As far as discourse goes, there’s nothing like a good old-fashioned baseball awards debate. Few topics can inspire such impassioned back-and-forth with such low stakes. Awards, after all, are by their very nature silly. They’re superfluous social constructs invented to inflate public interest and flatter egos. Whatever industry you’re in, you're not supposed to do it for the awards—you’re supposed to do it for the pursuit of something greater, be it a team goal, artistic aim or a number of other reasons.
And yet … we still care.
We care because, well, it’s fun to care. A look back at awards through the years can make you remember moments or figures lost to time. It can transport you back to an era that you weren’t alive for, and provide insight to what mattered to people then and how it compares to today. And it can, well, recall some head-scratching decisions—Forrest Gump over Pulp Fiction in 1994? Juan González over Alex Rodriguez in ‘96? What were we thinking?
This year’s MLB awards races are mostly devoid of drama. Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge will be your National and American League MVPs, respectively. Chris Sale and Tarik Skubal are likely to win their first Cy Young Awards. The Rookie of the Year races are a bit closer, but as far as the headliners are concerned, we’re fairly confident we know where things will land.
So allow us to submit some off-menu awards of our own invention. These players might not all have been stars of the 2024 MLB season, but they definitely left an impact. Without further ado, the envelopes, please, for SI’s alternative MLB awards.
Best bargain signing: Jurickson Profar, San Diego Padres
By fWAR, no position player was worse in 2023 than Profar. The veteran outfielder put up a minus-1.6 fWAR in 521 plate appearances, most of which came with the Colorado Rockies after he signed a one-year deal with the team worth nearly $8 million. Colorado released him in August, and he signed a minor-league deal with San Diego to finish out the season before hitting free agency. He re-signed with the Padres on a one-year deal worth just $1 million in guaranteed money.
What’s followed has been the best season of Profar’s career. He’s set career highs in just about every offensive category and made his first All-Star appearance for the upstart Padres, who are headed to the postseason for the third time in the last five years. Thanks to his resurgence, Profar is sure to cash in on a bigger payday next winter.
Honorable mention: Chris Sale, Atlanta Braves; Seth Lugo, Kansas City Royals; Michael Wacha, Kansas City Royals; Jack Flaherty, Detroit Tigers/Los Angeles Dodgers; Shōta Imanaga, Chicago Cubs
Best trade deadline acquisition: Jazz Chisholm Jr., New York Yankees
Since Chisholm arrived in the Bronx on July 28, he’s been the Yankees’ best hitter not named Aaron Judge or Juan Soto. He’s batting .262/.317/.470 in pinstripes, and is one of three players in the league during that span to have at least 10 homers and 15 stolen bases (along with Ohtani and José Ramírez). The Yankees are 26–18 with Chisholm in the lineup, which has helped them sew up the AL East title.
Honorable mention: Yusei Kikuchi, Houston Astros; Jack Flaherty, Los Angeles Dodgers; Martín Pérez, San Diego Padres; Lucas Erceg, Kansas City Royals; Josh Bell, Arizona Diamondbacks
Best utility player: Dylan Moore, Seattle Mariners
Moore finally got a chance at everyday at-bats this season and has made the most of it. He’s made a career-high 106 starts while seeing time at five different positions—first base, second base, third base, shortstop and left field—making at least 10 appearances at all five. Though he has a mere .204 batting average, he’s walked and hit for enough power to put up an above-average 107 wRC+, with 10 homers and 31 stolen bases.
Honorable mention: Josh Smith, Texas Rangers; Brendan Donovan, St. Louis Cardinals
Most tough-luck pitcher: Gavin Williams, Cleveland Guardians
A 3–10 record pitching for a first-place team? Seems unlikely, but that’s Williams’s mark through 16 starts this season. Cleveland’s offense has averaged just two runs per Williams outing, the lowest run support for any pitcher with at least 10 starts. His 3.66 FIP paints a much rosier picture than his 4.86 ERA, and that gap between the two is the eighth-highest among pitchers with at least 70 innings. Maybe better luck is in store for Williams come October.
