Kicking off on Jan. 17, 2026, at Auckland’s famous Eden Park, the OFC Professional League, even if you might not have heard of it until now, is one of the most ambitious footballing projects in recent memory.

Covering the vast expanse of the Pacific, the FIFA-backed league will seek to bring professional football to not just one country for the first time but an entire confederation, with a view already towards expanding as far as the United States.

Here’s all you need to know about soccer’s newest professional league.

What is the OFC Pro League?

The OFC Pro League is a new, professional competition that has been set up by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), with the support of FIFA. Given their small size and the relatively nascent stage of its footballing development — New Zealand is the largest nation in the region — none of the OFC’s members have previously been able to support a fully professional competition, which this cross-confederation competition seeks to address.

In providing a new professional destination, it’s hoped the competition will help to raise the level of football in the OFC, which now holds a direct qualification slot to the FIFA World Cup under the newly expanded 48-team format. The competition will also provide a stronger pathway and platform for players from the Pacific to earn moves to clubs in Australia, Asia, and the rest of the world.

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“To be accepted into this professional league is already huge for us,” Solomon Islands technical director Moses Toata told ESPN. “It means a lot of opportunities for coaches, for players, and for football in the country. It will change a lot of things; the way we look at football, the way we approach football.

“The changes that the professional league will bring to player development, there’s aspiration, even for the young ones. They will look up to the pros in the league, and say: ‘That’s where I want to be.’

“We just don’t [presently] have the right environment to nurture them and to develop the talents. We do have a lot of younger fans coming up, and I can say, with this league, I think this will increase the opportunity for more players coming up through the ranks. For our youth development programs, to our national academy program, and hopefully, in the future, we can see them at this stage.”

Which clubs will play in the OFC Pro League?

The inaugural edition of the competition will field eight teams, featuring a mix of existing and newly created entities. New Zealand is the only nation with two representatives, with Auckland FC representing the country’s North Island, and South Island United (rebadged from Christchurch United) representing its South.

Auckland FC (Auckland, New Zealand)
Bula FC (Fiji)
PNG Hekari (Papua New Guinea)
Solomon Kings (Solomon Islands)
South Island United (Christchurch, New Zealand)
South Melbourne (Australia)
Tahiti United (French Polynesia)
Vanuatu United (Vanuatu)

What’s the format of the OFC Pro League?

The new competition will run from January through to the end of May, with each entrant playing a minimum of 17 games. Teams will initially face each other twice across a series of circuit rounds planned to be staged across Auckland (New Zealand), Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea), Melbourne (Australia), Honiara (Solomon Islands), Lautoka (Fiji), and Suva (Fiji). Full fixtures are yet to be released.

Following the circuit series’ conclusion, the four sides with the most points will be split off into a “leaders” group, and the bottom four will be placed into a “challengers” group. Following another round-robin, the three highest-ranked sides from the leaders group will advance to the semifinals, while its bottom-placed side will face the highest-ranked side from the challengers group in a playoff to determine the final semifinal spot.

The single-leg semifinals and final will then be played in a central location, with Eden Park set to host these fixtures in the first year.

What’s at stake in the OFC Pro League?

Beyond earning the right to call themselves the champions of the Pacific, the winner of the OFC Pro League will secure a place in the FIFA Intercontinental Cup, while team’s performances in the competition on a quadrennial basis will be used to determine Oceania’s entrant at the newly reformatted FIFA Club World Cup.

How is the OFC Pro League being funded?

Clubs will be required to cover the costs of their own personnel, but the OFC has committed to subsidising the first four years of the competition with a US$40 million investment, which itself has been made possible thanks to the financial backing of FIFA.

Speaking at a launch event for Fijian outfit Bula FC, Fiji Football Association president Rajesh Patel, who also serves as a member of the OFC Executive Committee and the FIFA Council, claimed the competition would receive a four-year, US$20 million investment from the Saudi Tourism Authority, saying “we are thankful for this investment, which makes professional football a reality in our region.”

