Plenty of hardware has already been bestowed since the Houston Astros were crowned champions of the baseball world earlier this month, but the traditional heavy-hitting awards are yet to find their respective offseason homes. Throughout the next week, the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) will announce their winners of the highly coveted awards. Starting Monday, Nov. 13, with the Rookie of the Year awards, and ending with the much-sought out MVP announcements Thursday, Nov. 16.

While award voting has shifted from hotly talked about battles between a few to runaways for the winners over the last decade, the stories and paths to each winner’s crowning moment fulfil the narratives of the sport we relish.

As we do every year here at The Runner Sports, we’re throwing our own hats and votes into the ring for the 2017 TRS MLB Awards. Similarly to the BBWAA structure in many ways, the TRS voting system follows as such:

• Each voting writer is given three voting slots for each award.
• A first place vote is worth 5 points, a second worth 3, and third worth 1 point.
• The winner will be determined by the most points accumulated.
• In the event of a point-based tie, the award will go to the person receiving the most first-place votes.
• Should a tie follow suit in first-place votes, a vote-off will be cast with just the two top vote-getting parties eligible for votes.

MVP

American League MVP

Jose Altuve, OF, Houston Astros

153 Games, 24 HRs, 81 RBIs, .346/.410/.547

The small statured Jose Altuve has been in the hunt for the storied award for the past three seasons, but each time has come up short. Chased all season long -and likely down to the wire of the BBWAA vote- Altuve fends of the sensational rookie, Aaron Judge. Altuve has already collected an abundance of awards in the wake of his World Series victory, but this one will hit home and find a special place. Long told he was too small to excel at the game, Altuve turned adversity and doubt into drive and dedication to his craft. He will post the highest average for an AL MVP winner since Miguel Cabrera’s record-breaking 2013 performance. This year, Altuve became the first player to have multiple seasons in which he had 20 home runs, 30 stolen bases, and 200 hits. Most will point to Judge’s failure to seize the award as a rookie based on his strikeouts, but Altuve has just pieced together a version of baseball unseen in a single player. In the end, for the TRS vote at least, it wasn’t close, as Altuve walked away with all but one first-place vote. Once a commonality, Altuve will become just the third MVP winner to win the World Series in the same year since 1988, perhaps demonstrating a winning trend returning to the vote.

Other notable votes: Aaron Judge

National League MVP

Giancarlo Stanton

159 Games, 59 HRs, 132 RBIs, .281/.331/.631

A much more tightly contested battle, Giancarlo Stanton ultimately pulls away from a dense crowd of players in the NL MVP vote. Regardless of which way this swings through the BBWA vote, the winner will -most likely- be deserved as currently there were as many as four players who posed realistic chances to take home the award. It will task the voters on their respective definition of most valuable player, as only one of the top four performers (one of three of the BBWAA finalists) played on a playoff roster. Stanton cemented his place among the conversation thanks to his 59 home runs, the most hit since Barry Bonds’ asterisks riddled 73 in 2001. MVP winners are often defined by their late season play, and Stanton carried things home after the All-Star break, mashing 33 second half long balls. As the new ownership of the Miami Marlins look to get the team turned around, it appears to all start with trading Stanton away, which should make for a highly interesting pursuit of the $325 million MVP.

Other notable votes: Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, Joey Votto

Cy Young

National League Cy Young

Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals

31 Games, 16-6, 200.2 IP, 2.51 ERA, 0.902 WHIP, 268 Ks

By the hair on his chinny chin chin, Max Scherzer earns the 2017 TRS MLB Awards NL MVP by a single vote. Thanks to the omission of Clayton Kershaw on the ballot entirely by a single voter, Scherzer’s empowering season escapes a narrowly dreadful ending to his campaign. If not for a single outing on September 13, Scherzer would have likely been a shoe-in for the award, but a dreadful seventh inning against the Atlanta Braves in an all-around questionable series of calls, Scherzer opened the door for this to be a much deeper conversation this autumn. Sitting at 95 pitches at the start of the inning Scherzer would walk four in the inning before eventually, and mercifully, getting the hook from manager Dusty Baker, but all five of his runners would score. If you remove that singular lapse in judgement, Scherzer likely remains out front in the conversation, but instead, Kershaw will breathe down his neck, and considering the Dodgers’ postseason run (BBWAA awards are voted on before the playoffs) there will likely be an outcry -somewhat unjustly- if this ends up being the case. In truth, the Cy Young is a two-horse race, and Scherzer deserves to be in consideration, and even winning.

Other votable votes: Clayton Kershaw, Stephen Strasburg

American League Cy Young

Corey Kluber, Cleveland Indians

29 Games, 18-4, 203.2 IP, 2.25 ERA, 0.869 WHIP, 265 Ks

For the second straight year, Corey Kluber takes home the TRS MLB Awards AL Cy Young vote. Similar to what will define many of these battles, Kluber waltzed to a much less impeded repeat thanks in large to the second half regression of his main competitor, Chris Sale. While Sale powered to the front of the pack in strikeouts and never looked back, Kluber kept consistent throughout the year to finish leading the league in ERA, wins, winning percentage, WHIP, and walks per nine innings.

Other notable votes: Chris Sale

Rookie of the Year

AL ROY

Aaron Judge, OF, New York Yankees

155 Game, 52 HRs, 114 RBIs, .284/.422/.627

If not for Jose Altuve, Aaron Judge would likely run away with both this award and the MVP, instead, he’ll dominate here and win the AL Rookie of the Year handily. Judge has dominated the conversation so thoroughly from almost start to finish, it has almost been unfair to every other rookie trying to make a name for themselves. So much so that most won’t even bother to compare Judge’s closest rookie competition, Andrew Benintendi. Judge has supplanted himself right into the higher conversations of baseball talk, and will likely remain there for some time as the young Yankees look to chase baseball glory over the next three seasons and change. Yankee writer, Griffin Fuller, has a great in-depth piece that shows just how dominant Judge was a historical baseball presence, let alone as a rookie.

