What we’ve learned through 32 Stanley Cup playoff games — and what comes next
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ESPN staff
We’ve reached another pivot point in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, as 32 games have been played. Each series will be heading back to the higher seeded team’s home ice, with four of them looking to close things out in Game 5.
But beyond the wins and losses, what other trends and storylines have emerged?
ESPN reporters Ryan S. Clark, Kristen Shilton and Greg Wyshynski are here with their biggest takeaways on the overarching themes of the postseason thus far, and what it all means looking ahead to the rest of Round 1 and beyond.
Goalie controversies stack up
The postseason can be tough on a netminder. One minute you’re the hero; next, you’re the villain. Multiple teams have already found themselves either making goalie changes or facing the prospect of doing so after having to pull a goaltender:
It has been an unpredictable run for goaltenders so far. Who knows how much more of that we’ll see ahead? — Shilton
The fast and the furious
The New York Islanders closed out Game 3 of their series against the Carolina Hurricanes by scoring four goals in two minutes, 18 seconds. It did more than set the record for the fastest four goals scored in Stanley Cup playoff history.
It’s the most prominent example — for now, at least — of how these playoffs have seen several sequences in which goals are being scored in quick succession. After 32 games, there have been 25 instances across 18 games in which there were at least two goals scored within a two-minute, five-second stretch.
So what’s the series with the most whiplash? The matchup between the Dallas Stars and the Minnesota Wild, a series in which there has been five occasions when two or more goals have been scored within two minutes, five seconds of each other.
It happened three times in Game 2:
Then came Game 3, when Johansson scored for a 2-0 lead only to have Luke Glendening cut the lead to 2-1 within 11 seconds.
But that’s not the only series to have such hectic scoring bursts. It’s happened four times in the Hurricanes-Islanders series, and another four times in the Boston Bruins– Florida Panthers series as well.
Maybe the most surprising detail? The last series to have two goals scored in quick fashion was Edmonton Oilers–Los Angeles Kings. That was unexpected, considering the Oilers led the NHL in goals per game during the regular season (3.96) while the Kings were 10th (3.34).
Then came Game 2. Connor McDavid scored two goals within one minute, 40 seconds of each other to give Edmonton a 2-1 lead, only to have Kings winger Adrian Kempe score less than 20 seconds later, which comes out to a total of three goals in less than two minutes. And in Game 4, the Kings netted two within one minute, 23 seconds in building a 3-0 lead, only to see the Oilers roar back and eventually win in OT.
While those who admire a defensive struggle might cringe at this rapid scoring, it’s made these playoffs one of the most thrilling in recent memory. — Clark
The Bruins aren’t unbeatable — but an upset is looking less likely
It’s true, Boston did lose to Florida in Game 2 of their series under a landslide of self-inflicted wounds (a.k.a. turnovers).
And yes, the Bruins were outshot (throughout) and at times particularly outplayed by the Panthers in the first and second periods of Game 4.
But then, Boston hit its stride and you realize it had no Patrice Bergeron and no David Krejci and Linus Ullmark isn’t exactly 100% … and it’s still so dominant. All that depth we kept touting has manifested in a four-point performance from Taylor Hall, a two-goal outing by Jake DeBrusk, six points in four games from trade deadline pickup Tyler Bertuzzi, a clutch score from would-be healthy scratch Nick Foligno, and how about Dmitry Orlov on the blue line?
It gets worse, too (if you’re any team in the league other than Boston). There was one area the Bruins didn’t excel at in the regular season, and it was the power play. Well, they went 2-for-4 with the man advantage in Game 4. If momentum continues to build in that department, there’s not much to stop Boston from stomping their way through to a Cup Final … is there?
The Bruins didn’t face much adversity in the regular season. Losing Game 2 was a turning point to show how Boston would respond. Like they often do, the Bruins answered that bell and then some. Florida may still win Game 5 and take the series back to their home ice. That would be a definite blow to Boston’s ego, dropping an elimination decision in their own building.
