Boston Red Sox: Benintendi and Sale named BBWAA award finalists
The Boston Red Sox have a pair of stars in the running for some major awards from the Baseball Writer’s Association of America.
We all knew Chris Sale would be a finalist for the AL Cy Young this season, as he put up Pedro Martinez-like numbers, but another player also could bring home some major hardware.
Andrew Benintendi is a finalist for the AL Rookie of the Year Award, but it looks like a member of the New York Yankees will be in his way there. Still, it has to feel good to be recognized as one of the best young players in all of baseball. Red Sox fans have a lot to look forward to with Benny teddy and their team.
Andrew Benintendi – American League Rookie of the Year Nominee
Other Nominees
- BAL Trey Mancini
- NYY Aaron Judge
If not for Aaron Judge’s 52 home runs, Andrew Benintendi would be the AL Rookie of the Year for 2017. He is just the 10th rookie to ever have a 20 home run, 20 steal season, and that could become his new normal. This season, Benny Biceps hit .271 with 90 RBI. He also had a .776 OPS in 2017. Defensively he was solid as well, with just 5 errors for a .982 fielding percentage. Benintendi ranked 4th in the American League with 11 assists from the outfield. For left fielders, he was the top dog.
Still, Andrew Benintendi won’t be able to overcome the power of Yankees slugger Aaron Judge (also an AL MVP finalist). Any other year, the Red Sox would have the Rookie of the Year though.
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Chris Sale – American League Cy Young Nominee
Other Nominees
- CLE Corey Kluber
- NYY Luis Severino
Chris Sale was the front-runner to win the AL Cy Young for most of this season, but Corey Kluber may have surpassed him as the favorite. Kluber has great numbers, and Sale struggled down the stretch, but he pitched so much more. Sale pitched 214.1 innings, while Kluber pitched just 203.2. That small difference is huge in reality. The Red Sox ace has the clear advantage in strikeouts at 308, but this 2.90 ERA doesn’t hold with Kluber’s 2.25. The BBWAA will have to decide whether they prefer the pitcher with the best ERA or the guy with the most strikeouts to win the Cy Young this season. This would be the first win for Sale if he’s able to take it home.
The finalists for the AL MVP award are Aaron Judge, Jose Ramirez, and Jose Altuve.
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If I had a vote, I would have to give the AL Rookie of the Year to Aaron Judge, but my Cy Young vote would definitely go to Chris Sale. He was on the field more often than Corey Kluber and he simply blew people away. I don’t think the ERA difference is that great to have that be the one deciding factor, and from April to September Chris Sale was the best pitcher in the American League. for good measure, I would give my MVP vote to World Series champion Jose Altuve.