I haven’t written much about the MLB season this summer — maybe because my beloved Cardinals have been terrible. This is the team’s first losing season since 2007 and only the 16th time since 1900 they’ve lost 90 games (or more) in a single season. For context, the Seattle Mariners have had 15 such seasons since their inception in 1977. It’s been a good run and we’ll be back.

Despite the struggles of the Redbirds, this season has been full of some pretty amazing storylines. Individually, we have been treated to historic seasons from the likes of Shohei Ohtani, Ronald Acuna, and Mookie Betts. We’ve seen prime versions of Matt Olson and Gerrit Cole. Rookies like Gunnar Henderson and Corbin Carroll look like they are poised to lead their teams for the next 10 years. And at a team level, the Orioles arrived ahead of schedule while the Braves, Dodgers, and Rays keep plowing ahead with the same dominance we all expected. It’s been a great regular season and I’m looking forward to the postseason.

Here is my breakdown of the award winners in both leagues — at least the most deserving winners in my opinion.

AL MVP: Shohei Ohtani

A year ago, despite Aaron Judge’s record-breaking season for the Yankees, I was saying Ohtani was the most valuable player in the game, maybe of all time. His game-changing power in the batter’s box, coupled with his emergence as a premium, All Star caliber starting pitcher, simply puts him in a category all by himself. Not since Babe Ruth has the sport seen such multi-faceted dominance — and remember, Ruth never played integrated ball, never had to travel coast to coast, never had to hit a slider. Shohei Ohtani is simply the best baseball player I have ever seen and during this unprecedented run of two-way excellence from 2021-23, he should’ve been the unanimous MVP winner three times in a row.

But chicks still love the longball and Judge won the AL MVP award last season on the strength of his 62 home runs and the Yankees’ AL East title. And yet, somehow, Ohtani was even better in 2022 than he was when he took the sport by storm in his MVP season of 2021.

And somehow, he was even better in 2023.

After suffering a second MAJOR elbow injury, nobody knows if we will ever see this version of Shohei Ohtani again. He’s had the internal brace operation (the less invasive of the two procedures commonly called “Tommy John surgery”), but I’d be shocked if we see him on the mound at all in 2024. He continues to be the best DH in the game but his historic value has always been linked to his ability to both hit and hurl 100MPH baseballs with limitless aplomb. Still, the dude hasn’t played a game in nearly a month and he still leads the AL in homers. And his pitching rate stats are still elite.

Not since Ozzie Smith (my childhood baseball idol) has a baseball player inspired more awe in me. Ohtani should win this award in a landslide.

NL MVP: Ronald Acuna

If I could have it my way, Acuna would share this award with his fellow leadoff man Mookie Betts. But if I have to pick one, as much as I love Mookie (who has a legitimate MVP case in his own right), I’d have to select Acuna and his historic 40 HR / 70 SB season. In fact, Acuna is the only man in the 40 / 50, 40 / 60, AND 40 / 70 clubs. That’s impressive.

So is this: no other player in the long history of the game has a 40 homer season AND a 70 steal season in their career. Acuna did both of those things this year.

Acuna leads the league in a host of categories: hits, runs, OBP, OPS, and total bases. He is the offensive catalyst for the best offense in baseball. MVP cases are built upon such narratives and that’s why Acuna should win this award.

But over the last few months, Mookie Betts has somehow asserted himself into this discussion. At the All Star break, I felt as strongly about Acuna’s case for NL MVP as I did (and still do) about Ohani’s in the AL. But Betts has a strong case as well, with over 100 RBI from the leadoff spot, which is historic in it’s own right — although Acuna has also accomplished this feat this season. Betts also has 80 extra base hits. His overall offensive numbers aren’t quite at the same level as Acuna’s, but Mookie’s value is multiplied by his defensive superiority and versatility. Betts has been playing Gold Glove defense in RF for years but this year, he’s logged over 550 innings in the middle infield as well. This versatility has afforded Dodgers manager Dave Roberts the luxury of a wider set of matchup advantages and — coupled with Betts’ offensive production — gives Mookie the slight edge over Acuna in WAR (wins against replacement). I don’t know how many voters will give Mookie an edge based on all of this, but it’s possible.

