IRVING, Texas (AP) — Free agent outfielder Curtis Granderson became the first three-time winner of the Marvin Miller Man of the Year, part of the players' association's Players Choice Awards.The 37-year-old Granderson, the winner in 2009 and 2016, split last season between Toronto and Milwaukee. He was followed in the voting by Arizona first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout. The award is given annually to a player for on-field performance and contributions to the community that inspire others.Boston designated hitter J.D. Martinez was voted Player of the Year, Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts was selected the AL's Outstanding Player and Milwaukee's Christian Yelich was chosen the NL's Outstanding Player.Tampa Bay lefty Blake Snell was the AL's Outstanding Pitcher and New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom the NL's Outstanding Pitcher. New York Yankees third baseman Miguel Andujar and Atlanta outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. were the Outstanding Rookies. Free agent outfielder Cameron Maybin and Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp were the Comeback Players of the Year. Maybin was with Miami and Seattle this year.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

IRVING, Texas (AP) — Free agent outfielder Curtis Granderson became the first three-time winner of the Marvin Miller Man of the Year, part of the players' association's Players Choice Awards.The 37-year-old Granderson, the winner in 2009 and 2016, split last season between Toronto and Milwaukee. He was followed in the voting by Arizona first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout. The award is given annually to a player for on-field performance and contributions to the community that inspire others.Boston designated hitter J.D. Martinez was voted Player of the Year, Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts was selected the AL's Outstanding Player and Milwaukee's Christian Yelich was chosen the NL's Outstanding Player.Tampa Bay lefty Blake Snell was the AL's Outstanding Pitcher and New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom the NL's Outstanding Pitcher. New York Yankees third baseman Miguel Andujar and Atlanta outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. were the Outstanding Rookies. Free agent outfielder Cameron Maybin and Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp were the Comeback Players of the Year. Maybin was with Miami and Seattle this year.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — Mookie Betts is ready to become an ambassador for baseball, now that he's won a batting title, World Series and Most Valuable Player award with Boston."I enjoy being kind of a face around the game. I've kind of used this pedestal or whatever you want to say to spread knowledge that the game is fun," he said Thursday after his runaway victory for the AL MVP award.Milwaukee's Christian Yelich was close to a unanimous pick for the NL honor. A 26-year-old outfielder just like Betts, Yelich also won a batting championship and led his team to a division title. But while Betts has been with the Red Sox since he signed after the 2011 amateur draft, Yelich didn't join the Brewers until he was dealt to Milwaukee last January by the payroll-paring Miami Marlins."I'm thankful it all worked out because being traded, you never know how it's going to be," Yelich said. "Luckily for myself, it all went amazing."Yelich is signed through 2021 and his deal includes a team option for the following... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Boston's Mookie Betts and Milwaukee's Christian Yelich were runaway winners of the Most Valuable Player awards after the 26-year-old outfielders each led their teams to first-place finishes with dominant seasons that included batting titles.Betts received 28 first-place votes and 410 points from the Baseball Writers' Association of America in balloting announced Thursday.Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout, a two-time MVP, followed with one first-place vote and 265 points. Trout tied the record of four second-place finishes shared by Stan Musial, Ted Williams and Albert Pujols. Trout won in 2014 and 2016; was finished second in '12, '13 and '15; and was fourth in 2017.Cleveland third baseman Jose Ramirez was third with 208 points, and Red Sox designated hitter J.D. Martinez was next with one first and 198 points.Betts hit a major league-leading .346 with 32 homers, 80 RBIs and 30 stolen bases as the leadoff hitter for the Red Sox, who won a team-record 108 games and... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Milwaukee outfielder Christian Yelich was a runaway winner for the National League Most Valuable Player award after helping the Brewers return to the playoffs for the first time in seven years.Yelich received 29 first-place votes and 415 points from the Baseball Writers' Association of America in balloting announced Thursday.Chicago Cubs infielder Javier Baez was next with 250 points, followed by Colorado third baseman Nolan Arenado with 203. Atlanta first baseman Freddie Freeman finished fourth with 174, and the other first-place vote went to New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom, the NL Cy Young Award winner, who finished fifth.Acquired from the payroll-paring Miami Marlins about a month before spring training, the 26-year-old Yelich won his first NL batting title — and the first in Brewers history — with a .326 average. He set career highs with 36 homers and 110 RBIs and had a 1.000 OPS.Yelich nearly became the NL's first Triple Crown winner since Joe Medwick in 1937, finishing... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Shohei Ohtani is a finalist for the AL Rookie of the Year award along with two New York Yankees infielders.The Baseball Writers' Association of America revealed the finalists for its major awards Monday night. The winners will be announced next week.Ohtani figures to be in a tight race with Yankees infielders Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres after a historic first season with the Los Angeles Angels. The two-way Japanese sensation was 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA as a starting pitcher before an elbow injury forced him off the mound. He finished out the season exclusively as a designated hitter, hitting .285 with 22 home runs and 61 RBIs.Ohtani is the first player ever to hit 15 home runs and strike out 50 batters in a season, and he joined Babe Ruth as the only players ever to hit 15 homers and pitch 50 innings. He had Tommy John surgery after the season and is not expected to pitch in 2019.Andujar hit 47 doubles, tied for the second-most by a rookie in major league history, while... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Shohei Ohtani is a finalist for the AL Rookie of the Year award along with two New York Yankees infielders.The Baseball Writers' Association of America revealed the finalists for its major awards Monday night. The winners will be announced next week.Ohtani figures to be in a tight race with Yankees infielders Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres after a historic first season with the Los Angeles Angels. The two-way Japanese sensation was 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA as a starting pitcher before an elbow injury forced him off the mound. He finished out the season exclusively as a designated hitter, hitting .285 with 22 home runs and 61 RBIs.Ohtani is the first player ever to hit 15 home runs and strike out 50 batters in a season, and he joined Babe Ruth as the only players ever to hit 15 homers and pitch 50 innings. He had Tommy John surgery after the season and is not expected to pitch in 2019.Andujar hit 47 doubles, tied for the second-most by a rookie in major league history, while... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Shohei Ohtani is a finalist for the AL Rookie of the Year award along with two New York Yankees infielders.The Baseball Writers' Association of America revealed the finalists for its major awards Monday night. The winners will be announced next week.Ohtani figures to be in a tight race with Yankees infielders Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres after a historic first season with the Los Angeles Angels. The two-way Japanese sensation is the first player ever to hit 15 home runs and strike out 50 batters in a season, and he joined Babe Ruth as the only players ever to hit 15 homers and pitch 50 innings.The World Series champion Boston Red Sox might be in line for more hardware. Mookie Betts is a finalist for AL MVP, and Alex Cora is in the final three for AL Manager of the Year in his first season. Los Angeles' Mike Trout and Cleveland's Jose Ramirez are also finalists for AL MVP.Milwaukee's Christian Yelich is the favorite for NL MVP, and Colorado's Nolan Arenado and Chicago's Javier Baez were also revealed as top vote-getters.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — During 18 major league seasons as a catcher and four more as a manager, Brad Ausmus developed a strong gut instinct about nearly everything that happens on a baseball field.While spending the past year out of a dugout, Ausmus developed a deeper understanding of how traditional beliefs aren't always correct.With a sturdy baseball foundation and a willingness to adopt new analytical knowledge, Ausmus was the Los Angeles Angels' ideal choice to take charge as their first new manager of the 21st century.General manager Billy Eppler and owner Arte Moreno introduced Ausmus on a sunny Monday at Angel Stadium, formally opening the Orange County club's next chapter after Mike Scioscia's 19-year dugout tenure ended three weeks ago."I'm very excited to have an opportunity to lead a club like this with so many great players," Ausmus said after trying on his new No. 12 Halos jersey.Ausmus was dropped by the Detroit Tigers last fall after four intermittently successful seasons... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — During 18 major league seasons as a catcher and four more as a manager, Brad Ausmus developed a strong gut instinct about nearly everything that happens on a baseball field.While spending the past year out of a dugout, Ausmus developed a deeper understanding of how traditional beliefs aren't always correct.With a sturdy baseball foundation and a willingness to adopt new analytical knowledge, Ausmus was the Los Angeles Angels' ideal choice to take charge as their first new manager of the 21st century.General manager Billy Eppler and owner Arte Moreno introduced Ausmus on a sunny Monday at Angel Stadium, formally opening the Orange County club's next chapter after Mike Scioscia's 19-year dugout tenure ended three weeks ago."I'm very excited to have an opportunity to lead a club like this with so many great players," Ausmus said after trying on his new No. 12 Halos jersey.Ausmus was dropped by the Detroit Tigers last fall after four intermittently successful seasons... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Brad Ausmus was named the Los Angeles Angels' manager on Sunday, moving from the front office to the dugout to replace longtime skipper Mike Scioscia.General manager Billy Eppler announced the hiring of Ausmus, who served as Eppler's special assistant last season after four years as the Detroit Tigers' manager.Ausmus got a three-year contract with the Angels. He will be introduced at Angel Stadium on Monday.Scioscia had held the job since the 2000 season, winning the Angels' only World Series title and becoming the winningest manager in franchise history. He left the club earlier this month after 19 seasons and 1,650 victories.But after finishing 80-82 for the second consecutive year, the Angels are coming off three straight losing seasons overall for the first time since 1992-94. Los Angeles has played only three postseason games in the past nine seasons, losing them all in 2014 after winning the AL West.While both men had lengthy careers as big league catchers,... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Brad Ausmus was named the Los Angeles Angels' manager on Sunday, moving from the front office to the dugout to replace longtime skipper Mike Scioscia.General manager Billy Eppler announced the hiring of Ausmus, who served as his special assistant last season. Contract terms were not released. Ausmus will be introduced at Angel Stadium on Monday.Scioscia had held the job since the 2000 season, winning the Angels' only World Series title and becoming the winningest manager in franchise history. He left the club earlier this month after 19 seasons and 1,650 victories.After finishing 80-82 for the second consecutive year, the Angels are coming off three straight losing seasons for the first time since 1992-94. Los Angeles has played only three postseason games in the past nine seasons, losing them all to Kansas City in 2014 after winning the AL West.While both men had lengthy careers as big league catchers, the 49-year-old Ausmus likely represents a philosophical shift... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Brad Ausmus was named the Los Angeles Angels' manager on Sunday, moving from the front office to the dugout to replace longtime skipper Mike Scioscia.General manager Billy Eppler announced the hiring of Ausmus, who served as his special assistant last season. Contract terms were not released. Ausmus will be introduced at Angel Stadium on Monday.Scioscia had held the job since the 2000 season, winning the Angels' only World Series title and becoming the winningest manager in franchise history. He left the club earlier this month after 19 seasons and 1,650 victories.After finishing 80-82 for the second consecutive year, the Angels are coming off three straight losing seasons for the first time since 1992-94. Los Angeles has played only three postseason games in the past nine seasons, losing them all to Kansas City in 2014 after winning the AL West.While both men had lengthy careers as big league catchers, the 49-year-old Ausmus likely represents a philosophical shift... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Brad Ausmus was named the Los Angeles Angels' manager on Sunday, moving from the front office to the dugout to replace longtime skipper Mike Scioscia.General manager Billy Eppler announced the hiring of Ausmus, who served as his special assistant last season. Contract terms were not released.Scioscia had held the job since the 2000 season, winning the Angels' only World Series title and becoming the winningest manager in franchise history. He left the club earlier this month after 19 seasons and 1,650 victories.The 49-year-old Ausmus likely represents a philosophical shift from Scioscia, who was widely perceived as an old-school manager despite his public embrace of new baseball mentalities. After Scioscia's departure three weeks ago, Eppler said he wanted the Angels' new manager to be well-versed in analytics and probability-based decision-making."Ultimately, Brad's balance of connectivity, communication and leadership skills as well as his understanding of evolving... [More]

Even before he took the mound to twirl a playoff masterpiece, the talk was it could be the last time Clayton Kershaw — who has an opt-out clause in the contract that will pay him $65 million the next two years — wears the Dodgers home whites.That would be bad for the Dodgers on two fronts.No. 1, it would mean they lose the next two games in Milwaukee and fall short of the World Series. No. 2, it would mean they lose a pitcher who is in the conversation just after Sandy Koufax when it comes to the all-time Dodger greats.Don't fear, Dodger fans. It's highly doubtful Kershaw is going anywhere.The ace lefty was coy talking about possible free agency before his start Wednesday in Los Angeles, when he redeemed himself for a dismal performance in Game 1 of the NLCS by pitching three-hit ball over seven innings as the Dodgers moved within a game of the World Series with a 5-2 win.He said the kind of things a player is supposed to say to avoid tipping off his thoughts or alienating any of his fans."I... [More]