Speaking at a launch event for the league in Auckland in October, OFC general secretary Franck Castillo wouldn’t comment on the prospect of Saudi money being used to help fund the competition, nor claims that such an investment would represent an attempt at “sportswashing.”

“We are still finalising. We cannot answer yet,” Castillo said. “We are formalising everything, but in due course we will announce all the funding, but let’s say that it’s secured.

“I won’t comment on that, but when it comes to partnerships, I will explain [at a later date].

“We’ve got a good reason to partner with the people who want to partner.”

The Pacific has seen a significant amount of investment in sports in recent years, mostly tied to broader geopolitical maneuvering. China invested more than $US100 million in infrastructure for the 2023 Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands — which was described as a gift, not a loan — while the Australian Government has partnered with the NRL to place a new franchise in Papua New Guinea.

Are there any roster or spending restrictions in the OFC Pro League?

The OFC Pro League will not feature a salary cap but will have limits on the number of foreign players a team can field. In addition to fielding an unlimited number of players drawn from within their country, entrants will be allowed to field three players from the OFC in their squads, in addition to a further three players drawn from anywhere in the world.

Vanuatu United has already announced the signing of former Brisbane Roar goalkeeper Matt Acton and Australian defender Hassan Ramazani ahead of the opening season, while PNG Hekari — Papua New Guinea’s most successful side, that has rebranded from Hekari United — have signed Brazilians Erick Joe, Kaûe Silva, and Rafael Chaves.

Is there VAR in the OFC Pro League?

Yes, the cameras necessary to implement video review will be placed at every stadium that hosts games during the competition, with training and match simulations already commenced for OFC VAR officials, who will work out of an Auckland-based hub, under the guidance of former UEFA Champions League final official Mihaly Fabian.

Who has the OFC Pro League broadcast rights?

While OFC officials hope the league eventually grows to the point where it is attracting broadcast revenue, the OFC Pro League will be available globally and for free on the FIFA+ platform, where games from various Oceanian club and international countries are currently broadcast.

The OFC says that broadcasts will be produced using a five-camera setup, with commentators — drawn from the ranks of local media at the various locations where the competition will be staged — that will visit during its circuit series, calling games on location.

What’s the future of the OFC Pro League?

Long-term, it’s the hope of clubs that the competitions will expand and become financially viable enough to adopt a home-and-away format. Castillo indicated that the OFC aspires to expand the league by two as soon as possible, but that this will depend on funding, with other officials telling ESPN that such an aspiration would largely depend not only on the strength of new applicants for the competition but also on how well foundational clubs established themselves.

American Samoa, Cook Islands, New Caledonia, Samoa, Tahiti, Tonga, are full OFC members that aren’t yet represented in the new competition, while Kiribati and Tuvalu are associate members that are likewise unrepresented. With Asian Football Confederation member Australia represented via South Melbourne, OFC officials have already flagged a willingness to take the league outside the confederation and have previously expressed an openness to a team based in the United States.

“The league needs to grow,” Castillo said at the launch event. “We are starting now with eight teams, because it’s about funding, and we have the funding for eight teams. But we want to have more than eight teams in the future. And we are very confident with that. The first year is always the most difficult, because people do not believe in this thing.

“We know that this will be a major project, not only for the region, but for the world. Because I can tell you, the world will talk about this league. We are the only confederation without professional football, and we will now demonstrate that we can do it.

“And you will see amazing results. And because of the amazing results, people will talk about this league around the world. That will be a human story. So I’m very confident that we will secure more funding, and with more funding, we can get more than eight teams. At the moment, it’s a circuit series. If we increase more than 10 teams, then we have like a conference League, and we can have more and more teams.”

Did you say a team from the United States could play in the OFC Pro League?

Yes, a team from Hawaii, to be precise. With Honolulu a nine-hour flight from Auckland, Castillo said that placing a team in Hawaii remains an aspiration of the OFC, which would not only maintain the Pacific nature of the competition but also give it a foothold in the United States, in theory giving it a greater ability to commercialise.

“It’s about market as well, to open to the U.S. market and the Americas market,” he said.