It just doesn’t seem likely to happen. What will it take to stop this Boston train from rolling? — Shilton
1:41
Jake DeBrusk and Taylor Hall combine for 4 goals to secure Game 4 for the Bruins
Jake DeBrusk and Taylor Hall’s combined four goals out of the Bruins’ six leads them to a commanding 3-1 series lead over the Panthers.
Officially troubling?
Complaining about Stanley Cup playoff officiating is a rite of the season, like watch parties and rally towels. It happens in every tournament, as calls made in the regular season are seemingly ignored in the postseason. If I had a dime for every time a fan complained that “they just put their whistles away in overtime!” I could probably outbid Ryan Reynolds for the Ottawa Senators. Depending on the exchange rate.
That established: Having logged a considerable amount of time watching the 2023 postseason, the officiating has been … not great. Phantom calls, ignored penalties and “game management” have led to much frustration. Some recent examples:
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Wild forward Marcus Foligno was whistled for two questionable infractions against the Stars, leading to two Tyler Seguin power-play goals in Minnesota’s Game 4 loss. “It’s a joke. It doesn’t make any sense,” Foligno said. “I go to hit a guy who touches the puck. It’s not interference. I get high-sticked in the face. It’s not a tripping call when you hit a guy clean on. It’s bulls—.”
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The Islanders were hit with two specious first-period penalties in Game 4, as Zach Parise was pushed into Hurricanes goalie Antti Raanta but was given an interference penalty, and Mathew Barzal was given a penalty for diving despite getting cross-checked in the back by the mountainous Brent Burns. “He got embellishment and I don’t understand that,” coach Lane Lambert said.
That’s not even factoring in the off-ice controversies that have had us talking about officiating. Like the video review in Game 3 between the Kings and Oilers that couldn’t determine if the puck was hit with a high stick before an overtime game-winner by the Kings. Like the “conflict of interest” accusations from Toronto fans towards referee Wes McCauley, who has history with Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe on the ice and off the ice. Their record in games officiated by McCauley only fueled that chatter:
Here’s the Toronto Maple Leafs’ playoff record (all-time) under referee Wes McCauley. #LeafsForever @MapleLeafs pic.twitter.com/6tCbfDyiTB
— x – Scouting The Refs (@ScoutingTheRefs) April 19, 2023
There are theories about the scrutiny placed on officiating this postseason. The game is too fast now. More people watching means more criticism. Less experienced officials overseeing critical games. Even the advent of 4K HD technology means we have a clearer view than ever of what happens on a play.
But here’s my theory: It feels worse than ever because the consequences for phantom calls are more palpable.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, there were 210 power-play opportunities through the first 28 postseason games. That’s actually down from 235 power-play opportunities from last season at the same point. The difference: There have been 53 power-play goals scored so far this postseason vs. 48 last postseason. Power-play efficiency in 2022-23 was the highest in the NHL (21.31%) since the 1985-86 season (22.10%). There are fewer power plays, but getting the calls right could be the difference in the game.
In the refs’ defense, it hasn’t been all bad. For example, they used replay technology well in reducing major penalties to their actual levels of infraction. In the past, the Leafs’ Morgan Rielly would have 100% been given a 5-minute boarding major for his hit on Brayden Point in Game 3. Instead, the penalty was rescinded, which was the correct call.
If only more of them could be correct. — Wyshynski
An (over) abundance of overtimes
Regulation wins are apparently passé in 2023.
We’re just past midway of the first round of this postseason and nine games have already reached extra time. Last year, there were eight games total that went to overtime in the first round.
What’s with the uptick this season? Who cares? It’s made for some wildly entertaining hockey, especially with how almost every game that’s gone past regulation has been the result of a furious comeback performance:
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Winnipeg clawed back from a 4-1 deficit to reach overtime in Game 3 against Vegas.