Even before took the mound to twirl a playoff masterpiece, the talk was it could be the last time Clayton Kershaw — who has an opt-out clause in the contract that will pay him $70 million the next two years — wears the Dodgers home whites.That would be bad for the Dodgers on two fronts.No. 1, it would mean they lose the next two games in Milwaukee and fall short of the World Series. No. 2, it would mean they lose a pitcher who is in the conversation just after Sandy Koufax when it comes to the all-time Dodger greats.Don't fear, Dodger fans. It's highly doubtful Kershaw is going anywhere.The ace lefty was coy talking about possible free agency before his start Wednesday in Los Angeles, when he redeemed himself for a dismal performance in Game 1 of the NLCS by pitching three-hit ball over seven innings as the Dodgers moved to within a game of the World Series with a 5-2 win.He said the kind of things a player is supposed to say to avoid tipping off his thoughts or alienating any of his fans."I... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Ask any Houston Astro and they'll say the same thing: Alex Bregman was made for these moments.The young third baseman was great for the defending champions all season and now that the calendar has flipped to October he's taken his play to another level, slugging two home runs to help Houston to a 2-0 lead in the AL Division Series against the Cleveland Indians."He loves the bright lights," praised George Springer, MVP of the World Series last year. "He loves the big stage ... he believes he should get a hit every time or make the big play or score the big run. That's just who he is and when you have a guy like that it makes you want to do the same thing."Game 3 is Monday in Cleveland.The 24-year-old Bregman had the best year of his career this season, leading the AL with a career-high 51 doubles, and setting career marks by hitting .286 with 31 homers and 103 RBIs. His breakout season helped carry the offense in a year where last year's MVP Jose Altuve and star shortstop... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Now that the regular season is finally in the books, time to bestow baseball's biggest individual prizes. It took one extra day to sort out the playoff bracket, but these debates have been underway for weeks.Christian Yelich seems a cinch for NL MVP, but is it Mookie Betts or Boston teammate J.D. Martinez in the American League?Jacob deGrom or Max Scherzer for the NL Cy Young Award?Shohei Ohtani or Miguel Andujar for AL Rookie of the Year?Martinez has been a monster at the plate in his first season with the Red Sox after signing a $110 million, five-year contract. He launched 43 home runs and led the majors with 130 RBIs. He compiled a 1.031 OPS and hit .330, finishing second to Betts (.346) in the batting race.All big reasons why Boston had the best record in baseball at 108-54.Hitting at the top of the order, Betts had 32 homers, 80 RBIs, 129 runs and a whopping 1.078 OPS.But on defense and the bases, it's no comparison. Martinez started 57 games in the outfield but 93... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — For the first time in the 21st century, the Los Angeles Angels are looking for a manager.The person who lands the job will play a major role in determining whether the Angels keep Mike Trout, get the most out of Shohei Ohtani — and finally end a nine-year postseason victory drought for this big-budget underachiever of a baseball club.A day after the Angels finished 80-82 and missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, general manager Billy Eppler set no timetables and confirmed no candidates as he began what's expected to be a lengthy process to identify the successor to Mike Scioscia, who stepped down Sunday after 19 seasons in the Big A's home dugout.Eppler praised Scioscia as "a lighthouse for this organization" and touted the manager as a Hall of Fame candidate. The GM also gave a few indications of what he's seeking in a leader when he puts his numerous managerial candidates through a lengthy interview process."What we're looking for in that next manager... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Mike Scioscia started out smiling in front of the crowded room. It wasn't long, though, before tears glistened in his hazel eyes.He stepped down as manager of the Los Angeles Angels after 19 seasons on Sunday, ending the longest current tenure in the majors with a come-from-behind victory."It's been second to none. It's been incredible," he said of his time in Anaheim.Scioscia guided the Angels to the franchise's only World Series title in 2002, starting a stretch of six playoff appearances and five AL West titles in eight years. He finished with a 1,650-1,428 record.His wins are the 18th-most in major league history and the second-most with one team, trailing only Walter Alston's 2,040 with the Dodgers, Scioscia's club during a standout catching career.Scioscia surpassed the 1,599 wins of Tom Lasorda, his playing manager and mentor, and his .536 winning percentage is the best in franchise history.The Angels sent him out a winner, rallying to beat the playoff-bound... [More]