MLB news roundup
Happy Friday, Athletics Nation!
MLB awards season is nigh upon us, and while the most prestigious BBWAA trophies are yet to be handed out, The Sporting News announced their winners yesterday and Mason Miller came away with the nod for AL Rookie of the Year.
Perhaps the last award certificate handed out that will say “Oakland Athletics”. https://t.co/F3IA32eDlc
— Melissa Lockard (@melissalockard) October 24, 2024
This isn’t quite a shock, but some might find it a bit surprising. Miller has been among the most impressive pitchers I’ve beheld, full stop. But The Reaper seems to be a dark horse ROY candidate in most discussions, while Yankees starting pitcher Luis Gil is the favorite by most accounts.
Gil pitched 151⅔ innings—that’s more than double the workload Miller carried, so even though Miller’s 159 ERA+ on the season is substantially higher than Gil’s 117, quantity does matter and it translates to a higher 3.1 bWAR for Gil compared to Miller’s 2.4. But if fWAR is your preferred value metric, Miller holds the slightest edge by 0.1 Wins Above Replacement.
Oddsmakers have ranked Miller below top three consensus contenders Gil, Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser, and Yankees catcher Austin Wells. All have much better odds of winning ROY than Miller according to Fox Sports.
The Sporting News stated, “In what was generally a sad season in the A’s farewell to Oakland, Mason Miller provided some excitement for the future of the franchise.”
Amen to that.
Since 2020, The Sporting News and BBWAA have named the same ROY five times out of eight. So there’s ample precedent suggesting that Miller isn’t a lock for the latter’s ROY award. But he certainly has my vote of confidence.
Oh yeah: the World Series starts today.
Have a wonderful weekend, AN.
A’s Coverage:
- Could the A’s go after former San Francisco Giants righty this winter?
- Could the A’s swing a deal with the Cincinnati Reds?
- New York Yankees outfielder projected to sign with A’s
- A’s still looking for investors at high valuation in Las Vegas
MLB News & Interest:
- Top 45 MLB free agents for 2024-25 with contract predictions, team fits: Will Soto get $600M+? ($)
- How the ‘best’ Yankees team in years also became the closest ($)
- How Dodgers players drew inward and took control of their World Series quest ($)
- The Sporting News MLB awards: Shohei Ohtani, Chris Sale among 2024 winners and All-Star teams
- Braves Hire Tim Hyers As Hitting Coach
- Reds Hire Chris Valaika As Hitting Coach
- Rangers Aiming To Drop Beneath Luxury Tax Threshold In 2025
- Today in Baseball History
Best of X:
AFL action.
A’S IN THE AFL TODAY (10/24)
CF Denzel Clarke: 0-4, 1 K
RHP Tyler Baum: 1 IP/1 H/0 ER/0 BB/1 K
Mesa Solar Sox win 4-1— Athletics Farm (@AthleticsFarm) October 25, 2024
Laying down THE LAW on fashion.
And the verdict is …
Lawrence Butler joins Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard on the 6-1-1 Podcast to rate #postseason drip https://t.co/GrYxPESD8P pic.twitter.com/EkNQP7ugRe
— MLB (@MLB) October 24, 2024
Caray to Bolte.
Big thanks to @MLBazFallLeague for having me throw out the first pitch. Cool to have @henrybolte2 catch.
Now, @DALLASBRADEN209 can sleep peacefully knowing I’m a strike thrower. I know. I’m an #AAAATHLETE. I know you’re somewhere crying proud tears for your bestie❤️#Athletics pic.twitter.com/Uh9MgMgjyh
— Chris Caray (@ChrisCaray) October 24, 2024
Vogt also got some love from The Sporting News.
Stephen Vogt has been named Manager of the Year by The Sporting News.
Pretty good for your first year, Skip.#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/4FrPtURjOm
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) October 24, 2024