With a week to go in the regular season, it's nearly that time again.
Here are (most of) my choices for the four major awards in each league. (Disclaimer: because I'm a voter for the American League Rookie of the Year award, I'll withhold disclosing my ballot until the day the winner is announced, in accordance with BBWAA preferences).
Some, as usual, were more difficult than others. But that's part of the fun, right?
AL MVP: Mookie Betts
Betts is a complete player and the notion that he's been the best player on the best team should hold a lot of weight with voters. He seems destined for a 30-30 season, is second among major league outfielders in defensive runs scored. In short, there's nothing he can't do or hasn't done.
Generally, I'm not one to vote entirely according to WAR, but Betts's 10.2 WAR speaks volumes about his many talents and general dominance.
Other deserving candidates: Jose Ramirez, Alex Bregman, J.D. Martinez, Mike Trout.
AL CY YOUNG: Blake Snell, Tampa Bay Rays
Two months ago, it seemed like this would (finally) be the season in which Chris Sale captured the award after finishing in the top 5 in voting in each of the last five seasons. But Sale, as dominant as he's been, has pitched just 24.1 innings since the All-Star break and will not pitch enough innings to qualify for the ERA title.
Snell, meanwhile, has emerged as one of the best young starters in the game. He went into Saturday with a sub-2.00 ERA (1.97), has won 20 games and 200 strikeouts.
Other deserving candidates: Sale, Justin Verlander, Corey Kluber.
AL MANAGER OF THE YEAR: Alex Cora
Seldom has there been a season with so many strong candidates for this award. Kevin Cash is on the threshold of 90 wins with a team experimenting with a new approach to starting pitching while having his roster deconstructed by in-season trades.
In Oakland, Bob Melvin has again been masterful, pushing the defending world champions for the division lead until the next-to-last weekend of the season despite having the second-smallest payroll in the game.
But it's hard to give the honor to someone other than Cora, who, in his first year as a major league manager, is about to set a record for most wins in a season for a franchise that is more than a century old and whose team has, to date, avoiding losing more than three games in a row this season.
Other deserving candidates: Cash, Melvin.
NATIONAL LEAGUE MVP: Javier Baez, Chicago Cubs
This might be the most undefined race of all, with more than a half-dozen or so potential candidates, and yet, none with anything close to the kind of season enjoyed by several of the AL candidates.
Milwaukee's Lorenzo Cain has had a tremendous impact on his new team, contributing his typical defensive brilliance, but his offensive numbers are rather ordinary -- at least in the context of this award. Colorado's Nolan Arenado has a .920 OPS to go along with his great glove work, but his road OPS of .764 makes him come off like a creation of Coors Field.
Matt Carpenter? Too streaky? Paul Goldschmidt? His team missing out on the postseason will hurt his chances. Freddie Freeman? Steady, but not dominant.
Baez, meanwhile, is arguably his team's best defender while also hitting 30 homers and cracking the 100-RBI plateau. And while it's true he's cooled in September, the Cubs have been in control of the division for much of the second half and Baez helped them get to that position.
And his ability to play three infield positions and play them well is the very definition of valuable.
Other deserving candidates: Cain, Goldschmidt, Freeman, Christian Yelich.
NL Cy Young Award: Jacob deGrom, New York Mets
A month ago, this seemed like a three-man toss-up, with Philadelphia's Aaron Nola and Washington's Max Scherzer.
Since then, however, deGrom has separated himself and has made himself the obvious choice. His ERA is almost three-quarters of a run lower than Nola and 0.80 better than Scherzer.
Moreover, deGrom has pitched with an offense that seemed to almost take pride in their inability to provide him with any offensive backing, turning every start into an outing with virtually no margin for error.
He's been the very essence of consistency, too, going 28-straight starts without allowing more than three earned runs. That's an astounding stretch of unmatched and sustained excellence.
NL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Ronald Acuna, Atlanta Braves
Yet again, a tough choice: Acuna or Washington's Juan Soto.
Acuna made his debut sooner (April 25) while Soto made his three weeks later. That's not Soto's fault, of course, as promotions are handled by teams and often orchestrated to impact service time. But Acuna has been having an impact on his team for a slightly longer period of time.
Further, Acuna was not only thrust into the lineup as a teenager, but he also took on the added responsibility of being the Braves' leadoff hitter.
Most years, either would be a runaway winner. In this case, Acuna (just barely) wins out.
Other deserving candidates: Soto, Harrison Bader, Jack Flaherty
NL MANAGER OF THE YEAR: Craig Counsel, Milwaukee Brewers
Counsel kept the Brewers in the mix all year, despite some challenges presented by injuries, and had to juggle some ill-fitting acquisitions at the deadline.
Credit, too, to Atlanta's Brian Snitker, whose team won a division most had going to either Washington.
Other deserving candidates: Snitker, Mike Shildt.
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