Gray, Burns on ballot for Esurance MLB Awards
Athletics in running for Best Starting Pitcher, Best Rookie
CHICAGO -- A's ace Sonny Gray, battery mate Stephen Vogt and speedy outfielder Billy Burns have earned nominations for Esurance MLB Awards.
Video: 2015 MLB Awards: Best Rookie - Burns
Gray is among 12 pitchers in the running for Best Starting Pitcher, while Burns will duke it out with 11 other nominees for Best Rookie. Vogt, meanwhile, is up for Best MLB Interview, after dressing up as motivational speaker Matt Foley -- the well-known "Saturday Night Live" character created by the late Chris Farley -- and offering a spot-on impression to explain why he should make the All-Star team.
Video: Stephen Vogt joins Intentional Talk
The Esurance MLB Awards annually honor Major League Baseball's greatest achievements as part of an industry-wide balloting process that includes five components, 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) voters.
Individual awards will go to the Best Major Leaguer in addition to the winners in the following categories: The Best Everyday Player, Starting Pitcher, Rookie, Defensive Player, Breakout Player, Bounceback Player, Manager, Executive, Social Media Personality and postseason performer.
Winners will also be recognized for the year's Best Offensive Play, Defensive Play, Moment, Single-Game Performance, Social Media Post, Celebrity Fan, Fan Catch, Interview, TV call, Radio Call, Player-Fan Interaction, Video Board Moment and Trending Topic.
Voting will remain open through Nov. 13 by visiting mlb.com/awards. Winners will be announced live on MLB Network and MLB.com on Nov. 20.