Why are Auckland FC allowed to play in the OFC Pro League?

Auckland FC somewhat stand out among the OFC Pro League’s inaugural entrants in that they’re the only club that was already playing in a professional competition: the A-League Men. Bankrolled by American billionaire businessman Bill Foley, who also owns AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League and the Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL, Auckland FC are the defending premiers of the A-League, finishing atop the table as an expansion franchise in 2025.

Despite the A-League and OFC Pro League seasons overlapping, the club plans to maintain a presence in both competitions heading into the future, with football director Terry McFlynn, rather than the A-League coach Steve Corica, to lead the side into the Pacific. This has necessitated extra restrictions on their roster: limited to fielding a maximum of three players over the age of 23 contracted to their A-League side. They will, however, be allowed to field further players over the age of 23 if they aren’t registered for the A-League. Both Auckland and the OFC insist that the club won’t simply be fielding a reserve side in the OFC Pro League, with it expected that it will look to recruit extra players, especially from the Pacific, for its new commitment.

Importantly, Auckland FC will also be eligible to qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup through the new competition, and while they’re prevented from fielding their strongest squad in the OFC Pro League, the placements of transfer windows surrounding the global club showpiece would allow them to do so in the Club World Cup without running afoul of their registration restrictions.

“The winner goes to the Intercontinental Cup each year, and then the most successful team every four years gets to go to the Club World Cup,” Auckland chief executive Nick Becker told ESPN. “That’s something that isn’t possible for us in the A-League setup. Even if we win the A-League, as we did when we won the Premiers’ Plate last season, we didn’t qualify for the Asian Champions League because we can’t, because we’re an Oceanian team. This now gives us the opportunity to go out there and compete on those global stages.”

Why is South Melbourne, an Australian team, allowed to play in the OFC Pro League?

South Melbourne also stand out given they’re based in Australia, which left the OFC to join the Asian confederation in 2006. South’s presence in the league — and the absence of A-League side Wellington Phoenix — has raised many an eyebrow in soccer circles.

South Melbourne have a long, storied history. Named Oceania Club of the Century in 2010, the then South Melbourne Hellas were a stalwart of the Australian top flight — the NSL — until its demise in 2004. Omitted when the A-League was founded in 2005, South have been fighting for top-league football ever since. Now a foundation member of the new Australian second-tier, the Australian Championship, South will maintain their existing commitments alongside the OFC Pro League and will be required to make the step up from a semi-professional level to compete.

However, mirroring the situation confronting Kiwi-based sides Auckland and Wellington in the A-League, South will not be eligible to qualify for FIFA international tournaments through the OFC Pro League. They will, though, be eligible to receive a share of the FIFA World Cup payments that will be redistributed throughout the league by the OFC to ensure competitive balance.

“It’s a little bit like the same situation that we’ve got with the A-League,” Castillo said. “The A-League has invited two teams from New Zealand [to compete] and we believe that we should have done the same [for the OFC Pro League].

“It’s also a practical situation. We open the Australian market and we open the Asian markets [with South Melbourne’s entry]. Therefore, it’s a win-win situation.

“Australia was part of the OFC before. And there’s a long history with South Melbourne. They have been named the club of the century for Oceania. And I think that they are very proud [of that]. It was a competitive [bidding] process, with independent members to select the clubs, and we are happy that, finally, South Melbourne can come back with us.”

How competitive will the OFC Pro League be?

On a surface level, fully professional Auckland, even with the restrictions on overaged players they will operate with, appear to be the clear favourites for this new competition — especially considering semiprofessional Kiwi outfit Auckland City ran roughshod over the OFC Champions League for years. South Melbourne, meanwhile, are one of the most well-backed clubs outside the A-League in Australia and, on a surface level, would seem their closest rivals.

OFC officials, however, are confident that both clubs will face plenty of challenges in the new season.

With the opportunity to play in a professional competition, many of the Pacific-based clubs are expected to almost become quasi-national teams. Stéphane Auvray is the head coach of both Bula FC and Fiji, Samuel Garcia is set to lead both Tahiti United and Tahiti, and German tactician Lars Hopp will have roles with both Vanuatu United and Vanuatu.

