The Cubs were among the most decorated teams last season, becoming the first club since the 2001 Mariners to win three of the four Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards.
Two of those award recipients -- National League Rookie of the Year Kris Bryant and NL Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta -- were at the New York Hilton on Saturday night for the Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards presented by Esurance to accept their hardware.
• MLB's best brave snow for BBWAA event
NL Manager of the Year Joe Maddon was unable to make it to New York for the ceremony due to the weather, which forced BBWAA to scale down the annual public event to a private ceremony.
"It really is an honor," Bryant said while accepting his honor. "There's a lot of guys deserving of this award, and a lot of them were on my team."
Arrieta enjoyed the best season of his career in 2015, going 22-6 with a 1.77 ERA. He was nearly unhittable in the second half of the season, going 12-1 with an ERA of 0.75 in 15 starts after the All-Star break, including two shutouts and an Aug. 30 no-hitter at Dodger Stadium. His second-half ERA was the lowest since the All-Star Game began in 1933.
In his acceptance speech, the 29-year-old right-hander offered family anecdotes, talked of his early-career struggles with the Orioles and thanked the Cubs for the opportunity to reach his potential.
"A lot of early struggles, a lot of difficult moments, but those times of failure, as everybody on this stage knows, are the times you really learn the most about yourself as a person and as a player," Arrieta said. "I'm very thankful to both organizations, Baltimore and Chicago, for all the opportunities they were able to give me."
Bryant was a unanimous NL Rookie of the Year selection after batting .275/.369/.488 in his debut season. He led all rookies with 99 RBIs, 31 doubles and 87 runs scored. His 26 home runs were tied with the Dodgers' Joc Pederson for most among rookies.
Bryant also joined Hall of Famer Ted Williams as the only players in Major League history to record at least 26 homers, 99 RBIs, 31 doubles, 97 runs and 77 walks in his rookie season.
"I've had some time this offseason to kind of sit back and look back on the season and how fun and exciting it was," Bryant said. "I can honestly say it was the best year of my life. My dream of becoming a professional Major Leaguer came true, and to not just become a Major Leaguer, but to play well and play well for my team and make it to the playoffs. So many good things came our way."