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Sun Oct 1 201722:50Baseball awards: AL MVP race too close to call between Altuve, Judge
There may not be two American League players who differ more standing side-by-side than the Houston Astros' Jose Altuve and the New York Yankees' Aaron Judge.Altuve is a diminutive 5-foot-6. Judge is a giant at 6-7. But when it comes to the AL Most Valuable Player Award, the difference could be measured in angstroms.The members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America are sending in their votes right now for all of the major 2017 awards. There are some that will be, or should be, unanimous picks.How do you not give Judge the AL Rookie of the Year? Same goes in the National League for Cody Bellinger of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Both were by far at the top of their classes when all was said and done.Below is our take on the deserving winners in each race. AL MVP isn't the only white-knuckler. In the AL, the Cy Young Award race between Boston's Chris Sale and Cleveland's Corey Kluber is tight, too. In the National League, the MVP, Cy Young and Manager of the Year are all worthy of great debate.As with the ballots that will be cast, we have a top 10 for the MVP awards, top five for the Cy Young Awards and top three for both the Manager of the Year and Rookie of the Year.AL MVP1. Jose Altuve (Astros)2. Aaron Judge (Yankees)3. Jose Ramirez (Indians)4. Mike Trout (Angels)5. Francisco Lindor (Indians)6. Andrelton Simmons (Angels)7. Mookie Betts (Red Sox)8. Nelson Cruz (Mariners)9. Jose Abreu (White Sox)10. Brian Dozier (Twins)The arguments for Altuve and Judge are both exceptional. Judge led the league in home runs, runs and walks, and his season was captivating with all the long balls that came off his bat. Altuve led the league in batting average and WAR, plus he displayed pop (24 homers and 81 RBIs).The nod here goes to the Houston second baseman for a couple of reasons. Where Judge had a six-week valley right after the All-Star break, Altuve was consistently good all season. His on-base-plus-slugging percentage was .850 or better every month of the season. He fields a difficult position very well and can change the game with his speed on the bases. He also gets credit for helping the Astros keep winning while both Carlos Correa and George Springer did long stints on the disabled list.NL MVP1. Nolan Arenado (Rockies)2. Paul Goldschmidt (Diamondbacks)3. Giancarlo Stanton (Marlins)4. Joey Votto (Reds)5. Charlie Blackmon (Rockies)6. Bryce Harper (Nationals)7. Kris Bryant (Cubs)8. Anthony Rendon (Nationals)9. Kenley Jansen (Dodgers)10. Justin Turner (Dodgers)Many may look at Stanton's numbers, especially the home runs, RBIs and runs, and vote for him. However, others were playing and excelling in more meaningful games. So in a field of good candidates, Arenado emerges for playing his best baseball when the Rockies needed him most -- fending off the Milwaukee Brewers' late run -- and helping Colorado reach the postseason.Arenado was consistent across the board with a .309 average, 37 home runs and 130 RBIs, and it wasn't just because he played half his games at Coors Field. He hit 18 home runs on the road. His play at third base probably will net him another Gold Glove. He could end up splitting some of the votes with Blackmon, who also had 37 homers and drove in 104, though the center fielder played much better in Denver.AL Cy Young Award1. Corey Kluber (Indians)2. Chris Sale (Red Sox)3. Luis Severino (Yankees)4. Craig Kimbrel (Red Sox)5. Ervin Santana (Twins)This was a two-man race all season, and Kluber spent much of it behind Sale after missing almost the entire month of May. In an analysis at the end, though, Kluber is the pick. He was 18-4 with a 2.25 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP. He struck out 265 in 203 2/3 innings. Sale was 17-8 with a 2.90 ERA and 0.97 WHIP, but he also fanned 308 in 214 1/3 innings.They both make really strong arguments. Kluber, However, had five complete games to Sale's one and three shutouts to the Boston lefty's none. Against the Cleveland right-hander, opponents hit to a .193/.235/.321 slash line, and those numbers were the stingiest in the league.NL Cy Young1. Max Scherzer (Nationals)2. Clayton Kershaw (Dodgers)3. Stephen Strasburg (Nationals)4. Kenley Jansen (Dodgers)5. Zack Greinke (Diamondbacks)Kershaw may very well get tabbed for his fourth Cy Young after going 18-4 with a league-best 2.31 ERA in 27 starts (he missed five weeks with a back ailment), and it would be well-deserved. However, the choice should go to Scherzer with his third Cy Young.The Nationals righty was 16-6 with a 2.51 ERA in 31 starts. He led the league with a 0.90 WHIP and struck out a league-high 268 in 200 2/3 innings pitched. He also allowed two runs or fewer in 23 of his starts and completed seven innings in 16 of them, both figures tops in the NL.AL Rookie of the Year1. Aaron Judge (Yankees)2. Andrew Benintendi (Red Sox)3. Trey Mancini (Orioles)We all witnessed one of the greatest rookie seasons in baseball history. There are rookies who won the MVP: Boston's Fred Lynn in 1975 and Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki in 2001. Judge's season dwarfs both of them. He surpassed Mark McGwire's rookie record for homers (49) by hitting 52 and led the league in home runs, walks (127) and runs (128). The numbers go on and on. He could be the MVP, but he absolutely gets this.NL Rookie of the Year1. Cody Bellinger (Dodgers)2. Josh Bell (Pirates)3. German Marquez (Rockies)This one, too, is not close. Bellinger, 22, hit 39 homers, an NL record for rookies, and drove in 97 runs for a team that streaked into the playoffs. He played first base and every outfield position. He even stole 10 bases. Bell hit 26 home runs and drove in 90; great stuff, but still not close.AL Manager of the Year1. Paul Molitor (Twins)2. Joe Girardi (Yankees)3. Terry Francona (Indians)Molitor didn't just have the best year as a manager; he had one of the best years of all-time as a manager. No team in baseball history had pulled a turnaround from a 100-loss season to a playoff season. The Hall of Famer's club lost 103 last year and made this postseason with days to spare, playing some of its best baseball after the All-Star break. And it's not as if the Twins are stacked with household names. Joe Mauer is the biggest. Ervin Santana and Brian Dozier cause a ripple. And let's not forget what this team did after the front office saw a brief downturn and decided to sell All-Star reliever Brian Kintzler at the trade deadline.NL Manager of the Year1. Craig Counsell (Brewers)2. Torey Lovullo (Diamondbacks)3. Bud Black (Rockies)There is a really strong argument for Lovullo, who turned the Diamondbacks into a formidable force in his first year at the helm. However, Counsell took a team that was pegged for dead last in the NL Central and had it vying for a postseason berth with three games left to play. It was under his watch that potential stars such as pitchers Jimmy Nelson, Chase Anderson and Corey Knebel blossomed. His aggressive style, with seven players stealing 10 or more bases, was a difference-maker.