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Toronto pushed back from a 3-2 hole with Ryan O’Reilly scoring in the final minute of regulation to force OT.
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Carolina has recovered twice now from a 3-2 hole to win in overtime.
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And then, there’s the Los Angeles-Edmonton series. Three of the four games in that series have needed extra time. L.A. has been down 3-1 and 2-1 before winning in extra time. In Game 4 it was the Oilers behind 3-0 after 20 minutes, rallying to tie it in the second, trailing again in the third before forcing overtime and getting the W.
Perhaps we can chalk up all the late-game heroics to how wide open this postseason has felt so far. Almost every series has felt really evenly matched. The pendulums have swung fast from period to period and game to game.
Will the remainder of this round really tighten up? Or will it remain the most free-wheeling, wide-open postseason landscape we’ve seen in years? — Shilton
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Kraken top the Avs in OT for first home playoff win
Jordan Eberle nets the game-winning goal in overtime to even the series and give the Kraken their first postseason win at home.
Devils recapture their swagger
The Devils lost the first two games of their Battle of the Hudson showdown with the rival New York Rangers in humiliating fashion: at home, by a 10-2 aggregate count on the scoreboard, seemingly overwhelmed by the opponent and the moment.
Devils coach Lindy Ruff referenced inexperience and “jitters” to help explain the 2-0 hole they’d dug for themselves.
Their star, Jack Hughes, rewrote that history after the Devils won their second straight game at Madison Square Garden on Monday night to even the series. “When you go down 2-0, that has nothing to do with experience. That has everything to do with us not playing very well,” he said.
Ruff said the Devils tend to “try to entertain too much” when they play at home, which harms their puck management. On the road, they’re less flashy and “take advantage of other team’s mistakes,” he said. That was evident in these two road wins, as the Devils reconstituted the formula that enabled them to set a new franchise record for standings points in a season (112). They hounded the Rangers in every zone, taking away space from stars like Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko. The Rangers had nine giveaways in the first two games of the series; in Games 3 and 4, they had 34.
The series is a microcosm of Ruff’s season, with fans muttering about his job status after bad losses in the first two games — and then having to acknowledge his role in the turnaround.
He benched starting goalie Vitek Vanecek after Game 2, turning to rookie Akira Schmid to calm things down. Schmid has given them the saves they need, and they’ve played much better in front of him. Ruff scratched one of his favorite energy forwards, Miles Wood, after some unfortunate penalties in Games 1 and 2. His replacement, Curtis Lazar, has been a steadier presence. Ruff struck the right demeanor and said the right things to foster the comeback.
It has not been all sunshine for the Devils. They continue to take too many penalties. They’ve still managed only four even-strength goals all series against goalie Igor Shesterkin. Forward Timo Meier, their high-profile trade deadline acquisition, doesn’t have a point in the series, and was dropped off Nico Hischier‘s line a few times in the series.
But now it’s the Rangers facing a reckoning on their confidence and effort. Coach Gerard Gallant blasted his team after the Game 4 loss.
“Tonight was a close hockey game, but we didn’t show up,” he said. “We didn’t play hard enough. We didn’t compete hard enough. All we did was yap at the linesmen for getting thrown out of faceoffs.”
After scoring two power-play goals in each of the first two games of the series, New York went 0-for-8 in two home losses. When asked whether a lack of production from his star players was the problem, Gallant said: “That was the difference. Definitely.”
Captain Jacob Trouba said there was “no panic” in the Rangers’ room. Meanwhile, in the Devils’ room, they have their swagger back.
“We got whacked, two games in a row. Last thing you want to do is stand and talk in front of you guys when we lose,” Hughes said to the media. “We’re back in this thing and we’re excited.” — Wyshynski
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Bradford Doolittle, ESPN Staff Writer
Welcome to MLB Awards Week.
