Bradford DoolittleNov 13, 2025, 08:00 PM ETCloseMLB writer and analyst for ESPN.com Former NBA writer and analyst for ESPN.com Been with ESPN since 2013
Tarik Skubal on baseball journey: ‘Look at me now’ (0:54)Tarik Skubal details his baseball journey after winning his second consecutive AL Cy Young Award. (0:54)
The hot stove season is already burning, but even amid the roster shuffling for the 2026 season, we had one last bit of 2025 business: handing out the major awards.
The most prestigious are the four major honors determined by BBWAA voting. These awards will have a lasting impact on baseball history books and Hall of Fame résumés.
On Monday, Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz was unanimously selected as the American League Rookie of the Year, and Atlanta Braves rookie catcher Drake Baldwin earned the National League honor.
Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy and Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt each won their second consecutive Manager of the Year Award on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal won his second straight AL Cy Young Award. In the NL, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Paul Skenes won his first Cy Young — unanimously.
Thursday capped off awards week as the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani secured his third consecutive MVP award — and fourth in five years, all unanimously — in the NL. In the AL, New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge narrowly beat out Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh to win his second straight MVP.
Final tally: Judge 355 (17 first-place votes), Cal Raleigh 335 (13), Jose Ramirez 224, Bobby Witt Jr. 215, Tarik Skubal 139, Julio Rodriguez 136, George Springer 125, Garrett Crochet 74, Junior Caminero 37, Jeremy Pena 32, Byron Buxton 30, Nick Kurtz 29, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 14, Cody Bellinger 7, Maikel Garcia 7, Bo Bichette 5, Riley Greene 3, Aroldis Chapman 1, Yandy Diaz 1, Jacob Wilson 1
Takeaway: In the race between numbers and narrative, the numbers won in this case. But as I wrote leading up to Thursday’s announcement, there was no wrong answer here. Since we’ve already delved into the Judge vs. Raleigh debate, let’s focus here on Judge’s win and what it means for a career resume that keeps getting more impressive.
With a third MVP, Judge becomes the 13th player to win at least three MVP awards. Fittingly for a Yankees captain, he joins a club that features a trio of the franchise’s all-time greats — Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra also won three MVP awards. Alas, Judge didn’t gain on Shohei Ohtani, who won his fourth MVP on Thursday, but now that MLB’s star duo have both repeated in winning the honor, it only cements their co-status as the game’s biggest stars and best players.
Judge’s 9.7 bWAR gives him three seasons of 9.5 or better, one of just 11 position players to do that. The list Judge joins serves as a signpost for where he’s headed when he retires: Babe Ruth, Rogers Hornsby, Willie Mays, Barry Bonds, Ted Williams, Lou Gehrig, Ty Cobb, Mike Trout, Mickey Mantle, Carl Yastrzemski. And where is it that Judge is headed? Cooperstown.
1. Aaron Judge, Yankees (164 AXE, finalist) 2. Cal Raleigh, Mariners (150, finalist) 3. Bobby Witt Jr., Royals (145) 4. Jose Ramirez, Guardians (138, finalist) 5. Julio Rodriguez, Mariners (134) 6. Jeremy Pena, Astros (132) 7. George Springer, Blue Jays (131) 8. Byron Buxton, Twins (129) 9. Maikel Garcia, Royals (128) 10. Gunnar Henderson, Orioles (128)
Note: AXE is an index that creates a consensus rating from the leading value metrics (WAR, from FanGraphs and Baseball Reference) and contextual metrics (win probability added and championship probability added, both from Baseball Reference), with 100 representing the MLB average.
This MVP award — Ohtani’s third in a row, and fourth in five years — gives him more than any player in history not named Barry Bonds. Bonds won seven times and if you don’t think Ohtani can catch him, you haven’t been paying attention. That’s especially true now that Ohtani has moved to the NL, where he’s no longer competing with Aaron Judge or Bobby Witt Jr., among others, for what promises to be a high bar in the AL MVP races to come.
And he pitched! Ohtani eased back into mound work in 2025 after coming back from surgery but was effective when he threw, with a 2.87 ERA over 14 appearances for 1.1 fWAR. The Dodgers probably won’t push him into a heavy pitching load at any point, but there is more WAR on that side of the ball in his future.
Ohtani is just indescribably good. After another historic regular season, he went on to post two of the greatest performances in postseason history, all while helping the Dodgers repeat as World Series champs.
So was that peak Ohtani? Don’t bet on it. Because when you think things can’t get any worse — for Dodgers opponents — Ohtani will make sure they will.
1. Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers (157 AXE, finalist) 2. Geraldo Perdomo, Diamondbacks (141) 3. Juan Soto, Mets (140, finalist) 4. Francisco Lindor, Mets (137) 5. Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres (136) 6. Corbin Carroll, Diamondbacks (135) 7. Trea Turner, Phillies (134) 8. Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cubs (131) 9. Nico Hoerner, Cubs (130) 10. Matt Olson, Braves (129) 11. Kyle Schwarber, Phillies (128, finalist)
Takeaway: Skubal becomes the first back-to-back Cy Young winner since Jacob deGrom with the Mets in 2018 and 2019, and the first in the AL to do it since Pedro Martinez in 1999 and 2000. The only other Tigers hurler to win multiple Cy Young Awards was Denny McLain (1968 and 1969). Not bad for a pitcher who entered last season with a career record of 23-27.
Skubal’s dominance and efficiency have become must-see viewing during the regular season. His average game score (64.2) led the majors, and he led the AL in ERA and FIP for a second straight season while again making 31 starts. Although he didn’t repeat as the circuit’s strikeout king, he upped his total from 228 to 241 while posting a ridiculous 7.3-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. That’s pure dominance.
Skubal has reached the point where he can attack the strike zone with precision and without giving up damage, allowing him to get deep into games even as his strikeout total soars. Skubal had six starts in which he struck out at least 11 batters without throwing 100 pitches. Against Cleveland on May 25, he threw a two-hit shutout and struck out 13 on just 94 pitches while putting up a game score of 96, tied for the highest of 2025.
Despite all of this, I didn’t see this race as a no-brainer. That’s how good Crochet was during his first Red Sox season and the first in which he made the transition from a potential ace to a right-now stopper. His league-leading total of 205⅓ innings nearly doubled his career total, and his 255 strikeouts topped Skubal for the MLB lead.
That Crochet did all of this while winning 18 games and not winning the Cy Young is another data point underscoring the demise of the win statistic. But his breakout showed that if Crochet can stay healthy, the considerable prospect haul the Red Sox sent to the White Sox to acquire him will have been worth it.
1. Tarik Skubal, Tigers (153 AXE, finalist) 2. Garrett Crochet, Red Sox (151, finalist) 3. Hunter Brown, Astros (143, finalist) 4. Trevor Rogers, Orioles (136) 5. Max Fried, Yankees (135) 6. Nathan Eovaldi, Rangers (134) 7. Carlos Rodon, Yankees (130)
Takeaway: The pitcher win is truly dead. And that’s fine. Never again will we have a stretch like the early 1980s when a string of AL Cy Young trophies were handed out to pitchers with relatively pedestrian run prevention figures but inflated win totals. Skenes wins because he is the game’s most dynamic young pitcher who, with a measure of health, is on track to become an all-time great.
That Skenes went 10-10 is but an amusing footnote and an indictment of the team with which he was surrounded. Still, his Cy Young is historic in that he becomes the first starter to land a Cy Young with a non-winning record. Here’s another historic note that ranks all pitchers in history by ERA with a minimum of 50 games started since 1901:
1. Paul Skenes, 215 2. (tie) Clayton Kershaw, 154 Pedro Martinez, 154 4. Jacob deGrom, 151 5. Jose Fernandez, 150
Sure, Skenes has nowhere to go but down from here — probably. But he already has built up a heck of a buffer against the pack. He’s the fifth pitcher to win a Cy Young within his first two big league seasons, and just the third Pirates hurler to win, joining Vern Law (1960) and Doug Drabek (1990).
Here’s how my AXE leaderboard had it, with the decimals broken out for Sanchez and Skenes, who were in a virtual tie for the top:
1. Cristopher Sanchez, Phillies (159.5 AXE, finalist) 2. Paul Skenes, Pirates (159.4, finalist) 3. Andrew Abbott, Reds (138) 4. (tie) Freddy Peralta, Brewers (137) Zack Wheeler, Phillies (137) 6. Nick Pivetta, Padres (136) 7. Logan Webb, Giants (135) — 13. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers (123, finalist)
Takeaway: Before the season, Kurtz’s name wasn’t near the top of the list for AL Rookie of the Year candidates. He didn’t lack hype — he was viewed by many as the Athletics’ top prospect — but his meteoric rise was unexpected.
Kurtz, the fourth pick in 2024, played just 12 minor league games and another 13 in last year’s Arizona Fall League before this season. So, it made sense that he began the season in Triple-A, where he posted a 1.000-plus OPS, which he has done every step of the way.
The ninth Rookie of the Year in Athletics history, Kurtz’s slash line (.290/.383/.619) at 22 is evidence that he’s the complete package at the plate and still might improve. But even if he doesn’t, and this is what he is going forward, he’s one of the best hitters in the majors.
The other two finalists — Anthony and Wilson — were both high on preseason lists for the award and validated that anticipation with fine rookie seasons. Wilson’s .311 average ranked third in the majors. He was one of seven qualifying hitters in the majors to hit at least .300. Anthony lived up to massive hype upon his arrival at Fenway Park, but he suffered an oblique injury Sept. 2, ending his chances of overtaking Kurtz for the award.