MELBOURNE: Australia paceman Mitchell Starc has urged curators to prepare bowler-friendly pitches for the Ashes, warning against flattening surfaces to maximise five-day revenue as England’s aggressive “Bazball” approach looms.

Australia defeated India 3-1 in the last home summer on pitches that offered encouragement for batters and bowlers alike, and Starc said he hoped that would continue in the five-test series against England.

“I hope the groundsmen stick to their guns and prepare the wickets they want,” Starc told Australian media.

“If we are worried about five days of revenue then there’s bigger problems at hand.”

Left-armer Starc took a four-wicket haul for New South Wales on a tepid Sydney Cricket Ground pitch on Monday in the Sheffield Shield match against Victoria.

Though encouraged by his bowling in his first first-class match since July, Starc said the wicket would have played right into the England batters’ hands.

“Yeah no doubt. Especially if they’re pretty docile wickets like this,” he said.

“We know the way they’re trying to play their cricket. We’ll worry about that next week.”

Starc, who recently quit T20I cricket to extend his career in tests, said his bowling rhythm was back after a long layoff from red-ball cricket and he was building nicely for the Ashes series-opener in Perth starting on November 21.

“I think the break was a good thing, but I just tend to be someone who continuous bowling keeps in rhythm,” said the 35-year-old.

“I’ve just been speaking to (head coach) Ronnie (Andrew McDonald) then, I think I’ve sorted it out and now it’s just getting the engine going again.”

The hot stove season is already burning, but even amid the jostling of 2026 rosters, we have one last bit of 2025 business: handing out the major awards.

The biggies are the four major honors determined by BBWAA voting. These are the ones that will generate the most future attention in baseball history books and on Hall of Fame résumés of the future. The schedule (awards will be announced starting at 7 ET each night on MLB Network):

Monday: Jackie Robinson Rookies of the Year
Tuesday: Managers of the Year
Wednesday: Cy Young Awards
Thursday: MVP Awards

In addition, MLB will hold its annual awards show in Las Vegas on Thursday, during which it will recognize its All-MLB squads, the Hank Aaron Awards for each league’s best offensive performer, the Comeback Player of the Year Awards, the Mariano Rivera/Trevor Hoffman Awards for the top relievers, and the Edgar Martinez Awards for best designated hitters. The Executive of the Year Award will also be announced.

I’ll be reacting to each night’s awards announcement throughout the week, but in the meantime, here are some opening comments as well as some brief reaction to the honors that have already been doled out.

Below, we list the three finalists in each of the big four categories with what you need to know before the results are announced and my picks to take home the hardware. We’ll update each section with news and analysis as the awards are handed out.

Jump to:
MVP: AL | NL
Cy Young: AL | NL
Rookie of the Year: AL | NL
Manager of the Year: AL | NL

American League Rookie of the Year

Winner: Nick Kurtz, Athletics

Doolittle’s pick: Kurtz

Takeaway: Before the season, Kurtz’s name was nowhere near the list of top AL Rookie of the Year candidates. It’s not that he lacked hype — he was viewed by many as the Athletics’ top prospect — it’s just that he’s come on so fast.

The fourth overall pick in 2024, Kurtz entered the season with just 12 minor-league games under his belt, plus another 13 in last year’s Arizona Fall League. So it made sense that he began the season in Triple-A, where he again posted the same 1.000-plus OPS he’s put up every step along the way.

Kurtz debuted in the majors on April 23 and 117 games later, his 1.002 rookie-season OPS ranks as the fifth-best ever for a rookie (minimum 480 plate appearances) behind Aaron Judge, Ted Williams, Albert Pujols and Ryan Braun. As illustrious as that list is, none of those greats did what Kurtz did on July 25 against the Houston Astros, when he tied Shawn Green’s big league record for total bases in a game (19), mashing four homers among his six hits.

