Author: rincon

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Tarik Skubal added many accolades to his name for the first time in 2024. Now, he’ll add the top pitching award to his mantle.

The Detroit Tigers ace was named the American League Cy Young Award winner for the 2024 season on Wednesday, beating finalists Seth Lugo (Kansas City Royals) and Emmanuel Clase (Cleveland Guardians) for the honor. He won all 30 first-place votes, becoming the third consecutive unanimous Cy Young winner after Gerrit Cole (New York Yankees) and Justin Verlander (Houston Astros).

Skubal, who celebrated his 28th birthday on Wednesday, had a memorable breakout year that lifted Detroit into the playoffs after a surprising late-season run. He went 18-4 with a 2.39 ERA, a 0.922 WHIP and 228 strikeouts in 192 innings pitched over 31 starts. 

Skubal’s win total, ERA and strikeout total were the most in the American League, making him (along with Chris Sale in the National League) the first pitcher to win the pitching Triple Crown in a 162-game season since former Tigers ace Verlander and the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ Clayton Kershaw did so in their respective leagues in 2011. Verlander won the Cy Young Award for his play that season as Skubal is the sixth Tigers player to ever win the award. 

After a dominant regular season, Skubal was nails in his first two postseason starts. He didn’t allow a run in either outing, shutting out the Houston Astros in Game 1 of the wild-card round before pitching seven innings of shutout ball in Game 2 of the ALDS against the Guardians. However, Skubal didn’t pitch well in the Tigers’ series-deciding loss to the Guardians, allowing five runs.

Still, Skubal’s 2024 season was as good as any pitcher’s, especially when you consider the circumstances. The lefty was out from the middle of the 2022 season through the middle of the 2023 season due to flexor tendon surgery.

As Skubal and the Tigers surprised in 2024, Wednesday’s vote wasn’t much of one. They’ll hope that’s the case moving forward, and they’ll likely have one of the game’s best pitchers for the foreseeable future to help.

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Major League Baseball will test robot umpires as part of a challenge system during spring training at 13 ballparks hosting 19 teams, which could lead to regular-season use in 2026.

MLB has been experimenting with the automated ball-strike system in the minor leagues since 2019 but is still working on the shape of the strike zone.

An agreement for big league use would have to be reached with the Major League Baseball Umpires Association, whose collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1.

“I would be interested in having it in ‘26,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said Wednesday after an owners’ meeting. “We do have a collective bargaining obligation there. That’s obviously a term and condition of employment. We’re going to have to work through that issue, as well.”

Manfred said the spring training experiment will have to be evaluated before MLB determines how to move forward.

“There’s two sides to that test,” he said. “It’s what the clubs think about it and also what do the players think about it? And we’re going to have to sort through both of those.”

Triple-A ballparks used ABS this year for the second straight season, but there is little desire to call the strike zone as the cube defined in the rule book and MLB has experimented with modifications during minor league testing.

The ABS currently calls strikes solely based on where the ball crosses the midpoint of the plate, 8.5 inches from the front and the back. The top of the strike zone was increased to 53.5% of batter height this year from 51%, and the bottom remained at 27%.

After splitting having the robot alone for the first three games of each series and a human with a challenge system in the final three during the first 2 1/2 months of the Triple-A season, MLB on June 25 switched to an all-challenge system in which a human umpire makes nearly all decisions.

During the second half of the season, each team had three challenges in the Pacific Coast League and two in the International League. A team retains its challenge if successful, similar to the regulations for big league teams with video reviews.

“I think we will have a spring training ABS test that will provide a meaningful opportunity for all major league players to see what the challenge system will look like,” Manfred said. “It won’t be in every single ballpark but we actually have a plan where every team will get meaningful exposure.”

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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One of the most surprising comeback seasons in recent baseball history has been made complete with a Cy Young win.

Atlanta Braves ace Chris Sale has won the National League Cy Young Award, defeating Pittsburgh Pirates rookie sensation Paul Skenes and Philadelphia Phillies star Zack Wheeler for the honor. Sale won 26 of the 30 first-place votes.

While Sale is widely thought to be one of the best pitchers of his generation, he was considered to be a longshot at best to win the Cy Young entering the season. The 35-year-old lefty was traded by the Boston Red Sox in the 2023-24 offseason to help shed salary as the oft-injured pitcher only made 31 starts in the previous three seasons.