November has become awards season in baseball, which increasingly serves as a way to keep eyeballs on the game before the hot stove season ramps up. So far, we’ve gotten the Gold Glove Awards, Silver Sluggers, the All-MLB Team and more.
Now, it’s time for the biggies — the four major awards determined by Baseball Writers’ Association of America voting and that will feature prominently in baseball history books and Hall of Fame résumés of the future. The winners are being announced live each night on MLB Network, starting at 6 p.m. ET.
On Monday, a pair of starting pitchers — Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Luis Gil of the New York Yankees — got the week rolling, winning the Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award in the National League and American League, respectively.
Here’s the rest of the week’s schedule:
Tuesday: Managers of the Year
Wednesday: Cy Young Awards
Thursday: MVP Awards
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 who our panel of ESPN MLB experts believes should take home the hardware. We’ll update each section with news and analysis as the awards are handed out.
Jump to:
Rookie of the Year: AL | NL
Manager of the Year: AL | NL
Cy Young: AL | NL
MVP: AL | NL
American League Rookie of the Year
Winner: Luis Gil, New York Yankees
Final tally: Gil 106 (15 first-place votes); Colton Cowser, Orioles, 101 (13); Austin Wells, Yankees, 17; Mason Miller, Athletics, 16 (1); Cade Smith, Guardians, 12 (1); Wilyer Abreu; Red Sox, 11; Wyatt Langford, Rangers, 7
Experts’ pick: Gil (7 votes); Cowser (1 vote); Smith (1 vote)
Doolittle’s take: This was a race in which you could have plucked the names of any of about seven players out of a hat without worry of finding a wrong answer. Of course, by the time Monday rolled around, we were down to three names in that hat, the finalists, but the statement holds true. There was no wrong answer, which is probably why the voting was so close.
With no clear front-runner, voters had to weigh some narrative aspects alongside a muddy statistical leaderboard, one that gave different answers depending on which site you happened to pull up. That’s why AXE (see note) exists — to create a consensus from these different systems — but it didn’t do much to clarify the AL rookie derby.
Gil and Wells, both essential rookie contributors to the Yankees’ run to the World Series, excelled with a lot of eyeballs on them all season, and that certainly didn’t hurt their support. Cowser’s role as an every-day player for the playoff-bound Orioles also had a high-visibility context. It feels like that, as much as anything, is why this trio emerged as finalists in a hard-to-separate field.
The emergence of Gil and the gaps he filled in an injury-depleted Yankees rotation were too much to ignore. It was a surprising emergence: Gil is 26, and he debuted in professional baseball way back in 2015 as a 17-year-old in the Minnesota organization. But when you talk about impact, you can conjure up all sorts of ill scenarios for New York had he not led AL rookies with 15 wins, 141 strikeouts and a 3.50 ERA (minimum 10 starts).
The voters got it right, if only because they could not possibly have gotten it wrong.
Here’s how my AXE leaderboard had it:
1. Smith, Guardians (117 AXE)
2. Langford, Rangers (116)
3. (tie) Miller, Athletics (115)
Abreu, Red Sox (115)
Gil, Yankees (115, winner)
6. Wells, Yankees (113, finalist)
7. Cowser, Orioles (111, finalist)
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-read:
Bump in the road or ominous sign: Has Luis Gil hit a wall after his red-hot start?
National League Rookie of the Year
Winner: Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates
Final tally: Skenes 136 (23 first-place votes); Jackson Merrill, Padres, 104 (7); Jackson Chourio, Brewers, 26; Shota Imanaga, Cubs, 4
Experts’ pick: Skenes (8 votes); Merrill (1 vote)
Doolittle’s take: Skenes emerged as the winner of a star-studded NL rookie class that was deep in impact performances put up by high-upside prospects who should only get better as the years progress. It was also a classic debate, one that stirs the passions whether you are driven by traditional approaches or the most current of performance metrics: Can a starting pitcher really produce more value than a position player given the disparity in games played?