The ninth Rookie of the Year in Athletics history, Kurtz’s slash line (.290/.383/.619) at the tender age of 22 tells you all you need to know: He’s the complete package at the plate. Scary as it is to ponder, Kurtz is at an age when he still might get better. But even if he doesn’t, and this is what he is going forward, he’s one of the best hitters in the majors.

Anthony and Wilson were both high on preseason lists and validated that anticipation with fine rookie seasons. Wilson’s .311 average ranked third in the majors and came in a season when there were just seven qualifying .300 hitters in baseball. Anthony lived up to massive hype upon his arrival at Fenway Park, but any chance he had of overtaking Kurtz was snuffed when his season ended on Sept. 2 because of an oblique injury.

Here’s how my AXE leaderboard had it:

1. Nick Kurtz, Athletics (126 AXE)
2. Jacob Wilson, Athletics (118)
3. (tie) Roman Anthony, Boston Red Sox (115)
Noah Cameron, Kansas City Royals (115)
Colson Montgomery, Chicago White Sox (115)
6. Carlos Narvaez, Boston Red Sox (110)
7. Shane Smith, Chicago White Sox (109)

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.

ROY must-reads:

Passan Awards: Nick Kurtz wins ‘Individual Performance of the Year’

How a swing tweak has Red Sox rookie Roman Anthony rolling

National League Rookie of the Year

Finalists:

Drake Baldwin, Atlanta Braves
Caleb Durbin, Milwaukee Brewers
Cade Horton, Chicago Cubs

My pick: Baldwin

The NL rookie race is somewhat less dynamic than it was in 2024 when the finalists were Skenes, Jackson Merrill and Jackson Chourio. The 2025 race was such a hodgepodge all season that, in the end, it feels almost miraculous that AXE agrees with the voters’ selection of the three finalists.

As an excellent-hitting rookie who got into 97 games as a catcher, Baldwin has the clearest case for the award. Durbin was a spark plug for the Brewers who does a little bit of everything, but he was roughly a league-average hitter. Horton was excellent for the Cubs but logged only 118 innings.

Baldwin caught, played 124 games and put up a 126 OPS+ while driving in 80 runs. That’s enough separation for me.

American League MVP

Finalists:

Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners
Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Guardians

My pick: Raleigh

What to know: We’re going to dive deep into the riveting race between Judge and Raleigh later this week. According to my AXE rating, which is an index that expresses the consensus of the leading bottom-line metrics, the winner is Judge (164 to 150) and it’s not particularly close.

Despite the easy statistical case for Judge, I see this as a case in which the narrative and intangible elements overwhelm the metrics. And that’s not to undersell Raleigh’s metrics, which are more than MVP-worthy. But despite another historic season from Judge, I’m going with Raleigh.

Again, we’ll get into the nitty-gritty of the numbers later, but the soft factors that swing my thinking are these: Raleigh’s 60-homer season is the stuff of science fiction when viewed through the lens of what’s expected from every-day catchers. It not only shattered the single-season mark for the position, but it broke Mickey Mantle’s record for homers by a switch-hitter. Mickey freaking Mantle. And Raleigh’s a (darn good) catcher!

Raleigh did all of this as the defensive anchor and clubhouse leader on a division champion. There aren’t many seasons when I’d pick someone as MVP over the 2025 version of Aaron Judge, but this is one of them. Sure, I’m a stat guy, so this feels like a departure from that foundation, but sometimes a narrative is just too compelling to ignore.

Finally, poor Jose Ramirez. This is Ramirez’s sixth time landing in the AL’s top five in MVP balloting, and eighth time in the top 10. But he’s not going to win. Ramirez just keeps churning out the same great season every year. It’s just that there has always been someone a little greater each season.

That being said: Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. should have been the third finalist. He’ll be back.

MVP must-reads:

What it’s really like facing Aaron Judge

Can Yankees build a title-winning team around Aaron Judge?

