Indians ace Bieber leads AL Cy Young Award finalists

Cleveland Indians right-hander Shane Bieber, who won the pitching Triple Crown in 2020, was announced as one of three finalists for the American League Cy Young Award.

The finalists for each of the top honors handed out by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America — Most Valuable Player, Cy Young Award, Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year for the AL and the National League — were revealed Monday.

Bieber’s AL Cy Young competition consists of Minnesota Twins right-hander Kenta Maeda and Toronto Blue Jays left- hander Hyun Jin Ryu.

Bieber topped the majors in the abbreviated 60-game season with a 1.63 ERA and 122 strikeouts, and he tied for first with eight wins. He finished 8-1 in 12 starts, walking 21 in 77 1/3 innings.

New York Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom is up for his third consecutive NL Cy Young Award, a feat last accomplished when Randy Johnson won four in a row for the Arizona Diamondbacks from 1999-2002. The only other pitcher to win three or more straight Cy Young Awards in either league was Greg Maddux, who captured four straight, in 1992 with the Chicago Cubs and then 1993- 95 with the Atlanta Braves.

DeGrom went 4-2 with a 2.38 ER A and an NL- leading 104 strikeouts (in 68 innings).

Cincinnati Reds right-hander Trevor Bauer (5- 4, league-best 1.73 ERA) and Cubs right-hander Yu Darvish (8-3, 2.01 ERA) are also finalists for NL Cy Young.

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman (.341, 13 homers, 53 RBIs in 60 games) leads the NL Most Valuable Player finalists. Freeman led the majors with 51 runs and 23 doubles. Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts (.292, 16 homers, 39 RBIs in 55 games) and San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado (. 304, 16 homers, 47 RBIs) are also in the mix for NL MVP.

Chicago White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu (.317, 19 homers, major-league-best 60 RBIs), New York Yankees infielder DJ LeMahieu (major league-leading .364 average, 10 homers, 27 RBIs in 50 games) and Indians third baseman Jose Ramirez (.292, 17 homers, 46 RBIs in 58 games) are the AL MVP finalists.

The NL Rookie of the Year candidates are Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm (. 338 average, four homers, 23 RBIs in 44 games), San Diego Padres infielder Jake Cronenworth (. 285, four homers, 20 RBIs in 54 games) and Milwaukee Brewers righthanded reliever Devin Williams (4-1, 0.33 ERA, 53 strikeouts and nine walks in 27 innings).

Finalists for AL Rookie of the Year are White Sox center fielder Luis Robert (.233, 11 homers, 31 RBIs in 56 games), Seattle Mariners center fielder Kyle Lewis (.262, 11 homers, 28 RBIs in 58 games) and Houston Astros righthander Cristian Javier (5-2, 3.48 ERA in 12 games, including 10 starts).

Kevin Cash, who guided the Tampa Bay Rays to the AL East title and eventually the league pennant, is one of three finalists for AL Manager of the Year. The Rays finished with the best record in the league, 40-20. Cash’s competitors are Charlie Montoyo, who led the Toronto Blue Jays into the postseason even though they had to play their home games in Buffalo, and Rick Renteria, who parted ways with the White Sox after the season even though the club posted its best winning percentage since its 1985 World Series championship.

Two rookie skippers who led their clubs to the postseason, the Padres’ Jayce Tingler and the Cubs’ David Ross, are finalists for NL Manager of the Year along with the Miami Marlins’ Don Mattingly. The Marlins reached the playoffs despite a COVID19- altered campaign that saw the team shut down for a week and led to 61 players getting on the field.

The Rookie of the Year winners will be announced Nov. 9, followed by the Manager of the Year winners Nov. 10, the Cy Young Award winners Nov. 11 and the Most Valuable Player winners Nov. 12.