Jeter's farewell receives seven GIBBY nominations

NEW YORK -- Derek Jeter's final tour, Masahiro Tanaka's stellar arrival and Dellin Betances' breakout campaign are among the memorable Yankees moments of this past season that have been selected to be nominated for MLB.com's Greatest in Baseball Yearly (GIBBY) Awards.

Jeter's exit after 20 seasons in the spotlight earned seven nods in four different categories -- including the captain acknowledging the fans during his last All-Star Game at Target Field, the early September ceremonies honoring him at Yankee Stadium and, of course, his game-winning single against the Orioles on Sept. 25.

"I couldn't believe what had happened," Jeter said then. "I've been a part of a lot of big moments in my career. I've been fortunate and lucky to be on the field, and that was just another one. I couldn't have thought of a better way for it to end in New York."

The Yankees' April 17 triple play on a ball hit by the Rays' Sean Rodriguez earned recognition as a candidate for the year's top Play: third baseman Yangervis Solarte to second baseman Brian Roberts to first baseman Scott Sizemore, with CC Sabathia pitching.

There are off-beat items included, like eccentric infielder Brendan Ryan catching raindrops in his mouth (Oddity) and an appearance by Jeter's nephew, Jalen, whose adorable cap tips highlighted this year's Cut4 topics.

Major League Baseball's A-listers will take home 2014 GIBBY trophies -- the ultimate honors of the industry's awards season -- based on votes by media, front-office personnel, MLB alumni, fans at MLB.com and the Society for American Baseball Research.

This year's GIBBY Awards feature nominees in 25 categories. Individual honors will go to the MLB MVP, in addition to the year's best starting pitcher, hitter, closer, setup man, rookie, breakout hitter, breakout pitcher, bounceback player, defensive player, manager, executive and postseason performer.

GIBBY trophies also will be awarded for the year's top regular-season play, outfield throw, storyline, hitting performance, pitching performance, oddity, walk-off, Cut4 topic, regular-season moment, postseason storyline, postseason walk-off and postseason play. Fans can watch these and more by accessing MLB.com's Must C highlight reels.

In the past several seasons, fans have cast millions of votes across the GIBBY categories, none of which is restricted to individual league affiliation. That's how you know the GIBBYs consider the best of the best.

All 30 clubs are represented among the award candidates, a fact many consider to be a testament to the competitive balance around the game.

Fans can vote as many times as they want through Nov. 21 at 11:59 p.m. ET by visiting mlb.com/gibbys, and winners will be announced live on the MLB Network and MLB.com on Dec. 6.

Tanaka and Betances are both mentioned as candidates for this year's top Rookie, and Betances is included in the Setup Man category.

"It's been a long, long journey for me coming up the Minor League system," Betances said, "and for me to have the year I've had this year, I'm definitely honored and thankful."

Jeter's farewell is listed among the year's best Storylines -- and three Moments focus on Jeter: the All-Star Game, the Sept. 7 date at Yankee Stadium in Jeter's honor and Jeter's last home game on Sept. 25.

Jeter's game-winning single off the Orioles' Evan Meek in his final home game draws a nomination as the best Walk-Off of the year. Jeter's final nomination is of the light-hearted variety, when he answered the ringing cell phone of Bergen Record columnist Tara Sullivan during a press conference.

"I'm ready for my career to be over with," Jeter said, "so I tried to have as much fun as I could."

Several categories -- Play, Oddity, Walk-Off and Cut4 Topic -- opened balloting with at least one nominee per club. After a week of voting, the four lists were trimmed to 10 finalists per group by a panel.