Sale was immediately effective with the Braves and seemingly got better as the season went along. After earning his first All-Star nod in eight seasons, Sale finished 2024 with an 18-3 record, a 2.38 ERA, a 1.013 WHIP and 225 strikeouts in 177.2 innings pitched over 29 starts. Sale, along with Tarik Skubal in the American League, became the first pitcher to win the pitching Triple Crown in a 162-game season since Justin Verlander and Clayton Kershaw did so in 2011.

The surprise season from Sale was also much-needed for the Braves. Atlanta lost its star pitcher, Spencer Strider, for the season in April as he needed Tommy John surgery. Sale’s strong 2024 helped the Braves make the postseason again, but he wasn’t able to pitch in the playoffs due to fatigue.

Sale has also won the one major honor that’s evaded him throughout his illustrious career with Wednesday’s announcement. He had never won the American League Cy Young during his dominant seasons with the Chicago White Sox and Red Sox despite being instrumental in Boston’s 2018 World Series title run. Now, Sale has a Cy Young to go with eight All-Star nods and a World Series ring, seemingly strengthening his Hall of Fame chances. 

But before Sale’s baseball focus turns to Cooperstown, he’s still got some time left on the mound. The Braves signed him to a two-year extension shortly after acquiring him from the Red Sox last offseason, ensuring that he will stick around in Atlanta.

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Freddie Freeman’s historic walk-off grand slam ball from Game 1 of the World Series is hitting the auction block.

The Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman came to the plate on a sprained right ankle with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning against the New York Yankees last month. Freeman hit the first pitch from Nestor Cortes 413 feet for the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history.

“That’s as good as it gets right there,” said Freeman, who was named World Series MVP.

The Dodgers won the game 6-3 and went on to claim the franchise’s eighth World Series championship in five games.

“It might be the greatest baseball moment I’ve ever witnessed,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “and I’ve witnessed some great ones.”

The ball landed in the right-field pavilion, where it was corralled by 10-year-old Zachary Ruderman, who lives in the Venice section of Los Angeles. The ball rolled from the seat in front of him to his feet and he batted it to his father, Nico, who jumped on it.

The fifth-grader had been told he was leaving school early that day to get his braces removed. Instead, his parents took him to Dodger Stadium.

“Our family hopes the baseball will be displayed in Dodgers stadium so all Dodgers and baseball fans can view a very special piece of history for the City of Los Angeles,” the Ruderman family said Wednesday in a statement.

It’s the second ball connected to the Dodgers to be auctioned this season. The ball hit by Freeman’s teammate, Shohei Ohtani, that made him the first player in major league history with at least 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season sold for nearly $4.4 million to a Taiwanese investment firm and is on display in that country. It set a record for the sale of any sports ball.

SCP Auctions is running the sale that includes Freeman’s ball from Dec. 4-14.

Company president David Kohler said he believes the ball is “easily worth seven figures.”

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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Milwaukee’s Pat Murphy won National League Manager of the Year on Tuesday after a stellar debut season with the Brewers, while Cleveland’s Stephen Vogt took the AL honor after leading the Guardians to 92 wins and a division title in his first year as a skipper at any level.

Murphy, 65, led the Brewers to an NL Central title, a 93-69 record and is the franchise’s first manager to earn the award since it was introduced in 1983. In the playoffs, Milwaukee lost to the New York Mets in a three-game wild-card series.

Murphy had an unusual career path to big league success — he was a longtime college coach at Notre Dame and Arizona State before moving to the professional ranks in 2010. He worked in the Padres’ minor league system until 2015 when he was hired to be Milwaukee’s bench coach under Craig Counsell, who played for Murphy at Notre Dame.

After Counsell left for the Cubs during the offseason, the Brewers quickly turned to Murphy. The transition was nearly seamless.

Murphy beat San Diego’s Mike Shildt and New York’s Carlos Mendoza. He received 27 of the 30 first-place votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Shildt, Mendoza and Philadelphia’s Rob Thomson each received one vote.

The 40-year-old Vogt beat Kansas City’s Matt Quatraro and Detroit’s A.J. Hinch, both AL Central rivals. He’s the first AL manager to win the award in his debut season since Minnesota’s Rocco Baldelli did it in 2019. He’s also the first to go from player to Manager of the Year in just two years.

