Final 2015 Esurance MLB award winners unveiled
Joe Maddon Wins Best Manager; Dayton Moore Claims Best Executive
The final 2015 Esurance MLB Awards winners were unveiled today with Joe Maddon of the Chicago Cubs winning Best Manager and Kansas City Royals general manager Dayton Moore taking home the award for Best Executive. The winners will be honored today during a special presentation at the Baseball Winter Meetings in Nashville.
Maddon, in his first season in Chicago, led the Cubs to the NLCS, their first Postseason appearance in seven years, and the third-best regular season record in the Majors at 97-65. Moore, in his 10th season as Kansas City's GM, helped guide the Royals to their first World Series Championship since 1985.
Here is the complete list of winners for the 2015 Esurance MLB Awards, the remainder of which were announced on Nov. 20 during a multi-platform special broadcast on MLB Network and MLB.com:
Best Major Leaguer: Bryce Harper
Best Everyday Player: Bryce Harper
Best Starting Pitcher: Jake Arrieta
Best Rookie: Kris Bryant
Best Defensive Player: Kevin Kiermaier
Best Breakout Player: Jake Arrieta
Best Bounceback Player: Prince Fielder
Best Play, Offense: Jose Bautista's home run in ALDS Game 5
Best Play, Defense: Josh Donaldson's diving catch into the stands
Best Moment: Eric Hosmer's game-tying run in World Series Game 5
Best Performance: Max Scherzer's second no-hitter of the season
Best Social Media Post: @JerrySeinfeld tweet after Mets acquired Yoenis Cespedes
Best Celebrity Fan: Will Ferrell
Best Fan Catch: Cubs fan catching a foul ball in her cup and drinking the beer
Best Call, TV: Vin Scully on the Dodgers' "balk-off" win
Best Call, Radio: Howie Rose on Bartolo Colon's double
Best Player-Fan Interaction: Andrew McCutchen giving his batting gloves to young fans
Best Major Leaguer, Postseason: Wade Davis
Best Video Board Moment: Vin Scully's return for 2016 announced by Magic Johnson and Jimmy Kimmel
Best MLB Interview: Stephen Vogt
Best Trending Topic: Toronto Blue Jays seventh inning of ALDS Game 5
Best Social Media Personality: Chris Archer
Best Manager: Joe Maddon
Best Executive: Dayton Moore
The 2015 Esurance MLB Awards represents a comprehensive award-balloting process based on nearly two months of voting, encompassing the entire awards season. The five different groups of voters - fans, members of the baseball media, club front-office personnel, former MLB players and Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) members - each count for 20% of the winner selection. Winners in each category will receive the trophy known as the GIBBY (Greatness in Baseball Yearly). The Awards are not limited by league affiliation and take Postseason play into consideration. For complete details, visit MLB.com/awards.
Earlier this season, Esurance entered into a multi-year partnership with MLB to become the exclusive auto insurance partner for Major League Baseball as well as the title sponsor of the first-ever all-digital Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot and the Esurance MLB All-Star Game Final Vote, each of which set all-time records for fan voting.