Like I said in the opening paragraph, I’d love to award both men for these amazing seasons. But if I had to pick one over the other, I’d have to give the slight edge to Acuna.

AL Cy Young: Gerrit Cole

Did you know that Gerrit Cole has never won a Cy Young award? I heard that this week and my first thought was, “That’s not true.” But sure enough, he’s never won the coveted award. In fact, when you look over the AL Cy Young winners from the last 10-15 years, you see a couple of surefire Hall of Famers (Scherzer, Verlander) but lots of “one year wonders” like Robbie Ray, Dallas Keuchel, and Rick Porcello. How does Rick Porcello have a Cy Young and Gerrit Cole doesn’t?

[Sidebar: Who is the worst player to win a Cy Young award? My gut says Porcello is a pretty solid answer to the question; career WAR of 18.8. Willie Hernandez is on this Mount Rushmore as well, with his career WAR of 16.5. Same for Steve Bedrosian and his 14 WAR. (What was it with these closers winning Cy Young Awards in the 80s?) Pat Hentgen was pretty mediocre. Did you actually remember him as the 1996 AL Cy Young Award winner? Neither did I.]

Anyway, this ought to be the year Cole is finally rewarded for his excellence. Kevin Gausman and Luis Castillo deserve some down ballot votes but this award should go to Cole.

NL Cy Young: Blake Snell???

This will be an interesting call for the award voters. On the one hand, Snell stands out due to the fact that he leads the National League in WAR for pitchers. He leads the league in ERA. He has allowed the fewest hits per 9/IP of any qualified NL pitcher. He is second in the league in K per 9/IP and overall strikeouts. And for the last several months, he’s been virtually unhittable: over his last 23 starts, Snell is 13-3 with a 1.20 ERA, having allowed 19 earned runs. That’s insane.

But the guy also leads the league in walks. Which doesn’t completely undermine his Cy Young candidacy. But it’s definitely weird. He’s also not a volume pitcher compared to some of his fellow NL hurlers. It’s telling that he Snell has only faced 11 batters after the sixth inning this year. That’s just crazy.

So while Snell is far from a perfect choice, it’s difficult to come up with compelling reasons to vote for someone else. Spencer Strider looked the part for the first half, but he’s come back to earth quite a bit. Clayton Kershaw was rolling toward his first Cy hardware in nearly a decade before his back flared up (again) and cost him a month and a half. Logan Webb? Zac Gallen? Zack Wheeler? Justin Steele? All have had nice seasons, but not Cy Young worthy.

In the end, I think the award should probably go to Snell, partially on the basis of his performance and partially because there’s really no legitimate argument to be made for any other NL starter.

AL Rookie of the Year: Gunnar Henderson

I would be really tempted to vote for Tanner Bibee (pronounced “Bybee”) — for obvious reasons. Over 140 big league innings, Bibee has posted a 10-4 W-L record with 141 strikeouts and a 2.98 ERA. And kudos to the pitching factory that is the Guardians organization. They just keep churning out elite arms.

But Gunnar Henderson has been a mainstay for an Orioles club that has come out of nowhere to win 100 games and claim the AL East title. On the last weekend of the regular season, Henderson has 28 HR, 82 RBI, and 99 runs scored while playing third and shortstop for a division champ. He’s the easy choice for AL Rookie of the Year.

NL Rookie of the Year: Corbin Carroll

Start with 25 HR. Add 52 stolen bases. 116 runs scored. 153 games played (and counting) and a possible postseason berth. Other than Ohtani, this should be the easiest vote among the major awards this winter.

Managers of the Year: Brandon Hyde and Brian Snitker

In the American League, I hope Bruce Bochy garners some major love for what he’s done with the Texas Rangers this season. Despite all their pitching injuries, Boch still has the Rangers in a prime spot. But Hyde deserves this award. Nobody saw the O’s ascent happening for another year or two. What a masterful job by Hyde.

In the National League, Craig Counsell is so good in Milwaukee. He’s just steady and he manages a bullpen better than anyone in the league. But you have to acknowledge what Snitker is doing down in Atlanta. That lineup would make a lot of managers look like geniuses. But in the end, somebody has to manage all of those personalities and it’s evident that Snitker knows how to get the best out of his players. The Braves are the best team in baseball and it’s really not even close.