Judge, Ohtani headline Players Choice Awards winners
The players have spoken. Aaron Judge is on top of the baseball world.
Judge headlined the winners of this year's Players Choice Awards by taking home both the Player of the Year and AL Outstanding Player honors, the MLBPA announced. The New York Yankees captain edged out Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. for Player of the Year.
Judge's peers deemed him the best of the best after a regular season that saw him fall just short of another 60-homer season. He hit .322/.458/.701 with 58 homers and 144 RBIs over 158 games, while leading the majors in homers, RBIs, walks (133), OPS (1.159), total bases (392), OPS+ (223), and fWAR (11.2).
This is the second time in three years that Judge has won Player of the Year. He's the sixth player to claim the honor in multiple seasons, joining Barry Bonds, Jose Altuve, Miguel Cabrera, Alex Rodriguez, and three-time winner Albert Pujols.
Ohtani, who authored the first-ever 50-50 season and led the NL in multiple offensive categories, didn't go home empty-handed, as he beat out Francisco Lindor and Marcell Ozuna for the NL's Outstanding Player award. A two-time AL Outstanding Player winner with the Los Angeles Angels, he's now the first player to win the honor in both leagues since the Players Choice Awards were created in 1993.
Here are all the 2024 Players Choice Awards winners in their respective categories:
Player of the Year
| Winner (Team) | Finalists (Team) |
|---|---|
| Aaron Judge (NYY) | Shohei Ohtani (LAD) and Bobby Witt Jr. (KC) |
American League Outstanding Player
| Winner (Team) | Finalists (Team) |
|---|---|
| Aaron Judge (NYY) | José Ramírez (CLE) and Bobby Witt Jr. (KC) |
National League Outstanding Player
| Winner (Team) | Finalists (Team) |
|---|---|
| Shohei Ohtani (LAD) | Francisco Lindor (NYM) and Marcell Ozuna (ATL) |
American League Outstanding Pitcher
| Winner (Team) | Finalists (Team) |
|---|---|
| Tarik Skubal (DET) | Emmanuel Clase (CLE) and Logan Gilbert (SEA) |
National League Outstanding Pitcher
| Winner (Team) | Finalists (Team) |
|---|---|
| Chris Sale (ATL) | Paul Skenes (PIT) and Zack Wheeler (PHI) |
American League Outstanding Rookie
| Winner (Team) | Finalists (Team) |
|---|---|
| Colton Cowser (BAL) | Wilyer Abreu (BOS) and Austin Wells (NYY) |
National League Outstanding Rookie
| Winner (Team) | Finalists (Team) |
|---|---|
| Jackson Merrill (SD) | Jackson Chourio (MIL) and Paul Skenes (PIT) |
American League Comeback Player
| Winner (Team) | Finalists (Team) |
|---|---|
| Tyler O'Neill (BOS) | Garrett Crochet (CWS) and Chad Green (TOR) |
National League Comeback Player
| Winner (Team) | Finalists (Team) |
|---|---|
| Chris Sale (ATL) | Rhys Hoskins (MIL) and Jurickson Profar (SD) |
Marvin Miller Man of the Year
(Outstanding on-field performance and off-field contributions to his community.)
| Winner (Team) | Finalists (Team) |
|---|---|
| Rhys Hoskins (MIL) | Max Fried (ATL) and Steven Kwan (CLE) and Pablo López (MIN) |
Philanthropist of the Year
| Winner (Team) | Finalists (Team) |
|---|---|
| Rhys Hoskins (MIL) | Brent Suter (CIN) and Jose Trevino (NYY) |
Curt Flood Award
(Selfless, longtime devotion to the players' association and advancement of players' rights.)
| Winner | Finalists |
|---|---|
| Dave Winfield | Scott Sanderson |