The previous fastest was Joe Girardi from 2003 to 2006, when he won NL Manager of the Year with the Florida Marlins.

Vogt received 27 of the 30 first-place votes. Quatraro got two and Hinch one.

Vogt led the Guardians to a 92-69 record and the playoffs in his first season after replacing three-time manager of the year Terry Francona. The former big league catcher took Cleveland to the AL Championship Series before losing to the Yankees in five games.

Vogt is the third Cleveland skipper to win the honor, joining Francona (2013, 2016, 2022) and Eric Wedge (2007).

Mendoza — in his first year leading the Mets — guided the franchise to an 89-win season and an appearance in the NL Championship Series before they lost in six games to the eventual World Series champion Dodgers.

Shildt guided the Padres to the playoffs in his first season in San Diego, winning 93 games. He won the Manager of the Year award in 2019 when he was in charge of the Cardinals.

The 51-year-old Quatraro, in his second season with the franchise, led the Royals to the postseason one year after a 106-loss season. Kansas City finished with an 86-76 record before beating Baltimore in a wild-card series.

Kansas City, led by catcher Salvador Perez, young star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., lost to the Yankees in a four-game division series.

Hinch, a 50-year-old in his fourth season leading the Tigers, also made the playoffs with a torrid second half despite losing quality players like right-hander Jack Flaherty at the trade deadline.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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Hard-throwing Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes capped a remarkable season by winning the National League Rookie of the Year Award on Monday, while Luis Gil of the New York Yankees edged Baltimore Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser to take the AL honor.

Skenes won the award over San Diego Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill and Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio.

He received 23 first-place votes for 136 points while Merrill had seven firsts and 104 points. They were named on all ballots. Chourio had 26 points.

Gil played a key role in helping the Yankees win the American League East before reaching the World Series. He moved into the Yankees’ rotation after ace Gerrit Cole was injured early in the season and received 15 first-place votes for 106 points. Cowser got 13 firsts for 101 points and Gil’s Yankees teammate Austin Wells received 17 points.

The only closer election since 1980 was when Royals shortstop Angel Berroa beat Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui 88-84 in 2003.

It’s the first time the rookie awards went to two pitchers since 2011, when Tampa Bay starter Jeremy Hellickson and Atlanta closer Craig Kimbrel won.

After being selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, Skenes quickly lived up to the hype. The 22-year-old was called up to the majors in May and was an immediate sensation. He had a 12-start span between May and July when he posted a 1.64 ERA to go with a 6-1 record, throwing seven innings of no-hit ball in one start.

Skenes’ dominance on the mound made him one of the top stories in sports over the summer. It also helped him earn an All-Star nod and be tabbed as the starting pitcher for the National League team in the 2024 All-Star Game. He became just the fifth rookie pitcher to ever start an All-Star Game.

Skenes ended the season with an 11-3 record, posting a 1.96 ERA, a 0.947 WHIP and 170 strikeouts in 133 innings over 23 starts. His memorable rookie season has also made him one of the three finalists for the NL Cy Young Award, which will be announced on Wednesday.

This marks just the second time that a Pirates player has won National League Rookie of the Year. Jason Bay was the first Pirates player to win the award in 2004. He is the 24th pitcher to win the award.

As New York dealt with Cole’s absence through the opening months of the season, Gil was able to bring some stability to its rotation. He wound up going 15-7 with a 3.50 ERA, a 1.193 WHIP and 171 strikeouts in 151.2 innings pitched over 29 starts. He made two starts in the postseason, but he only lasted four innings in each outing as he didn’t get a decision in either start.

The 2024 season wasn’t Gil’s first taste in the majors. The 26-year-old actually made his MLB debut in August 2021 and split time between Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and the Yankees to open the 2022 season before injuring his elbow. He needed Tommy John surgery as a result, sidelining him until the final month of the 2023 season. He only pitched with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last year, keeping him eligible to win Rookie of the Year in 2024.

Gil is the 10th Yankees player to ever win the Rookie of the Year and the first Yankees pitcher to win the award since Dave Righetti in 1981. Prior to Gil, Aaron Judge was the last Yankees player to win the award, doing so in 2017. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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