It’s a debate mostly settled in the MVP races, where pitchers only occasionally bob up to forefront of the conversation. The one in the NL Rookie of the Year race this season between Skenes, Merrill and, to a lesser extent, Chourio was a classic example.
Sure, Skenes was absolutely dominant; he’s a finalist in the NL Cy Young race, for goodness sake. Still, we’re talking about 23 games. Meanwhile, Merrill’s gifts were on display in 156 contests for the Padres, while Chourio played in 148 games for Milwaukee. Yes, the value metrics are supposed to clarify these comparisons, but, still, how do you weigh that kind of disparity between players with entirely different jobs?
In the end, I’m not sure there’s a right answer to that debate, nor is there a wrong answer to this balloting. Each of the finalists would have been a slam-dunk winner in many seasons. Skenes might very well be the best pitcher in baseball by the time we get to these discussions a year from now, if he isn’t already. In less than a year and a half, he has been the top overall pick in the draft, started an All-Star Game and become a finalist in two of the NL’s major postseason awards.
You can certainly makes cases for Merrill and Chourio. But you can’t really make a case against Skenes, 23 games or not. Since earned runs became official in 1913, Skenes became the fourth pitcher with a strikeout rate of at least 11 per nine innings while posting an ERA under 2. He’s just that much of an outlier.
Here’s how my AXE leaderboard had it:
1. Skenes, Pirates (131 AXE, winner)
2. Merrill, Padres (128, finalist)
3. Chourio, Brewers (123, finalist)
4. Masyn Winn, Cardinals (119)
5. Imanaga, Cubs (117)
ROY must-reads:
Why Pirates called up Paul Skenes now — and why he could be MLB’s next great ace
Ranking MLB’s best rookies: Is Paul Skenes or an outfielder named Jackson No. 1?
American League MVP
Finalists:
Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals
Juan Soto, Yankees
Experts’ pick: Judge (9 votes; unanimous)
Doolittle’s take: While the outcome seems like (and almost certainly is) a no-brainer, don’t let that make you lose sight of the overall dynamic around this award. In a nutshell: This is one of the greatest MVP races ever, in terms of historically elite performances from players in the same league.
The dominant performances went beyond the finalists. Five AL players posted at least 7.9 bWAR, led by the three MVP finalists, as well as Boston’s Jarren Duran and Baltimore’s Gunnar Henderson, who both finished with higher bWAR totals than Soto. Only once before has the AL had five players produce at that level in the same season — way back in 1912.
While Soto was never far out of the picture, this was a high-octane two-player race for most of the season between the mashing dominance of Judge and the five-tool mastery of the dynamic Witt. Judge won the bWAR battle by a good margin (10.8 to 9.4) and seemed to pull away at the end of the season. Even if you don’t like to think of this in terms of bWAR, it’s hard to look past league-leading totals of 58 homers and 144 RBIs and a third-place .322 batting average, all on the league’s best team.
The real drama surrounding this award is tied to that of the NL: Will we have two unanimous MVP picks? If so, that would be just the second time it’s happened. The first? Last year, when Shohei Ohtani (then with the Angels) and Ronald Acuna Jr. (Braves) pulled it off.
MVP must-reads:
Aaron Judge is the fastest ever to 300 home runs — but how many more will he hit?
Only Juan Soto can decide if his future is with the Yankees
Baseball’s next superstar? Bobby Witt Jr.’s rise to MLB’s top tier
National League MVP
Finalists:
Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers
Francisco Lindor, New York Mets
Ketel Marte, Arizona Diamondbacks
Experts’ pick: Ohtani (9 votes; unanimous)
Doolittle’s take: When the DH became a part of big league baseball back in the 1970s, those who defended it tended to point out how it would allow older superstars to hang around for a few more years. Thus the default image of the DH was the aging, plodding slugger trying to generate occasional glimpses of what he used to be.
