Manny Machado has been one of baseball's most dynamic offensive players over the last three seasons. He's one of six players to hit at least 30 home runs in all three campaigns and one of 12 players to tally 100 or more homers during that span.
Machado's finest performance came on Aug. 18, when he hit three home runs against the Angels -- with his final one being a walk-off grand slam. One of three players to ever accomplish the feat, that performance earned Machado a nomination for Best Play, Offense, in this year's Esurance MLB Awards. The slam also left radio broadcasters Joe Angel and Ben McDonald stunned en route to earning a nomination for Best Call, TV/Radio.
• Vote for this season's best stars and moments in the Esurance MLB Awards
The Esurance MLB Awards annually honor MLB's greatest achievements as part of an industry-wide balloting process that includes five groups, each of which accounts for 20 percent of the overall vote: Media, front-office personnel, retired MLB players, fans at MLB.com and Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) members.
The MLB Awards are an all-inclusive program, encompassing the top players and performances from both the American and National Leagues from Opening Day through the end of the postseason.
Voting led off with seven categories on Sept. 18 at mlb.com/awards, serving as the grand entrance of a program that will unveil nominees for Best Call, TV/Radio; Best Major Leaguer, Postseason; and Best Postseason Moment following the Fall Classic's final out. The ninth inning of voting will begin around BBWAA Awards week, which opens when the Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award winners are unveiled on Monday, Nov. 13. Voting for the final five categories will begin at 7 p.m. ET on the following dates:
• Best Executive: Thursday, Nov. 9.
• Best Rookie: Monday, Nov. 13.
• Best Manager: Tuesday, Nov. 14.
• Best Pitcher: Wednesday, Nov. 15.
• Best Major Leaguer: Thursday, Nov. 16.
MLB Awards season will culminate on Friday, Nov. 17, when winners are announced live on MLB Network and MLB.com starting at 8 p.m. ET.
The only three instances in Major League history of a player hitting three home runs, capped off with a walk-off grand slam, have come during the last five seasons. The other two were Oakland's Khris Davis in 2016 and Cincinnati's Joey Votto in '12.
The incredible game-winning drive prompted, "Oh my goodness!" from Angel and, "I mean, are you kidding me?" from McDonald. "I am not kidding you," Angel responded.
"I cannot tell you how hard it is to do, but there's always that potential when you're dealing with guys like Manny," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "I know sometimes because of how fluid he is, sometimes people don't know how much he cares and how hard he works. For a young player to go through the struggles he did with that kind of talent, to get back is a real testament to him and his makeup."