The Yankees' Judge and the Angels' Ohtani were the top two vote getters in the next phase of the American League Most Valuable Player race.
The seasons put up by Judge and Ohtani are quite historic.
The American League record for homers in a season was set by Judge, who hit 62. He had an on- base percentage of.450 and a slugging percentage of.686 in the American League. He missed out on a clean sweep of all of his league's major batting categories, finishing second in the American League batting race.
Judge had to contend with Ohtani, whose unprecedented success in a dual role as a hitter and a pitcher may have reached another level this season.
After being a unanimous choice as the American League's Most Valuable Player a year ago, Ohtani followed it up by hitting.270 with 34 homers and 95 runs. He got even better on the mound, going 15-9 with a 2.33 earned run average and 219 strikeouts while staying in the middle of the discussion for the American League Cy Young.
The unfortunate No. 3 finalist is Houston's Yordan Alvarez, who is second in all three categories and hit.302 with a.406 on- base percentage. He scored 95 and drove in 97 runs.
He would be able to take solace in the fact that he hit a 450-foot home run in the World Series.
Three players are vying for the NL award, two of which are trying to get over the hump of being the Most Valuable Player.
Goldschmidt has finished in the top 10 of NL Most Valuable Player balloting six times, including four in the top five, but is trying to win the award for the first time.
The NL had not had a Triple Crown winner in 85 years, but Goldschmidt had a chance to change that.
Nolan Arenado is a finalist for the Most Valuable Player. He's never won the award but has gotten plenty of support with five previous top 10 finishes. He's finished in the top three before.
Arenado won NL Gold Glove honors at third base for the 10th year in a row, despite hitting 30 homers and scoring 103 runs.
During his 11-year career, the San Diego Padres player has put up an average of.300 with 32 homers and 100 runs scored. Twice in Baltimore and once in the Padres, he finished in the top five of the voters' choice for the Most Valuable Player. After the 2020 season, he was third in the voting.
The race for the American League Cy Young is down to a perennial contender and two newcomers.
Verlander is a familiar face to many people. Verlander returned as good as ever for the Astros after missing two seasons with an elbow injury. He was the leader of the American League in wins and earned a place in the Hall of Fame.
Verlander has been recognized for his work in the playoffs. He is trying to become the 11th pitcher to win three or more Cy Youngs.
Cease and Manoah are new to the race.
He went 14-8 with a 2.20 earned run. While showing signs of becoming an old school type of rotation workhorse, Manoah was 16-7 with a 2.24ERA.
Sandy Alcantara is a first timer in the race for the National League Cy Young. Considered by many to be the favorite for the award, Alcantara produced a season in which he went 14-9 with a 2.28 ERA over an MLB-high 22823innings, the most by any pitcher in six years.
Max Fried of the Braves and Julio Urias of the Dodgers are two left-handed pitchers who are in the running for the NL Cy Young Award.
After the season, Fried won a Gold Glove for his work in the All-Star game. He finished fifth in the Cy Young ballot.
In his second season in the league, Urias had a 17-7 record that included an NL-best 2.16ERA. Urias, who finished seventh in last year's NL Cy Young race, is trying to become the fifth lefty to win the award for the Dodgers.
The Seattle center fielder is one of three rookies in the running for the American League's top award.
He lived up to the potential that made him the first pick of the draft, but he also finished the season as Baltimore's most valuable player.
He made his big league debut on May 21st. They went 67-55 the rest of the way and were led by one of the majors' top all-around catchers. He hit.252 with 13 homers, 42 runs, and a.362 on- base percentage over 114 games.
The Cleveland Guardians, baseball's youngest team, went on to win the American League Central title.
They were college teammates.
Kansas City's Bobby Witt Jr. and Houston's Jeremy Pena were two accomplished rookies who didn't make the final cut. In October, he was named the Most Valuable Player of both the ALCS and the World Series.
The race for NL rookies could be decided by a head-to-head battle between Atlanta teammates.
Michael Harris was the center-fielder for the defending champion Braves and he hit.300 with 19 homers and 20 stolen bases.
Voters had to judge Harris' output as a hitter against the pitching of Spencer Strider, who worked out of the Atlanta bullpen early in the season and became entrenched as a starter. He struck out 202 hitters and averaged 13.8 whiffs a nine-inning game.
Brendan Donovan is a utility player who plays six different positions for the Cards and hit.281 with a. 409 on- base percentage.
Brandon Hyde is a first time nominee for the American League Manager of the Year. The Orioles were in the wild-card chase until the final days of the season, after winning 83 games.
Cleveland's Terry Francona, who finished second in the balloting last year, is one of the three candidates for the award. In addition to winning the award twice, Francona has finished sixth or better in 12 of the 13 times he's been on the ballot.
Buck Showalter is a finalist for NL Manager of the Year after the Mets returned to the playoffs for the first time in two years. The Dodgers' Dave Roberts and the Braves' Brian Snitker are also in the running.
In his first season back as a manager, Showalter led the Mets to 101 victories, the most of any team he has managed. He has won Manager of the Year four times with four different teams, including the Yankees (1994), Rangers 2004 and Orioles 2014).
The Dodgers won a franchise-record 112 games under Roberts. With Roberts at the helm, it's a level of winning that has become expected. Over the past six seasons, the Dodgers have averaged 105 wins per 162 games played and have made the playoffs in seven of the eight seasons that Dave Roberts has been the manager.
Snitker has finished in the top four in balloting in five of the last six years.
BBWAA members from all 30 of baseball's markets selected the top three runners-up in each category to be considered for the most prestigious postseason honor.
The rookies of the year, managers of the year and the Cy Young winners will be announced next week. The awards will be revealed on Nov. 17
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