Things have changed. Ohtani did not don a baseball glove during a game this season and yet established himself as far and away the most dominant player in the National League. The numbers were staggering: .310/.390/.646, 54 homers, 59 stolen bases. He scored 134 runs and drove in 130, even though 57% of his plate appearances came as the Dodgers’ leadoff hitter.
As with Judge, the intrigue isn’t about whether Ohtani will win, but whether or not he’ll be a unanimous pick. And, let’s face it, there’s not much intrigue about that, either. If Ohtani does it, it’ll be the third time he has been a unanimous selection. No one else has done it even twice.
MVP must-reads:
51 HRs AND stolen bases?! How Shohei Ohtani transformed MLB — again
Breaking down Ohtani’s path to 50/50 — and the historic game that got him there
How Francisco Lindor became the heart and soul of the Mets
American League Cy Young
Finalists:
Seth Lugo, Kansas City Royals
Emmanuel Clase, Cleveland Guardians
Experts’ pick: Skubal (9 votes; unanimous)
Doolittle’s take: Long touted for his upside, Skubal put it all together in 2024, becoming the AL’s most dominant and consistent starting pitcher during the regular season, leading the Tigers to a surprise postseason berth.
Skubal became the AL’s first full-season winner of the pitching triple crown since another Tiger, Justin Verlander, did it in 2011. (Cleveland’s Shane Bieber did it in the shortened 2020 season.) With league-leading totals of 18 wins, 228 strikeouts and a 2.39 ERA, Skubal is well positioned to win his first Cy Young.
Lugo becomes the Royals’ rotation representative in the finalist group, honoring one of MLB’s breakout units in 2024, though teammate Cole Ragans might have been just as worthy. Entering the season, Lugo had never qualified for an ERA title, but in his first campaign for Kansas City, he threw 206⅔ innings, going 16-9 with a 3.00 ERA.
Clase struggled in the postseason but the voting took place before that, and it recognized his unusually dominant season, good enough to justify his presence in this group despite his role as a short reliever. In 74 outings, featuring 47 saves, Clase allowed just five earned runs. He’s still a reliever and, thus, a long shot to win the award, but getting this far says a lot. The last reliever to win a Cy Young Award was the Dodgers’ Eric Gagne in 2003.
Cy Young must-read:
It’s Tarik Skubal time: With season on the line, Tigers turn to ‘best pitcher in the world’
National League Cy Young
Finalists:
Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates
Zack Wheeler, Philadelphia Phillies
Experts’ pick: Sale (8 votes); Wheeler (1 vote)
Doolittle’s take: What an interesting group of finalists this is. Value-wise, it’s a close race.
Wheeler is the constant here, as he’s enjoying a seven-year run as one of the NL’s top starting pitchers. Wheeler is still looking for his first Cy Young and entered the balloting this time around with his best résumé to date. Yet Wheeler is coming up against two pitchers with arguably more compelling — and very different — narratives.
Skenes is baseball’s ascendant ace. Few pitchers have reached the majors with higher expectations in recent years. He met the hype head-on and, if anything, proved to be even better than we thought. With the innings volume of baseball’s best starters much less than it used to be, it is possible for an elite run preventer to save runs at a clip that puts him among the league leaders during a partial season. It wasn’t Skenes’ fault that he wasn’t called up until the second week of May. All he did after that was post a 1.96 ERA over 23 starts while displaying a remarkable degree of consistency. There wasn’t a true clunker in the bunch.
And yet Sale might have been more dominant if you consider defensive-independent ERA (or FIP), in which Sale’s 2.09 bested Skenes’ 2.45. Also, like Skubal, Sale (18 wins, 2.38 ERA, 225 strikeouts) became the first pitching triple crown winner of his league since 2011. In Sale’s case, he became the first to do it since L.A.’s Clayton Kershaw.
All this from a pitcher who once finished sixth or better in AL Cy Young voting seven straight seasons. He has never won, though, and the last of those seasons was 2018. Sale’s days as a premier starter seemed long gone … and then he did this. That’s a good narrative.