Honorable mention: Tanner Houck, Boston Red Sox; Andrew Heaney, Texas Rangers; Garrett Crochet, Chicago White Sox; Bowden Francis, Toronto Blue Jays
Most tough-luck hitter: Marcus Semien, Texas Rangers
Semien made his third All-Star team this season, but his wRC+ (95) is his second-lowest since becoming an everyday player back in 2015. He’s among the unluckiest hitters when it comes to opposing catchers stealing strikes from him, and his expected batting average (.255) is 20 points higher than his actual batting average (.235). Semien’s .250 BABIP is the lowest of his career and well shy of his career mark of .283.
Honorable mention: Taylor Ward, Los Angeles Angels; Patrick Bailey, San Francisco Giants
Best late bloomer: Colt Keith, Detroit Tigers
Keith signed a six-year contract extension worth over $28 million in guaranteed money ahead of his major league debut, then struggled out of the gates. He had a woeful .215/.267/.277 slash line through mid-June and looked like someone who could use some more seasoning in the minors. But Keith turned his season around, and helped spurn Detroit’s second-half surge into a wild-card spot. Since June 14, no Tiger hitter has put up more than Keith’s 2.2 fWAR. He’s hit .288/.335/.445 over 86 games during that span, with a team-high 92 hits.
Honorable mention: Jake Burger, Miami Marlins
Best hitting game: Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers @ Marlins, Sept. 19
Is there any other choice? Ohtani minted the 50/50 club in historic fashion by going 6-for-6 with three homers, two stolen bases and 10 (10!) RBIs against the Marlins earlier this month. It was a star turn for one of the world’s biggest icons, and hopefully a precursor for some show-stopping moments in October.
Best hitting game (non-Ohtani division): Kyle Schwarber, Phillies @ Blue Jays, Sept. 3
To spread the love around a bit, here’s some recognition for Schwarber, who saved the day for the Phillies in a game against Toronto in which they trailed 6–1 after the first inning. Schwarber went 5-for-6 with three homers, including a go-ahead three-run shot in the top of the ninth inning when Philadelphia trailed by one. The Phillies eventually won a wild one, 10–9.
Best pitching game: Blake Snell, Giants @ Reds, Aug. 2
After spending most of the season’s first half injured or ineffective, Snell flipped the switch and regained his two-time Cy Young Award-winning form over the season’s final three months. Since the start of July, Snell posted a 1.23 ERA (with a 1.77 FIP) over 14 starts. He has the most strikeouts in a game this season (15 against the Rockies on July 27), but the pick for best pitching performance of the season is his next outing in which he tossed a no-hitter against the Reds. Snell struck out 11 batters and walked three. Of the 15 balls Reds hitters put into play, 11 had an expected batting average of .160 or lower.
Edwin Jackson Journeyman of the Year: Mike Baumann
Named after the patron saint of well-traveled ballplayers, Baumann wins this distinction going away. Drafted by the Orioles in 2017, Baumann spent the last eight years with one organization, making his MLB debut with Baltimore in ‘21 and posting a career-best season in ‘23 in which he went 10–1 with a 3.76 ERA in 60 games. Then came this year’s odyssey: the Orioles traded him on May 22 to the Mariners, who designated him for assignment in July. The Giants claimed him, then shipped him to the Angels at the trade deadline. Los Angeles DFA’d him in late August, and the Marlins picked him up. All told, that’s five teams in five months, tying Oliver Drake for the most MLB teams in a single season.
Add it all together, and Baumann pitched in 56 games this season, putting together a 5.68 ERA. Will people remember his numbers from this year? Probably not. But they’ll likely remember his cross-country voyage, which makes for a story unique even by baseball player standards. Perhaps eventually he’ll write a book about it—a book that will one day win an award, too.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Handing Out Alternative MLB Awards for the 2024 Season.
