SEATTLE -- Awards season in Major League Baseball is on the horizon, and the palpable anticipation for whether Cal Raleigh will be named the American League Most Valuable Player is nearing its climax.
The Mariners’ catcher was named a finalist for the honor on Monday, along with Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge and Guardians third baseman José Ramírez. The winner will be announced on Nov. 13 on MLB Network.
Additionally, Dan Wilson is a finalist for the AL Manager of the Year Award, along with the Blue Jays’ John Schneider and the Guardians’ Stephen Vogt. That announcement will come on Nov. 11.
These honors -- along with the AL and National League Rookie of the Year Award -- were voted on by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America in the brief period between the end of the regular season and the start of the postseason, meaning no playoff stats/results were considered.
Among the six BBWAA honors, the AL MVP race is expected to be the most closely contested -- and the hottest debated -- as it has been a two-man race between Raleigh and Judge for virtually the entire season. In four of the five unofficial MLB.com polls conducted each month from May on, Raleigh and Judge were Nos. 1 and 2 among the ballots that were cast by a panel of experts, including some BBWAA members.
And the debate has largely boiled down to what voters value most.
Raleigh was arguably the sport’s most prominent storyline in the regular season while breaking one home run record after another en route to 60, pacing the all-time leaderboard for a catcher, switch-hitter and Mariners player. He also played in all but three games, including 128 at the sport’s most demanding position, and he led Seattle to its first AL West title since 2001.
Raleigh also had an AL-best 125 RBIs while posting career bests in batting average (.247), on-base percentage (.359), slugging percentage (.589), OPS (.948) and wRC+ (161, where league average is 100).
The novelty factor could also help Raleigh’s case, as he just finished what’s widely considered the best catching season in history -- for a team that has had limited success throughout its history -- and would be a first-time winner. San Francisco’s Buster Posey was the most recent catcher to win MVP, in the NL in 2012.
Judge, meanwhile, led MLB in every slash line category, with a .331 batting average, .457 on-base percentage, .688 slugging percentage and 1.145 OPS while clubbing 53 homers. He also led the AL in WAR via both FanGraphs (10.1) and Baseball Reference (9.7), while Raleigh ranked second among position players for each, at 9.1 and 7.3, respectively.
A right flexor strain that landed Judge on the 10-day injured list on July 25 also limited him to designated hitter for 27 games upon returning, though he did return to right field for 15 games in September. For the season, Raleigh was a DH in 38 games, while Judge was a DH for 56.
As for Wilson, he’ll look to join his longtime skipper, Lou Piniella (1995, 2001), as the only AL Manager of the Year Award winners in franchise history.
In his first full season, Wilson guided Seattle to a 90-72 record and just its fourth division title. That represented a rebound from each of the two years prior, when the Mariners fell short of heightened expectations and finished as the first team on the outside looking in for the playoffs.
Wilson was widely respected among players for his calm demeanor and patience that was blended with a quiet competitiveness that made him resonate in the clubhouse.