Hoo boy, awards fans, we have some catching up to do. Since our last links post, we’ve gotten the biggest award winners of the season. On Wednesday, the Cy Young Awards were announced, and Tarik Skubal
won for the second year in a row in the AL, while Paul Skenes of the Pirates won for the NL accolades. Then on Thursday night, the MVP Awards were announced. While Cal Raleigh’s home run streak made for great press and got him a lot of votes, Aaron Judge once again took the AL honors, and there should be no surprise that Shohei Ohtani got the win in the NL. It’s back-to-back wins for Judge (who has three total,) and Ohtani won his third in a row, fourth overall.
As a bonus, it’s time for our annual rundown of some of the most insane things Scott Boras has said to kick off the offseason, and he most certainly isn’t disappointing. It’s early Christmas for anyone who loves a bad pun, a Dad joke, or some truly insane philosophizing. Let’s get into some of the highlights.
(There’s a direct link to the above Bluesky post if you’re unable to view on your browser.)
Let’s get into the rest of today’s links!
- Emmanuel Clase of the Guardians was arrested at JFK airport following his indictment as part of the Guardians’ betting scandal. Story by Aaron Katersky.
- Anthony Castrovince reports on the back-to-back MVP wins for Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani.
- Jay Jaffe makes a Hall of Fame case for Jeff Kent.
- Mike McDaniel and Tom Dierberger look at just how close Cal Raleigh got to getting the AL MVP nod this year.
- Some AL MVP voters explain their decisions for either Judge or Raleigh. (The Athletic subscription required.)
- Brendan Gawlowski assesses what NL teams are doing to prepare for the 40-man roster crunch.
- Liam McKeone list every player who got a single MVP vote.
- Davy Andrews looks at the plate discipline of Joey Bart.
- Was Aaron Judge cosplaying The Rock when he accepted his MVP Award? Story byAnd tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so. Stephen Douglas.
- Michael Baumann looks at the free agent market for shortstops and how teams have filled the need in recent years.
- David Laurila brings us insider gossip from the GM Meetings.
And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.