‘It’s something that’s never been done’: Inside Cal Raleigh’s road to HR history

Why the Mariners are built to last after a crushing ALCS loss

National League MVP

Finalists:

Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers
Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies
Juan Soto, New York Mets

My pick: Ohtani

What to know: Together, the three NL MVP finalists logged 63% of their starts at designated hitter. Most of the non-DH starts came from Soto, whose defensive metrics continue to suggest a future of increased DH time. Still, the days of DHs being locked out of the MVP chase are clearly over.

Ohtani was the first exclusive DH to win an MVP last year, though he’d won it before while serving as an every-day DH in addition to pitching. He logged 1.1 bWAR this season for his 47 innings on the mound, which could have proved to be a tiebreaker if he and the other finalists were close. But it’s Ohtani all the way.

As hitters, all three used up a similar number of outs as Ohtani, who had at least a 20-run advantage in runs created over both. Shockingly, it was Soto who had the best baserunning numbers, thanks to his 38-steal breakout and Ohtani deemphasizing that part of his game. But Ohtani provided easily the most defensive value with his pitching, while Soto’s defense was a negative and Schwarber was almost exclusively a DH.

Basically, everything Schwarber and Soto did, Ohtani did better — and he pitched well. Even Schwarber’s league-leading RBI count (132) is trumped by Ohtani’s decided edge in WPA, a category in which he led the league. It’s Ohtani’s award, again, and it will be No. 4 for him. Only Barry Bonds has won more.

Not for nothing, you know which position player posted the highest bWAR total? That would be a nonfinalist: Arizona’s Geraldo Perdomo (7.0 bWAR), though he did finish behind Ohtani when the latter’s pitching bWAR is added.

MVP must-reads:

2025 MLB most exciting player bracket: Ohtani, Judge, more

The improbability of Shohei Ohtani’s greatness

Schwarber, All-Star swing-off captures the beauty of baseball

Inside Juan Soto’s wild first Mets season

Juan Soto, the showman, finally showing up for Mets

‘He turned his back on us’: What it was like watching Soto’s Bronx return with the Bleacher Creatures

American League Cy Young

Finalists:

Hunter Brown, Houston Astros
Garrett Crochet, Boston Red Sox
Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers

My pick: Skubal

Skubal is well positioned to become the AL’s first repeat Cy Young winner since Pedro Martinez in 2000. He might just be getting started. The dominant lefty didn’t repeat as a pitching Triple Crown winner, but he posted a lower ERA (2.21 to 2.39) and struck out more batters (241 to 228) than he did while winning the Cy Young Award in 2024. For the second straight year, he led the AL in pitching bWAR, FIP and ERA+.

That’s a tough résumé for Crochet to top, but he came pretty close, leading the AL in innings (205⅓) and strikeouts (255) and beating Skubal in wins (18 to 13). Skubal was a little more consistent in terms of average game score (64.2 to 62.6). Skubal really didn’t rout Crochet in any key area, but he beat him just the same in most columns.

Brown is a worthy No. 3, but for him, it’s the same story: He hung with the big two in most areas but didn’t top them. Still, it was another season of improvement for Brown, whose ERA over the past three seasons has gone from 5.09 to 3.49 to 2.43.

Cy Young must-reads:

The extraordinary mystery of the Tigers’ Tarik Skubal

National League Cy Young

Finalists:

Cristopher Sanchez, Philadelphia Phillies
Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Los Angeles Dodgers

My pick: Sanchez

My AXE system wasn’t particularly emphatic about the No. 3 pitcher in the NL Cy Young column, so Yamamoto is as good a pick there as any. We start with him because his dominant postseason run is fresh in our minds. But that doesn’t factor in here. Maybe it should, but it doesn’t. In any event, I’d have gone with Milwaukee’s Freddy Peralta as my No. 3.

Regardless of the third finalist, during the regular season, Skenes and Sanchez gradually separated themselves from the pack, especially after Sanchez’s teammate Zack Wheeler was injured. They are the easy top two but picking between them isn’t that easy.

Sanchez has the edge in volume — 202 innings to 187⅔, in part because the Pirates eased up on Skenes toward the end. Indeed, failure to do so would have been malpractice. Despite that, Skenes struck out more batters (216 to 212), posted a better ERA (1.97 to 2.50) and led the league in ERA+, WHIP and FIP. The extra 14⅓ innings allowed Sanchez a narrow win in bWAR (8.0 to 7.7).

