta Braves
Caleb Durbin, Milwaukee Brewers
Cade Horton, Chicago Cubs
AL Rookie of the Year
Roman Anthony, Red Sox
Nick Kurtz, A’s
Jacob Wilson, A’s
NL Manager of the Year
Terry Francona, Cincinnati Reds
Pat Murphy, Brewers
Rob Thomson, Phillies
AL Manager of the Year
John Schneider, Toronto Blue Jays
Stephen Vogt, Guardians
Dan Wilson, Mariners