With the 2025 MLB season ending on Nov. 1 with a Los Angeles Dodgers World Series victory, the MLB has officially entered the off-season, which means it’s time for the MLB Award winners to be announced. There are many awards that are given out to the best of the best. The awards include: The Championship Series MVPs (most valuable players), which are given to the best players of the Championship Series. The World Series MVP (most valuable player) is given to the best and most valuable player during the World Series, but the award is only given to a player from the winning team. The Silver Slugger Awards are given to the best hitters at every position in each league. The Gold Glove awards are given to the best defensive player at their position in each league. The Manager of the Year awards are given to the best team manager in each league. The Rookie of the Year awards are given to the best first (or sometimes second) year players in each league. The Cy Young awards are given to the best pitcher in each league. And finally, the most important of all, the MVP (most valuable player) awards are given to the best and most valuable player in each league.
Championship Series MVPs: The Championship Series this year was intense, as we saw record-setting games, a win-or-go-home Game 7 and so much more. The teams that played in the National League Championship Series were the Milwaukee Brewers, who had won the most games in the regular season with 98. The Brewers were trying to go to the World Series for the first time in program history. But they were facing the Los Angeles Dodgers, who were predicted to be the best team in baseball, as they have Shohei Ohtani, who is the best player in baseball and is getting paid $700 million in 10 years. The series was not even close, as the Dodgers swept the Brewers in only four games and moved on to the World Series. The winner of the National League Championship Series MVP was Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani is possibly the best baseball player of all time, as not only is he one of the Starting Pitchers for the Dodgers, but he is also a full-time Designated Hitter, which means he can hit and pitch. But in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, he had what people are now calling the greatest game in Major League Baseball history. Ohtani was the starting pitcher for the Dodgers, but during the game, he did the unthinkable by picking up 10 strikeouts on the mound and hitting 3 home runs in the game, one of them going 469 feet. This performance sent the Dodgers to the World Series and made Ohtani the no-doubt winner of the National League Championship Series award. Playing in an entirely different country, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners faced off in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series on Oct. 20. The Mariners had a great season, led by their Catcher, Cal Raleigh who hit 60 home runs in the regular season, which is now the record for the most single-season home runs by a catcher in Major League Baseball history. The Blue Jays’ success, on the other hand, came as a surprise after their hopes were not high entering the season, coming off a 70-win season in 2024 and missing the playoffs. Game 7 came down to the wire, as the Mariners had the lead for most of the game, but George Springer of the Blue Jays hit a three-run home run in the seventh inning to put the Blue Jays ahead. The Jays held on to the lead and won the American League Championship Series, which meant that they were going to the World Series to face the Dodgers. But the winner of the American League Championship Series MVP was Vladimir Guerrero Jr, the son of Hall-of-Famer Vladimir Guerrero Sr. Guerrero Jr hit 3 home runs in the series, but some felt that George Springer deserved the award, as he hit the home run that sent the Blue Jays to the World Series.
World Series MVP: The World Series was amazing as the Blue Jays and Dodgers went back and forth all series. But in Game 7, the Dodgers hit two home runs that won them the World Series. The first was by Miguel Rojas, who spent most of the year on the bench, but was given the start in Game 7, and with the Dodgers down to their final two outs of the season, Rojas hit a solo home run to left field to tie the game at 4-4. The second home run was by Will Smith, who, in a tie game, after the Blue Jays failed to score twice in extra innings, hit a go-ahead home run to give the Dodgers a 5-4 lead. The Dodgers held on to their lead as they brought out their star pitcher, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who is usually a starter, but came out of the bullpen because the Dodgers needed their best pitchers to win. Yamamoto got into trouble as the Blue Jays put two runners on first and third with only one out, and all they had to do was put a ball in the perfect spot, and they would tie the game, or they could hit a home run to win the World Series. But Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk hit a ground ball to Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts, who stepped on second base and threw to first base to complete the double play, and that won the Dodgers the World Series. But after the game ended on Nov. 1, it was announced that Yoshinobu Yamamoto was the winner of the World Series MVP after he was the starting pitcher in Games 2 and 6, but in Game 2, he threw a complete game, meaning that he pitched all nine innings of the game and only gave up one run. In Game 6, he pitched six innings and also gave up only one run, and in Game 7, he closed out the World Series while pitching 2.2 innings and giving up no runs. This meant that Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched 17.2 innings and gave up only two runs, a clear winner for World Series MVP.
