Commentary: Our 2020 Season Award Winners
Well, we finally did it. After the uncertainty of the Spring Training shutdown, the long, drawn-out labor negotiations of the summer, and the rocky re-start to the 2020 season, we have made it through the 60-game regular season and have moved on to the postseason. And while this is a time to look forward to the Fall Classic and speculate on who will win the championship (you can check out our predictions here), it is also a time for looking back on the season that was and answering that age-old question: which players were the best? Here, we attempt to answer that question by giving you our picks for the Rookie of the Year, Cy Young and MVP awards for both leagues.
American League
Rookie of the Year: Kyle Lewis, SEA
Coming into this season, this award was basically Luis Robert’s to lose. But while it’s unfair to say that Robert lost it (he was still great for most of this season), it’s also unfair to say he had a better season than Kyle Lewis. Sure, Robert’s tough end to the season definitely helped swing things in Lewis’s favor, but even then, Lewis has sustained a very high level of performance and production throughout the season that would make him an easy pick for the award. He struck out less than Robert, walked way more, posted a nearly identical slugging percentage, and also produced on offense at a rate 25% better than Robert. All this while producing highlight reel catches on a regular basis in the field. Does he have as high of a ceiling as Robert? Probably not. But he damn sure outplayed him this season, and he deserves this award. Besides, thanks to this weird season, Robert can just go win it next year anyway.
Cy Young: Shane Bieber
In the American League, only six players have managed to win the Cy Young Award unanimously: Denny McClain, Ron Guidry, Roger Clemens, Pedro Martinez, Johan Santana, and Justin Verlander. Shane Bieber will be adding his name to this list in the next couple of weeks. I mean, realistically, who else can you pick? In terms of WAR, no other AL pitcher is within a win of him (Bieber is at 3.2, Greinke and Maeda are both at 2.1). He led MLB in strikeouts, innings pitched, ERA, and FIP. Hell, he’s probably going to get some MVP votes when this is all said and done. He was, for all intents and purposes, the most dominant pitcher of 2020, and he should be rewarded as such.
MVP: Jose Ramirez
The AL MVP race had been pretty wide open for most of the year, with no true frontrunners breaking through for the first ¾ of the season. Then, along came Mr. Home Run Pitch. Through his first 44 games, he had already put together a really good season. He had accumulated 2.0 fWAR, good enough for 15th in MLB and .4 wins away from the AL leader. But after September 12th, he started going on an absolute rampage, accumulating 1.4 fWAR in 14 games (most in that span) as well as 6 homers and a .906 SLG. Afterwards, he found himself as the most valuable player in the AL and tied at the top of MLB. Frankly, there are a lot of deserving recipients for this award that I would be perfectly okay with seeing: Jose Abreu is a good pick, as is Anthony Rendon or Mike Trout. But for me, I have to go with the guy who was able to break away from that pack and finish out stronger than anyone, and that’s Ramirez.
National League
Rookie of the Year: Jake Cronenworth, SD
This was a lot tougher of a choice than I thought it would be. Alec Bohm is certainly going to get a few first place votes thanks to his offensive production (and a little help from BABIP luck), and even though he only had 24 games, Ke’Bryan Hayes turned a lot of heads by leading all NL rookies in fWAR. But for my money, I’m going with the guy who had the best overall contributions to his ballclub, and that’s Cronenworth. In his 54 games with San Diego this year, he has proven himself to be a secret weapon that can play every infield position at an above average level (2.7 Def) and hit well enough to fill in at DH (.285/.354/.477, 125 wRC+). Similar to Lewis, his tools might not be the best on their own, but he has found a way to do nearly everything well, and that’s what really sets him apart. He wins this award not because he’s the best hitter or the best defender in his class, but because he’s been the best player (or at least the best player who played the whole season, sorry Ke’Bryan).
Cy Young: Yu Darvish, CHC
Look, I get it. Bauer is the popular choice here. His ERA and his strikeout rates are both really great, and he’s certainly garnered a ton of attention this year. But here’s the thing: for as good as Bauer has been, Darvish has been even better. While Bauer does have him on ERA (1.73 and 2.01, respectively) and strikeout rate (12.33, 11.01), Darvish has walked fewer batters (1.66 BB/9 compared to Bauer’s 2.10), given up way fewer home runs (HR/9: 0.59, 1.11), gotten way more ground balls (GB%: 43.2%, 34.4%), and, most importantly, posted a way better FIP (2.23, 2.88). And this doesn’t even mention the fact that Darvish posted the second-highest pitcher fWAR in baseball and was half a win (!) more valuable that Bauer this season. So while Bauer is likely going to win because he has the flashy stats, the numbers overall show that Darvish has been the best pitcher in the National League this year.
MVP: Freddie Freeman, ATL
Honestly, it’s about damn time. Over the past decade, Freeman has been one of the most consistently great players in the major leagues, but yet his success has never seemed to translate into hardware. He finished second in the 2011 Rookie of the Year voting to his own teammate. He somehow only won his first Silver Slugger award last season. Similarly, he has only received one Gold Glove for his defense. And naturally, he has finished in the top 10 four separate times for MVP voting. But finally, after all those years, it’s time for the bridesmaid to become the bride. Yes, it happened in a 60-game season, but that doesn’t change the fact that Freeman has been the best player in the National League in 2020. Anytime you can hit .341/.462/.640 (187 wRC+) at the plate with above-average defense on the field, it’s usually hard for anyone to beat you. This definitely came through in his fWAR, which was best in the NL by nearly half a win. If he does end up winning, as he should, this will be an MVP that was a long time coming and very well-deserved.