Other notable votes: Andrew Benintendi

NL ROY

Cody Bellinger, 1B, Los Angeles Dodgers

132 Games, 39 HRs, 97 RBIs, .267/.352/.581

For the second straight season, the Los Angeles Dodgers will possess the NL Rookie of the Year. Following up Corey Seager’s impressive debut, Cody Bellinger jumped right into a World Series favorite side and never got swallowed by the bright spotlight in Hollywood. He was versatile, playing in every single outfielder position throughout the season on top of his primary role at first base, and batted in every position within the order except ninth. Bellinger had the most home runs in an MLB debut season. There were some shorter-term impressive stretches in the NL from rookies, but Bellinger stood above the rest.

Other notable votes: Paul DeJong

Comeback Player

AL Comeback Player of the Year

Mike Moustakas, 3B, Kansas City Royals

148 Games, 38 HRs, 85 RBIs, .272/.314/.521

Injuries often most define the winners of this award. After playing just 26 games in 2016 due to a knee injury, Mike Moustakas returned to glory hardly missing a step. Things weren’t always bright for the Kansas City Royals, who had won over the small market heart of the sport over the previous few seasons, but right at the center of nearly every highlight was Moustakas, eliciting his usual “moose” chants from the home crowd.

Other notable votes: Justin Smoak

NL Comeback Player of the Year

Eric Thames, 1B, Milwaukee Brewers

138 Games, 31 HRs, 63 RBIs, .247/.359/.518

While injury dictates most player’s appearance in this category, Eric Thames experienced a career revival. Thames made the jump back to the MLB after spending the previous three seasons tearing apart the Korean Baseball Organization. We’ve seen comebacks from overseas, but nothing quite like what Thames treated us to at the start of the season. He hit 11 home runs in the opening month, dispelling the excuses for rusty bats across the league. And while ultimately he flatlined and came back to Earth as the season progressed, it’s not hard to give a guy like this, whose story was so fun this season, your vote.

Other notable votes: Ryan Zimmerman, Greg Holland

Manager of the Year

National League Manager of the Year

Torey Lovullo, Arizona Diamondbacks

93-69, 812 runs scored, 659 runs allowed

A year after rookie manager Dave Roberts nabbed this award with a nearly identical record, rookie manager Torey Lovullo overtook Roberts to win in 2017. Despite a +13 win increase for the eventually World Series-bound Dodgers, it was not enough in the eyes of the voters as Lovullo took the D-Backs from 69 wins to 93 in the flip of a season. While it can be a cheeky excuse not to vote for a manager of an expensive roster, it also can’t be entirely ignored and there’s a major discrepancy between the payrolls of the two teams, and one can argue that, considering the roster Roberts had to work with, it would have been disappointing to not see that improvement from the Dodgers while the Diamondbacks were much more the wild card. Lovullo sparked a wildfire of life in a once dead Red Sox team in a September spent as the interim manager in 2015, and made it apparent that was no fluke. His managing impact was evident across the field, and with GM Mike Hazen, they shifted this team from dead in the desert vulture bait to legitimate threats.

Other notable votes: Dave Roberts, Bud Black

American League Manager of the Year

AJ Hinch, Houston Astros

101-61, 896 runs scored, 700 runs allowed

The Astros’ success has been a gameplan some three years in the making. And while the organization hit on more gambles than misses, nothing can be overstated about how they had the right guy on the bench for the job. Hinch had a huge obstacle to overcome on his path here. Terry Francona’s Indians have been the epitome of efficient baseball, and Paul Molitor was the first person to turn a 100-loss team into a playoff appearance -albeit thanks in part to the expanded Wild Card system introduced in 2012. Hinch’s level-headed decision-making is a refreshment in the analytically rash driven world MLB managers find themselves in. His lineup manipulation and handling of a bullpen that would have been many iterations of the same season’s downfall speaks to his ability to put his impact on the game.

Other notable votes: Terry Francona, Paul Molitor

Executives of the Year

AL Executive of the Year

Jeff Luhnow, Houston Astros

There should be little surprise to see Jeff Luhnow grace this award. A plan that took form four years ago -to the point of Sports Illustrated’s Ben Reiter’s now infamous three-year World Series prediction even getting run in such an esteemed publication— the path to this point has been anything but assured for the Astros. Draft misses and heart-aching trades presented astounding obstacles around every turn, not to mention the ever unknown of prospect growth and development. Luhnow stuck to his guns and gameplan and saw the end product manifest on the grandest of stages in the Fall Classic. With some added tinkering, particularly to the bullpen, all that hard work won’t likely be a one and done type deal. The Astros should be omnipresent atop the American League over the next three seasons, and still boast an overflowing farm system of talent that will dictate the trading block for years to come.

Other notable votes: Brian Cashman

NL Executive of the Year

Andrew Friedman/Farhan Zaidi, Los Angeles Dodgers

It’ll be a bit of double standard to see the voting unfold as such, the front office getting the glory over manager Dave Roberts, who still had to piece it all together. But that’s the cruel world of sports for you. The Dodgers’ front office did everything a team with overflowing caches of money are supposed to do and at every turn possible looked to improved what was already a 91-win team. Through those deep coffers and a willingness to stay active in the trade game, this front office managed to do just that, and sent the Dodgers to a franchise-best (since moving to LA) 104 wins. If not for a funky stumble in September where we wondered if this team would win another game during the season (not that they needed to, that’s how much cushion they had established) they likely would have been in the hunt for the illustrious 116 mark.

Other notable votes: Mike Hazen, Mike Rizzo

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