MLB Awards
By ISAAC GALL
Many people say that baseball is “America’s pastime” with the many records that have been set and awards have been earned. Like all sports, MLB has awards that are handed out at the end of every season for performing the best in a specific category. There are nearly 40 different awards handed out each year, but the important ones consist of the National League (NL) and American League (AL) Most Valuable Players (MVP’s). NL and AL Cy Young’s, and the NL and AL Rookie of The Year awards.
This year there are two candidates for the NL MVP award, Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Atlanta Braves, and Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers. For the first time in MLB history, Ronald Acuna Jr. hit 30 home runs and stole 60 bases in a single regular season. These efforts helped lead him and his team to the 2023 Playoffs. This is just another milestone that this young superstar has and will continue to achieve. Mookie also had a great MVP caliber season and set many single season personal bests. His ability to manifest doubles and make great plays in the outfield overall gave the Dodgers a shot at a run in the postseason.
Although both of these NL players had amazing seasons, Acuna’s hot bat and wheels stood out the most to fans. Bellefonte Area High School (BAHS) has many stances on Acuna. Sophomore, Jack Mchail, though not being a Braves fan himself, agrees with this statement.
“Getting to sit down every other night and watch a guy as flashy as Acuna make history has been a blast. It would be a shame if he didn’t come out on top of the MVP voting. Although I am not a Braves fan, it’s still awesome to sit back and watch the show,” Jack said.
For the AL award, there are also two main candidates, Corey Seager of the Texas Rangers and Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels . Corey has had one of the best seasons at the plate for a shortstop throughout this 2023 regular season, and he has not slowed down carrying his team deep into the playoffs. Meanwhile, Shohei has been one of the best dual threat players on the mound and at the plate for the past ten years. This year was nothing less than expected for this generational talent. He continued to strike out batters and hit home runs, though facing adversity along the way. BAHS freshman, Ashten Howell, shares his opinion on Shohei Ohtani and his great season to add onto his Hall of Fame career.
“I like watching a lot of sports but out of all of the crazy things that happen between football, basketball, and baseball, watching Ohtani go out and shut down another MLB team on the mound then go to the plate later that inning and hit like a silver slugger is just awesome. I can’t wait to watch this guy throughout the rest of his career,” Ashten said.
The Cy Young is an award given out to the best pitcher in the the NL and AL. This year the two main candidates for the AL Cy Young award are Felix Bautista of the Baltimore Orioles and Gerrit Cole of the New York Yankees. Felix Bautista is the closer for Baltimore and has had a breakout year during this regular season. He started off as a guy who always threw hard but struggled with accuracy. Once he went to Baltimore, the pitching coaches helped him hone in his talents and transformed him into one of the “nastiest” pitchers in the entire league. His heat and pinpoint location has helped him become a better closer, and has been able to lead his team to the playoffs. Gerrit Cole started off with the Pirates and was a mediocre starter. Then he made the move over to New York and had a transformation. He went from being an above average pitcher to one of the best starters in the MlB. His 2023 regular season was just another one of his great regular seasons that he has been able to produce under the Yankees organization. BAHS freshman, Gavin Lucas, is a fan of Felix Bautista. He has a very positive outlook on him and his future seasons.
“Some of the junk that Bautista can throw with the accuracy that he has is just unreal. It’s obvious why he’s one of the best closers in baseball. He’s just so overpowering. I’m looking forward to seeing whether or not he can maintain this dominance through the next few seasons,” Gavin said.
For the NL award, the two candidates are Devein Williams of the Milwaukee Brewers and Spencer Strider of the Atlanta Braves. Devin Williams has been in the league for a little while now and has gotten increasingly better each season. Now he is one of the best starters in the MLB and led his team into the postseason with his outstanding pitching. Spencer Strider has been labeled as coming out of nowhere in the past two years. He went from being just a guy in the bullpen to being the Braves ace pitcher in the 2023 regular season. With his demanding fastball and his precise location he led his team to the playoffs. BAHS sophomore, Carsen Henry, shares how he sees Strider as a necessity for the Braves team.
“He [Spencer Strider] has been amazing this year and really helped complete the Braves team, with his arm and Acuna’s bats they are pretty much untouchable,” Carsen said.
Overall, this season has been a sight to see. Ohtani has been looking great along with Acuna, Seager, Betts, and all other players are looking to win an MVP award this season. On top of the outstanding performances by position players this year, some pitchers have had some next level seasons such as Bautista, Strider, Williams, and Cole. They are all looking to win themselves the Cy Young award for the 2023 season.