Cy Young must-reads:
Did Chris Sale pitch himself into the HOF this year?
The best stuff in baseball? How Paul Skenes is using his pitches to dominate MLB
American League Manager of the Year
Finalists:
A.J. Hinch, Detroit Tigers
Matt Quatraro, Kansas City Royals
Stephen Vogt, Cleveland Guardians
Experts’ pick: Quatraro (5 votes); Hinch (3 votes); Vogt (1 vote)
Doolittle’s take: The AL Central had four solid teams in 2024, three more than most thought the division would have, and the three surprise clubs are represented here as finalists.
All of these managers have compelling cases. Hinch guided the Tigers to their second-half surge even after Detroit subtracted at the trade deadline and had to navigate around a depleted starting rotation. He has finished in the top five of balloting four times but has never won.
Vogt, a first-time manager filling the shoes of Cleveland legend Terry Francona, also had to lean on his bullpen because of rotation issues and did so with aplomb.
Yet it’s Quatraro who really stands out, leading a Royals team that lost 106 games in 2023 to the postseason. Kansas City had lineup holes and a constantly evolving bullpen picture, yet Quatraro and his staff found a way to leverage his team’s strengths (rotation, defense, Witt) into an October appearance.
National League Manager of the Year
Finalists:
Carlos Mendoza, New York Mets
Pat Murphy, Milwaukee Brewers
Mike Shildt, San Diego Padres
Experts’ pick: Murphy (6 votes); Mendoza (3 votes)
Doolittle’s take: Mendoza had a fantastic first season in the Mets’ dugout, helping the team overcome a sluggish start and eventually end up facing the Dodgers in the NLCS. He did so with quiet, consistent leadership and that bodes well for his ability to last a long time in one of baseball’s most challenging environments.
Shildt, who won the award in 2019 while with the Cardinals, proved to be a feisty presence on a star-laden team with middling expectations that kept rising as the season progressed.
Murphy’s season is hard to beat. Handed the reins of a big league team for a full season for the first time at 65, Murphy was able to put his imprint on the young Brewers. This was no small feat given the departure last winter of his onetime protege, Craig Counsell, arguably the face of the franchise.
Milwaukee went young, suffered rotation shortages and had a number of moving parts in its lineup. Behind Murphy, the Brewers changed their style of play to better accentuate the athleticism on the roster, won 93 games and cruised to another NL Central title.
Earlier awards
Executive of the Year: Brewers president Matt Arnold named exec of the year
Doolittle’s take: I’ve written a couple of times this year that I think the Brewers might be the best-run organization in baseball right now, so that speaks to how I view the work of Arnold and his staff. I also have a kind of organizational mash-up metric I track during the season that considers things such as injuries, rookie contribution, payroll efficiency and in-season acquisitions, and Milwaukee topped that leaderboard.
And yet it’s somewhat stunning that Kansas City’s J.J. Picollo did not win this honor. He oversaw the team’s leap from 106 losses to the playoffs, using free agency to bolster the roster and staying proactive at the trade deadline (and the August waiver period) to provide essential upgrades that put the Royals over the top. It’s hard to do a better one-season job as a baseball ops chief than what Picollo did this season.
All-MLB: 2024 All-MLB First and Second Team winners
Doolittle’s take: Nobody asked me about these picks, but they read as if they did. I had the same first team. On the second team, I might have opted for Matt Chapman over Manny Machado at third base, but if that’s my one note, the selectors did a heck of a job. Or maybe I did.
Gold Gloves: Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. among 14 first-time Gold Glove winners
Doolittle’s take: For all the uncertainty in making defensive picks, the consensus defensive metric I used more or less mirrored the Gold Glove selections. I would have taken Chourio or Washington’s Jacob Young as one of the NL’s outfielders in place of Ian Happ.
