When will we know which Red Sox players won 2018 MLB season awards?
Several Boston Red Sox players are being considered for 2018 MLB season awards. Here’s the schedule of when the winners will be announced.
The Boston Red Sox have celebrated the pinnacle of team achievements, parading around the city with the World Series trophy in their hands. Winning a championship is the ultimate goal yet there remain certain individual efforts that warrant recognition.
MLB will announce the winners of their 2018 season awards throughout the month of November. While not all of them will necessarily be relevant to the Red Sox, expect a team that led the majors with a franchise record 108 wins before going on to win the World Series to factor heavily in these awards.
On Monday, November 5, the Baseball Writer’s Association of America will reveal the top three finalists for the four major individual awards – MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year. Each of those awards will announce winners on their own set date later this month. There are also scheduled announcement dates for Gold Glove and Silver Slugger that will come first.
When will we find out the winners? We’re here to provide you with all the information you need to know about when the awards will be announced and which ones are pertinent to the Red Sox.
Gold Glove
Sunday, November 4
The Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners will be revealed at 9:00 p.m. on Sunday on ESPN.
The awards recognizing the best defensive players at each position are voted on by the managers in each league, with the caveat that they can’t vote for a player on their own team. These votes are combined with the SABR Defensive Index, which combines five different defensive metrics to rate players on their arm strength, accuracy, range, sure-handedness and the number of “excellent” or “poor” plays they make in the field.
The Red Sox have five finalists for the Gold Glove award. First baseman Mitch Moreland and second baseman Ian Kinsler represent Boston’s infield. Both have won the award in the past and look to do so again in a Red Sox uniform.
The starting outfield trio all made the list of finalists. Mookie Betts has won in right field in each of the last two seasons and is a virtual lock to make it three consecutive wins. Jackie Bradley Jr. has long been known as one of the best defensive center fielders in the game but has shockingly never won a Gold Glove. That’s a testament to the talented pool of center fielders in the American Legaue but this season to be the year JBJ finally gets the nod. Andrew Benintendi is more of a dark horse candidate in left field but his game-saving catch in Game 4 of the ALCS is proof of why he belongs on the ballot.
Sliver Slugger
Thursday, November 8
The Silver Slugger Award, recognizing the top offensive performer at each position, will be announced on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. on MLB Network.
The Red Sox have a couple of obvious candidates. Mookie Betts won the batting title with a .346 average and led the league with a .640 slugging percentage. J.D. Martinez was second in both categories, hitting .330 with a .629 SLG. He was also second in home runs with 43 while leading the league with 130 RBI. There needs to be a serious investigation into the voting process if these two don’t win.
Andrew Benintendi may get some consideration in left field for leading the position with a .366 OBP and 41 doubles. He finished a tick behind Cleveland’s Michael Brantley in most offensive categories though. Voters may also be swayed by the home run and RBI totals of New York’s Giancarlo Stanton or Oakland’s Khris Davis.
Boston’s only other viable candidate is shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who led the league at his position with 45 doubles, 103 RBI and a .883 OPS. Francisco Lindor may steal the award based on his inclusion in the MVP race but a late season fade resulted in Cleveland’s shortstop falling behind Bogaerts in most offensive categories outside of home runs.
Rookie of the Year
Monday, November 12
The Rookie of the Year will be announced at 6:00 p.m. on MLB Network.
This is the only major award where the Red Sox are unlikely to to have a horse in the race. While Boston’s roster is loaded with young talent, none of their top players are rookies. No, not even Rafael Devers. It was his first full season in the big leagues but the 22-year old made enough appearances to exhaust his rookie status in 2017.
Sam Travis and Tzu-Wei Lin are examples of position players who still have rookie status but neither contributed nearly enough this season to warrant a spot on the ballot.
Brian Johnson is still a rookie despite appearing in the big leagues during parts of three seasons. He was 4-5 with a 4.17 ERA working in the rotation and out of the bullpen. Hector Velazquez was 7-2 with a 3.18 ERA in 47 appearances, including eight starts. Neither are viable candidates for the award.