In the end, their runs saved against average is a virtual dead heat: 53 for Sanchez against 52 for Skenes. Thus for me it comes down to context. Sanchez put up his season for a division champ, Skenes for a cellar dweller. That is not Skenes’ fault, but we’ve got to separate these pitchers somehow. Sanchez’s season was worth 3.2% championship probability added against Skenes’ 0.5%. That’s the clincher for me.

But I think Skenes will win the vote.

Cy Young must-reads:

How young aces Skenes, Skubal dominate

American League Manager of the Year

Finalists:

John Schneider, Toronto Blue Jays
Stephen Vogt, Cleveland Guardians
Dan Wilson, Seattle Mariners

My pick: Schneider

Schneider’s style of game management generates a lot of critiques. But he still guided a team from last place to an AL East title and a World Series appearance, though the voters wouldn’t have known about that last part. He also oversaw a makeover of the team’s offensive approach that led to one of baseball’s most prolific attacks. And if you want to assign the credit for the improvement of the hitters to coach David Popkins, fine. But who hired him?

Manager of the Year must-reads:

How the high-contact, high-octane Blue Jays nearly took down a baseball superpower — and could change MLB

The magic chemistry of the Blue Jays clubhouse

How Mariners got their mojo

National League Manager of the Year

Finalists:

Terry Franconca, Cincinnati Reds
Pat Murphy, Milwaukee Brewers
Rob Thompson, Philadelphia Phillies

My pick: Murphy

This would make Murphy 2-for-2 in winning the award as a full-time big league manager, a position he didn’t ascend to until age 65. (I’m discounting his 96-game interim stint for San Diego in 2015.)

Yes, the Brewers repeated as a playoff team, but this was still a squad that entered the season with low expectations after the roster was shuffled into an even younger version. Rather than this being a transition season, the Brewers were one of baseball’s most exciting units. They won close games, won with rookies and won with a relatively low payroll. And they had a tremendous clubhouse culture.

It’s a combination of factors that should enable Murphy to repeat, especially because the voters didn’t know Milwaukee would eventually be flattened by the Dodgers in the NLCS.

Manager of the Year must-reads:

Welcome to ‘Milwaukee Community College’: How the Brewers built a $115 million juggernaut

Why Terry Francona, Bruce Bochy came back to managing in MLB

Other awards

Just a run-through of my picks, leaving aside the Comeback Player category, which is tough to attack analytically:

Executive of the Year: Matt Arnold, Milwaukee Brewers. I have a metric I use to track organizational performance. It looks at things such as the performance of acquired players, organizational records and the value produced by rookies. Arnold’s club topped the charts. Arnold won this award last year, so we’ll find out if there is an Arnold fatigue at work here. If Arnold doesn’t win, I’d lean toward Seattle’s Jerry Dipoto.

All-MLB: My All-MVP first team, courtesy of AXE:

1B: Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves
2B: Nico Hoerner, Chicago Cubs
SS: Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals
3B: Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Guardians
C: Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners
OF: Juan Soto, New York Mets
OF: Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
OF: Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks
DH: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers
LHP: Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers
RHP: Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates
RP: Aroldis Chapman, Boston Red Sox

Hank Aaron Award: Aaron Judge (AL, New York Yankees); Shohei Ohtani (NL, Los Angeles Dodgers)

Mariano Rivera Award: Aroldis Chapman, Boston Red Sox

Trevor Hoffman Award: Edwin Diaz, New York Mets

Gold Gloves: The winners have been announced and can be found here. My quibbles: I would have gone with Toronto’s Alejandro Kirk at AL catcher over Detroit’s Dillon Dingler. On the NL side, I’d have liked to find a spot for Washington’s Jacob Young, but the insistence on LF/CF/RF distinctions ruled that out. All in all, another pretty solid job in an awards category that used to be rife with absurdities.