The 2025 MLB season has come to an end, being capped off by the Los Angeles Dodgers winning the World Series for the second consecutive year in a row. What was considered as one of the best overall games of all time in game seven, with the MVP being pitcher, Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
There were a total of 4,860 games this season. Each team gets 162 regular-season games, and there are 30 well-decorated teams. Professional baseball players are already considered the best. There are approximately 34,500 college baseball players in the U.S. with roughly two percent who end up going pro one day.
Of that two percent, some names stand out from the rest. Fans will often hear names like Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper, Shohei Ohtani, and Paul Skenes. All of these players are no strangers to the MLB awards.
The MLB awards come around right after the end of the World Series. It is a ceremony that showcases and rewards the best of the best—coveted awards like the Cy Young Award, which honors the season’s best pitchers. The front-runners for this award in the AL are Hunter Brown of the Houston Astros, Garrett Crochet of the Boston Red Sox, and the favored Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers. For the NL, there is Christopher Sanchez of the Philadelphia Phillies, Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates, and World Series Cchampion and MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Los Angeles Dodgers. It is a very prestigious award that will be won by the most prestigious pitchers.
Another significant award is the Rookie of the Year. Some of the best players in the MLB have won Rookie of the Year. Names such as Mike Trout, Aaron Judge, and Ronald Acuna Jr. this year’s rookie class has some true athletic specimens. For the American League, the candidates are Jacob Wilson of the Sacramento Athletics, Roman Anthony of the Boston Red Sox, and front-runner Nick Kurtz of the Sacramento Athletics. Kurtz has had an electric season with truly a moment to remember when he hit four home runs in a single game against the Houston Astros. On the National League side, there are some greatly talented players that could definitely have a big future in the big leagues. Caleb Durbin of the Milwaukee Brewers, Cade Horton of the Chicago Cubs, and Drake Baldwin of the Atlanta Braves. All these men have made an immediate impact on their roster, paving the way for the new generation of stars.
What is usually considered the ¨main event¨ of the awards is the AL and NL most valuable player. Which awards the most well-rounded players of the season, all around. Many of the greats of the game have won the MVP. Mickey Mantle, Mike Trout, Alex Rodriguez, and Barry Bonds, to name a few. This year has some familiar faces in the MVP spotlight, but some new players have emerged.
For the NL, there is Juan Soto of the New York Mets, Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies, and front-runner Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Many believe that Ohtani should secure the win due to his dominant regular season and his performance in his championship-winning postseason. But there is more competition for him this year including the All-Star Game MVP Kyle Schwarber who is coming off one of his best seasons ever in his illustrious career. But another challenge is in the hands of the man who holds the record for the largest contract signing in sports history, Juan Soto, who is truly a threat to Ohtani´s crown. There is a closer yet controversial race in the AL. This race consists of Jose Ramirez of the Cleveland Guardians, Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees, and Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners. To a degree, the race to most is between Judge and Raleigh. Judge, who is a multi-MVP and a silver slugger, has done almost everything that this sport has to offer. He has been considered to be an MVP candidate every year that he plays. But much like Ohtani, Judge has some competition in ¨Big Dumper” Cal Raleigh. Raleigh had an electric 2025 season where he set the record for most home runs by a switch-hitter and most home runs by a catcher in a single season. Cal ended his 2025 season with 61 home runs. He was two home runs away from breaking the AL record for most home runs in a single season, which currently is held by one of his opponents, Aaron Judge, with 62 home runs in 2022.
All around every single athlete nominated for an award this year deserves every bit of it and will definitely be back in the spotlight soon.
The winners were announced at a point this month.
AL Rookie of the Year: Nick Kurtz
NL Rookie of the Year: Drake Baldwin
AL CY Young: Tarik Skubal
NL CY Young: Paul Skenes
AL MVP: Aaron Judge
NL MVP: Shohei Ohtani