One long-shot candidate could be Ryan Brasier. It’s odd to think of him as a rookie since he debuted in the majors back in 2013 but after a lengthy stint in the minors and overseas in Japan, Brasier returns with his rookie status intact. He posted a stellar 1.60 ERA while establishing himself as one of the more trusted option in the bullpen.
Brasier was excellent in his role this season but he’s not beating out Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani or the Yankees duo of Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar.
Manager of the Year
Tuesday, November 13
The Manager of the Year will be announced at 6:00 p.m. on MLB Network.
This award could be a bit divisive. On the one hand, how do you not give it to Alex Cora? The rookie manager led the Red Sox to a franchise record 108 wins to secure home-field advantage throughout their run to a World Series title.
On the other hand, some will argue that Cora benefited from managing a team with the highest payroll in baseball. He was expected to win. Oakland’s Bob Melvin led the A’s to 97 wins and a Wild Card spot with MLB’s lowest payroll.
It’s not Cora’s fault that he works for owners willing to spend money while Melvin is employed by the notoriously frugal A’s. Boston won consecutive division titles before Cora got here but anyone who watched this team in 2018 can tell the difference his leadership made. His ability to connect with his players and get the most out of them was the difference between an expensive roster that imploded in the first round of the playoffs and a championship team.
Melvin is a great manager in his own right but when a storied franchise like the Red Sox sets a record win total you have to give the nod to Cora.
Cy Young
Wednesday, November 14
The Cy Young Award, recognizing the top pitchers in each league, will be revealed at 6:00 p.m. on MLB Network.
Chris Sale deserves attention on this ballot. He was the league’s most dominant pitcher, going 12-4 with a 2.11 ERA and 13.5 K/9 rate. Unfortunately, his limited workload will hold him back. A pair of stints on the disabled list in the second half resulted in Sale tossing only 158 innings, falling short of the requirement to qualify for the ERA title.
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Meeting an arbitrary innings total isn’t necessarily mandatory for this award. Relievers have won the Cy Young with far fewer innings than Sale pitched this season. However, at least some voters will hold it against him.
Perhaps Sale would have a stronger case if the AL was lacking other viable candidates but that’s hardly the case. Houston’s Justin Verlander was second in the league with 214 innings while producing an impressive 2.52 ERA and league-leading 290 strikeouts. Tampa Bay’s Blake Snell was also limited by injuries but still pitched enough to qualify for a league-leading 1.89 ERA.
Sale was the runner-up for the award last year and has finished in the top-six on the ballot in each of the last six years. He’ll likely enter next year still searching for his first Cy Young but another top-six finish seems assured.
Most Valuable Player
Thursday, November 15
The MVP, awarded to the best all-around performer in each league, will be announced at 6:00 p.m. on MLB Network.
Mookie Betts is the front-runner for the AL MVP. His accomplishments at the plate mentioned in the section on why he should win a Silver Slugger are only the tip of the iceberg. He was one of only two players to join the 30/30 club this season, blasting 32 home runs and swiping 30 bases. As we’ve discussed, he’s also a shoe-in for another Gold Glove. Betts is a five-tool player who contributes in every facet a position player can. He led the majors with a 10.9 WAR, producing one of the best all-around seasons we’ve ever seen by a Red Sox player who isn’t named Yaz or Teddy Ballgame.
J.D. Martinez will also get his fair share of votes after making a run at the Triple Crown. His 130 RBI gave him his only win among the three categories but he finished second in batting average and home runs. More importantly, his presence transformed a Red Sox lineup that underwhelmed the previous season without a true power threat.
Some may still point to Mike Trout as the best player in baseball. Trout could win this award any year but Betts has a solid case for surpassing him. We also have to downgrade Trout to some extent given that his team never sniffed the playoff race down the stretch.
Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez and Francisco Lindor should be in the mix but both faded down the stretch and the voters favor a strong finish.
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The AL MVP will almost certainly come from Boston this year. Martinez is the better hitter, arguably the best hitter in baseball, yet Betts is the better all-around player and therefore worthy of being crowned MVP.