The Silver Slugger Awards: The Silver Slugger Awards are given to the best hitters at every position in each league, but they also give two additional awards for Designated Hitters and Utility Players, which are players who play more than one position on the field. They also give an award to the best hitting overall team in each league. The awards were announced for the National League on Nov. 6, and the awards for the American League were announced on Nov. 7. The winners of the Silver Slugger Team Awards were the New York Yankees of the American League, and the World Series-winning Los Angeles Dodgers of the National League. The players who won the Silver Slugger Awards in the American League include: First base: Nick Kurtz of the Athletics. Second base: Jazz Chisholm Jr of the New York Yankees. Shortstop: Bobby Witt Jr of the Kansas City Royals. Third base: Jose Ramirez of the Cleveland Guardians, who won his sixth Silver Slugger Award. Outfield: Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees. Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins. Riley Greene of the Detroit Tigers. Catcher: Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners. Designated hitter: George Springer of the Toronto Blue Jays. And utility player: Zach McKinstry of the Detroit Tigers. Now, here are the players who won the Silver Slugger Awards in the National League: First base: Pete Alonso of the New York Mets. Second base: Ketel Marte of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Shortstop: Geraldo Perdomo of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Third base: Manny Machado of the San Diego Padres. Outfield: Juan Soto of the New York Mets. Corbin Carroll of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Kyle Tucker of the Chicago Cubs. Catcher: Hunter Goodman of the Colorado Rockies. Designated hitter: Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers. And utility player: Alec Burleson of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Gold Glove Awards: The Gold Glove Awards are given to the best defenders at every position in each league, which are players who make the best and most important plays to take hits away from players. They also give an award to Utility players and pitchers because, technically, pitchers can make plays, but this does not happen that often. The awards were all announced on Nov. 2. Now, here are the winners of the American League Gold Glove: Catcher: Dillon Dingler of the Detroit Tigers. First base: Ty France of the Toronto Blue Jays and the Minnesota Twins. Second base: Marcus Semien of the Texas Rangers. Shortstop: Bobby Witt Jr of the Kansas City Royals. Third base: Maikel Garcia of the Kansas City Royals. Left field: Steven Kwan of the Cleveland Guardians. Center field: Ceddanne Rafaela of the Boston Red Sox. Right field: Wilyer Abreu of the Boston Red Sox. Pitcher: Max Fried of the New York Yankees. And utility: Mauricio Dubon of the Houston Astros. The National League Gold Glove Award winners include: Catcher: Patrick Bailey of the San Francisco Giants. First base: Matt Olson of the Atlanta Braves. Second base: Nico Hoerner of the Chicago Cubs. Shortstop: Masyn Winn of the St. Louis Cardinals. Third base: Ke’Bryan Hayes of the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cincinnati Reds. Left field: Ian Happ of the Chicago Cubs. Center field: Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Chicago Cubs. Right field: Fernando Tatis Jr of the San Diego Padres. Pitcher: Logan Webb of the San Francisco Giants. And utility: Javier Sanoja of the Miami Marlins.
