Adam Engel had an up-and-down rookie year with the White Sox. But in nearly 100 games, he proved to be a capable center fielder.
In the midst of Engel's positive campaign was one of the most impressive catches in baseball, when he robbed Houston's Brian McCann of a home run on Aug. 8. That play earned him a nomination for Best Play, Defense, in this year's Esurance MLB Awards.
• 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.
Engel was only 46 games into his Major League career when the White Sox took on the Astros. But he was familiar enough with the dimensions of Guaranteed Rate Field when McCann hit the long fly ball to right-center -- scaling the wall, planting with his left foot, and taking away a sure-fire home run.
"That's one of the greatest catches I've ever seen, to go out there and rob McCann," said pitcher Derek Holland, who gave up the fly ball. "As soon as I gave it up, I thought it was gone. I really thought it was 30 rows deep when he hit it. For him to make that play was huge."