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Jorge Castillo, ESPN Staff Writer
Paul Skenes was named the National League’s Rookie of the Year on Monday, beating out a loaded field after posting one of the best rookie campaigns for a pitcher in major league history.
While fellow finalists Jackson Merrill and Jackson Chourio had seasons that would have unquestionably warranted the honor almost any other year, Skenes’ rookie campaign was historic.
Hyped as a generational talent, Skenes, who debuted less than a year after being selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft, surpassed expectations in his first taste of the big leagues to become the second Rookie of the Year award winner in Pirates history (Jason Bay, 2004) with 23 of the 30 first-place votes.
Skenes, 22, went 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 starts across 133 innings. The 1.96 ERA was the lowest for any rookie with at least 20 starts in the Live Ball Era, dating to 1920, and the lowest in baseball in 2024 among pitchers with at least 130 innings pitched. His 0.95 WHIP was tied for best in the National League. His 170 strikeouts were a franchise rookie record. His 4.3 fWAR ranked 10th among major-league pitchers. With the performance, he was named one of the three finalists for the NL Cy Young Award along with veterans Chris Sale and Zack Wheeler. That winner will be announced Wednesday.
On Monday, Merril finished second with the other seven first-place votes and Chourio in third behind Skenes. Merrill, a shortstop in the minors through last season, was the San Diego Padres‘ starting center fielder on opening day at just 20 years old. He excelled in all facets, finishing the season with a .292/.326/.500 slash line, 24 home runs, 90 RBI and 16 steals in 156 games while playing above-average defense. His 5.3 fWAR led all rookies.
Chourio, who doesn’t turn 21 until March, signed an $82 million extension last offseason before making major-league debut and, after a slow start, lived up to the investment. Chourio went on a tear after carrying a .201 batting average and .575 OPS through June 1, batting .305 with 16 home runs and an .888 OPS over his final 97 games. He finished the year with a .275/.327/.464 slash line, 21 home runs, 22 steals and 3.9 fWAR in 148 games, becoming the youngest player ever to post a 20/20 season.
There was little doubt Skenes was a major-league-caliber pitcher out of spring training, but the Pirates chose to not include him on their opening day roster. The rationale was simple: Skenes logged just 6 ⅔ innings as a pro in 2023 after he accumulated 122 ⅔ innings for LSU. So Skenes was sent to Triple A for more seasoning and dominated on a limited workload. In seven starts, Skenes posted a 0.99 ERA with 45 strikeouts across 27 ⅓ innings.
Finally, on May 11, Skenes made his major-league debut against the Chicago Cubs. He surrendered three runs with seven strikeouts over four innings. He would allow three or more earned runs just twice more over his final 22 starts.
His first 11 outings were so dominant (1.90 ERA, 89 strikeouts to 13 walks in 66 ⅓ innings and seven no-hit innings in his final start of the first half against the Milwaukee Brewers) that he was named the starting pitcher for the NL All-Star team, setting the stage for an electric first inning in Arlington against four of the sport’s best hitters. Skenes, the fifth rookie to ever start the exhibition, threw 16 pitches to Steven Kwan, Gunnar Henderson, Juan Soto and Aaron Judge. He walked Soto in an otherwise clean inning. He touched 100 mph and showcased his splinker — a splitter-sinker hybrid. The sequence, like every one of his starts, was must-watch television.
He pitched into the ninth inning for the first time as a pro in his first start out of the All-Star Game, taking a hard-luck 2-1 loss against the St. Louis Cardinals after giving up a run in the ninth. But Pittsburgh, despite adding at the trade deadline, fell out of the wild card race down the stretch.
The Pirates, cautious to not overwork Skenes, had him pitch on extra rest — either five or six days’ — in all of his starts. But he logged at least six innings in 16 of his 23 starts. He threw at least 100 pitches in nine of them. He closed his campaign with three strikeouts in two perfect innings against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on the penultimate day of the regular season.
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