Rookie of the Year awards: The Rookie of the Year awards are given to the best rookies in baseball and were announced on Nov. 10th. Most players who win the award or are eligible for the award are first-year MLB players. But some players are eligible for the award if they did not play much the year prior or got injured. The American League Rookie of the Year award finalists were: Nick Kurtz of the Athletics, Jacob Wilson of the Athletics and Roman Anthony of the Boston Red Sox. But the player who won the award was unanimously Nick Kurtz after he put up an amazing year, hitting 36 home runs and driving in 86 runs. On July 25, 2025, against the Houston Astros in Houston, Nick Kurtz had one of the best games in MLB history. Kurtz went six-for-six, drove in eight runs, and hit four home runs in one game. He was one of the first players ever to hit four home runs in a game, and he tied Jimmie Foxx for the most total bases in a single game in MLB history at 19. Along the way, he got nicknamed the Big Amish, as he is from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, which is known for having the largest Amish population in America, but even though he is from here, he is not Amish. The three finalists for the National League Rookie of the Year award were: Caleb Durbin of the Milwaukee Brewers, Cade Horton of the Chicago Cubs and Drake Baldwin of the Atlanta Braves. But Drake Baldwin ended up winning the award as he hit 19 home runs and drove in 80 runs in a phenomenal season. Some argued that Cade Horton, who is a starting pitcher for the Chicago Cubs, should have won the award, as some argued that he had a better season. The problem was that he only pitched in 23 games and did not play the entire season like Drake Baldwin, as his first game was in May.
Manager of the Year Awards: The Manager of the Year awards are given to one manager from each league. The awards were announced on Nov. 11. The National League Manager of the Year award was given to Pat Murphy, who is the Manager of the Milwaukee Brewers, after his team had the best record in the 2025 regular season. The American League Manager of the Year award was given to Stephen Vogt of the Cleveland Guardians after his team had a 1% chance of making it to the playoffs, despite the Detroit Tigers leading their division and being considered the best team in baseball. But in September, the Tigers went on a losing streak, and the Guardians kept on winning. They looked like they could not lose, and somehow made the playoffs as well as the Tigers. These two teams ended up playing each other in the Wild Card Series, but the Tigers ended up winning and went on to face the Seattle Mariners in the division series, where they lost. These two managers actually made history by becoming the first managers in MLB history to win the Manager of the Year Awards in back-to-back years. Even more impressive, last year was both of the managers’ first year ever being a manager in the MLB.
Cy Young Awards: The Cy Young Awards are given to the best pitchers in each league. The award is named after Cy Young, who was a pitcher way back in the early 1900s and was one of the best pitchers of all time, as he had 511 career wins, earning the name of the award. The awards were announced on Nov. 12. The three finalists for the American League Cy Young award are: Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers, Garrett Crochet of the Boston Red Sox and Hunter Brown of the Houston Astros. But Tarik Skubal won the award, as this year he pitched to a 2.21 earned run average with 241 strikeouts in 31 games. This is also the second year in a row that Skubal has won this award. The three finalists for the National League Cy Young award were: Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cristopher Sanchez of the Philadelphia Phillies and Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Los Angeles Dodgers. But Paul Skenes ended up winning the award as he pitched to a 1.97 earned run average with 216 strikeouts in 32 games. Last year, Paul Skenes won the National League Rookie of the Year award as he was a rookie last year, and in just his first full season in the big leagues, he has already won the Cy Young award at only 23 years old. After winning the award, Paul Skenes said, “Winning it is one thing. It being unanimous is another. It’s pretty special. The Cy Young Award is the Cy Young Award. Every baseball fan knows it. I’ve had a month to think about it now, after the season ended, and what it would mean. That’s the answer I’ve come upon is that it doesn’t change anything about the season that I had, whether I win it or not. Same way, I thought about the Rookie of the Year Award last year. It’s a tremendous honor, but we play this game because we love the game. We love to pitch and to win.”
And last but not least, the MVP Awards, which are given to the best and most valuable player in each league every year. The awards were announced on Nov. 13. For the American League, it was announced that New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge won the award, after he hit for an insane 331 average, 53 home runs and 114 RBI. But some MLB fans were in shock when he won because most people felt like Cal Raleigh should have won the award for his 60 home run season. For the National League, it was announced that Pitcher/Designated Hitter of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani, won the award unanimously, after he pitched to a 2.87 ERA, with 62 strikeouts and batted to a 282 average with 55 home runs and 102 RBI. After winning the award, Shohei Ohtani said, “The biggest thing is obviously being able to win the World Series. That’s first and foremost. You know, it’s icing on the cake just to be able to get an individual award, being crowned MVP, but I just really appreciate the support from all my teammates, everybody around me, my supporting staff.”
