Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Atlanta Braves hits a home run during the first inning in the game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., September 22, 2023. /CFP
Star shortstop Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Atlanta Braves was voted by his Major League Baseball (MLB) peers as the player of the year in the annual Players Choice Awards of the Players Association (MLBPA).
Having made 159 appearances for the Braves during the 2023 regular season, Acuna Jr. hit 106 runs batted in (RBIs) and .337 at bats with 41 home runs and 73 stolen bases. He became the first player in MLB history to tally at least 40 homers and 70 stolen bases in one season. He was also voted the National League's (NL's) outstanding player.
The American League's (AL's) outstanding player was designated hitter and pitcher Shonehi Ohani of the Los Angeles Angels. Though he stopped pitching since August 23 and ceased to bat after September 3 because of injuries, he still had a dominant performance of hitting .304 at bats with 44 homers, 95 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. Meanwhile, he was 10-5 as a pitcher with an earned run average (ERA) of 3.14 and 167 strikeouts in 132 innings.
Ohtani will become a free agent during the offseason and is likely to cause a bloody battle among teams that want to sign him.
Shohei Ohtani (R) of the Los Angeles Angels hits during the first inning in the game against the Oakland Athletics at RingCentral Coliseum in Oakland, California, September 3, 2023. /CFP
Second baseman Marcus Semien who won the World Series title with the Texas Rangers received his second Marvin Miller man of the year award for his inspiring leadership to his teammates. The Curt Flood Award went to Phil Bradley for his work as a union special assistant for international and domestic special events.
Gerrit Cole of the New York Yankees and Blake Snell of the San Diego Padres were selected as the AL's and the NL's outstanding pitchers respectively. Outfielder Cody Bellinger of the Chicago Cubs was voted the NL comeback player while reliever Liam Hendriks of the Chicago White Sox received the honor in the AL.
The outstanding rookies were outfielder Corbin Carroll of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL and infielder Gunnar Henderson of the Baltimore Orioles in the AL.