San Diego Padres infielder Ha Sung Kim’s teammate Blake Snell has been named a finalist for Major League Baseball’s Pitcher of the Year by the players.
The Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) announced the finalists for the 2023 Players’ Choice Awards on Monday. Kim’s teammate Snell was named a finalist for National League (NL) Pitcher of the Year.
The San Diego Union-Tribune, a San Diego local media outlet, said, “The National League Most Valuable Pitcher finalists will crystallize Snell’s race for the Cy Young Award.” Snell joins Zack Galen of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Justin Verlander of the Chicago Cubs as finalists for NL Most Valuable Pitcher.
While the Cy Young Award is voted on annually by the Baseball Writers Association of America, the Players’ Choice Award is voted on by the players themselves. This makes it a much more meaningful award.
In 32 games this season, Snell has posted a 14-9 record with a 2.25 ERA, 5.8 strikeouts per nine innings, and 99 walks, his best form since 2018, when he had a career-high. In his last 23 games, he has posted a respectable 1.20 ERA.
Snell’s 4.1 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) this season ranks sixth in the NL behind the Philadelphia Phillies’ Zack Wheeler (5.9), Atlanta Braves’ Spencer Strider (5.5), Arizona’s Galen (5.2), Cubs’ Steele (4.9), and San Francisco Giants’ Logan Webb (4.9).
Shohei Otani, Japan’s top idoru, was also nominated. Ohtani is a finalist in two categories, Player of the Year and American Player of the Year, as voted on by the players. Despite ending his season earlier than last year due to elbow surgery, he went 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA in 23 games as a pitcher. At the plate, he batted .304 (151-for-497) with 44 home runs and 95 RBIs in 135 games. He also led the American League (AL) in home runs.
Ohtani will compete with Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña Jr. and Mookie Betts for Player of the Year honors. Yandy Diaz of the Tampa Bay Rays and Corey Seager of the Texas Rangers threaten Ohtani for the AL Most Valuable Player award.
Ohtani and fellow Player of the Year finalists Acuña Jr. and Betts are no slouches either. Acuña Jr. joined the 40-70 club (40 homers, 70 doubles) in the 스포츠토토 regular season, and Betts dethroned Acuña Jr. atop the 2023 postseason power rankings. Both players are also finalists for the NL Most Valuable Player award and are looking to make it a double.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia outfielder Bryce Harper, who is on fire in the National League Championship Series, is battling Cubs outfielder Cody Bellinger for Comeback Player of the Year honors. The final results will be revealed next month on ESPN in the United States.
