Chicago White Sox were all over the MLB Award ballots
The Chicago White Sox are all over the MLB Award nominations.
The Chicago White Sox were a good team in 2020. There were some issues down the stretch but it was clear that a scary good team was on the horizon. It was fitting that they made the playoffs for the first time since 2008 as a result. They were defeated by the Oakland A’s in the first round but everyone knew why. Some of the folks involved in this season’s success have been praised for it in different ways as the White Sox were all over the MLB BWAA award nominations.
In a bit of an awkward moment, Rick Renteria was nominated for the American League Manager of the Year. He wasn’t the manager that was going to get the White Sox over the hump but he certainly helped set a foundation of a good team. Those guys battled for their manager and each other. Under Renteria, the White Sox finished off a full-blown rebuild while believing they could win each game without much talent. As much as it was time to move on, Renteria was good for his time.
Luis Robert was nominated for the Rookie of the Year. He didn’t finish as strong as he would have liked but that doesn’t take away from the fact that he had a phenomenal rookie season. He showed that he can play elite defensive centerfield and smash baseballs almost every single night. He has the tools to become an MVP caliber player that people say is top-five in the world. He may or may not win this, but it shows that MLB recognizes how great he is.
As for the main event, the MVP award. The White Sox have two guys that are deserving of the honor but Jose Abreu managed to be nominated. Tim Anderson should have some top-ten (and maybe even top-five) votes but Abreu was the guy this year. You should even consider him the favorite at this point. He led the MLB in hits, RBIs, slugging percentage, and total bases in 2020. Taking home that honor would be awesome for everyone involved.
The fact that the White Sox have all of this talent being considered for awards makes things so exciting for the future. There are even other players not mentioned like Yoan Moncada and Eloy Jimenez that could be in some of these conversations someday. They also have studly pitchers like Lucas Giolito and Michael Kopech who could be considered for Cy Young Awards one day.
Hot. Martin Perez wold make a great Chicago White Sox pitcher. light
They even had some Gold Glove nominees named earlier in October so the defense was pretty good this year as well. Normally, the World Series is the main goal but if you have this many players who can win individual awards, chances are that you have the potential to win a lot of baseball games. Hopefully, our guys can ride this momentum into the 2021 season.