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The last week in MLB was about a team in the National League making a ground-breaking front office hire; the winners of the American League Cy Young, AL MVP, National League Cy Young, and NL MVP were announced.
Miami Marlins Hire Kim Ng As First Female General Manager in MLB History
The Miami Marlins made headlines several days ago when they selected Kim Ng to be their general manager.
Making history by bringing a lifetime of excellence, Kim Ng steps to the helm as GM. #JuntosMiami pic.twitter.com/UrYESbjTHe
— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) November 13, 2020
Ng is the first female general manager in Major League Baseball history and is the first woman hired to be a general manager by any professional men’s sports team in North America, per a statement by the Marlins.
Ng is qualified for the position as she has over thirty years of experience in MLB, per Sam Dykstra of MiLB.com.
Kim Ng's resume:
-Senior VP of baseball ops, MLB
-VP/assistant GM, LAD
-Director of player development, LAD
-VP/assistant GM, NYY
-Asst. director of baseball ops, CWS
-Special projects analyst, CWSA lifetime in baseball. And now MLB's first female GM. Richly deserved. #Marlins
— Sam Dykstra (@SamDykstraMiLB) November 13, 2020
She has been with the Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, and MLB Commissioner’s Office.
Marlins CEO Derek Jeter is familiar with Ng as she was the Yankees assistant general manager from 1998-2001.
Ng’s hiring was a fantastic move by the Marlins, and hopefully, other teams will hire females for front-office positions in the future.
Cleveland Indians Shane Bieber Wins AL Cy Young, Cincinnati Reds Trevor Bauer Wins NL Cy Young
Unanimous.@ShaneBieber19 is your 2020 AL Cy Young Award Winner!
@officialBBWAA | @Indians pic.twitter.com/IaIjU1P4tU— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 11, 2020
Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Shane Bieber was selected as the American League Cy Young Award recipient last week.
He became the first pitcher since Clayton Kershaw in 2014 to win the award unanimously, per Sarah Langs of MLB.com.
There have been 9 unanimous Cy Young Awards since 2000:
2020 Shane Bieber
2014 Clayton Kershaw
2011 Justin Verlander
2010 Roy Halladay
2007 Jake Peavy
2006 Johan Santana
2004 Johan Santana
2002 Randy Johnson
2000 Pedro Martinez— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) November 11, 2020
Bieber is the fifth pitcher in the Indians franchise to win the Cy Young, per Langs.
Cy Young Award winners, Indians history:
2020 Shane Bieber
2017 Corey Kluber
2014 Corey Kluber
2008 Cliff Lee
2007 CC Sabathia
1972 Gaylord Perry— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) November 11, 2020
The right-hander won the Triple Crown of pitching after he led the AL in wins, ERA, and strikeouts at eight, 1.63, and 122, respectively.
Bieber started the 2020 campaign strong and remained consistent throughout the season.
✅ 1st Bruin to win a Cy Young
✅ 1st Red to win a Cy Young
✅ 3rd player ever to win a Cy Young and Golden Spikes AwardCongrats on a historic achievement, @BauerOutage! #GoBruins | #Elite pic.twitter.com/3vNBuZRFPE
— UCLA Baseball (@UCLABaseball) November 11, 2020
Trevor Bauer is the third pitcher to win the Golden Spikes Award and a Cy Young Award.
The others are Tim Lincecum and David Price.
— Kyle Glaser (@KyleAGlaser) November 11, 2020
In the National League, Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Trevor Bauer won the NL Cy Young Award.
He won his first Cy Young and is the first Reds pitcher ever to win the honor.
We couldn't see it any other way…
Trevor Bauer is the 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟎 𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐆𝐔𝐄 𝐂𝐘 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐑, the first Reds pitcher ever to win the honor!#CyBauer pic.twitter.com/3MO3nnPpAN
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) November 11, 2020
Bauer led the NL with a 1.73 ERA, 276 ERA+, and 0.79 WHIP.
He held opposing hitters to a .159 batting average, yielding only nine home runs in 11 starts.
He is the first Reds pitcher to win an ERA title since Ed Heusser in 1944.
Bauer is the eighth pitcher to win the Cy Young Award entering free agency, and the first since Roger Clemens in 2004, per Sarah Langs of MLB.com.
Atlanta Braves First Baseman Freddie Freeman Wins NL MVP, Chicago White Sox 1B Jose Abreu Wins AL MVP
.@FreddieFreeman5 is the 2020 National League MVP!#MVFree pic.twitter.com/sb1qe88rvW
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) November 12, 2020
Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman was selected as the National League MVP.
Freeman is the first Braves player to win the MVP since Hall of Famer Chipper Jones in 1999, per Sarah Langs of MLB.com.
Freddie Freeman wins the 7th MVP Award by a Braves player since the BBWAA began voting in 1931:
2020 Freddie Freeman
1999 Chipper Jones
1991 Terry Pendleton
1983 Dale Murphy
1982 Dale Murphy
1957 Hank Aaron
1947 Bob Elliott— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) November 12, 2020
The first baseman was either first or second in many offensive categories during the 2020 season.
#MVFree by the numbers! pic.twitter.com/hmOA84PkSA
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) November 13, 2020
Freeman edged out Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts and San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado to win the MVP.
2020 NL MVP: Freddie Freeman, Braves
Full voting details: https://t.co/f1n6DZpC79 pic.twitter.com/hlE1cKeSkA
— BBWAA (@officialBBWAA) November 12, 2020
Another aspect that made Freeman winning the award special is he dealt with COVID-19 in early July.
He mentioned at the time he prayed for his life after having a fever of 104.5.
Meanwhile, in the American League, Chicago White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu won the AL MVP.
We are a mess after watching José Abreu’s reaction to being named MVP. 😭 pic.twitter.com/m76zuD11Td
— MLB (@MLB) November 13, 2020
Abreu led the Majors with 60 RBIs and 148 total bases.
He is the first White Sox player to win the MVP since Frank Thomas in 1994, per MLB Stats.
José Abreu is the first @WhiteSox player to earn #MVP honors since Frank Thomas in 1994. pic.twitter.com/eBTj9ruBNb
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) November 12, 2020
2020 AL MVP: José Abreu, White Sox
Full voting details: https://t.co/xNqRHmqYa7 pic.twitter.com/v3txx8ZSaw
— BBWAA (@officialBBWAA) November 12, 2020
Abreu won the AL Rookie of the Year in 2014 and became the 10th player in the AL to win both awards.
Abreu is the third Cuban player ever to win MVP, joining Zoilo Versalles in 1965 and Jose Canseco in 1988, per ESPN Stats & Info.
José Abreu is the 3rd Cuban born MVP in MLB history, joining José Canseco (1988) and Zoilo Versalles (1965).
He's the 1st White Sox player to win MVP since Frank Thomas went back-to-back in 1993-94. pic.twitter.com/gYVDTRKrmp
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 12, 2020
Abreu was one of the best hitters in the White Sox lineup during the 2020 season and played a crucial role in the team making the postseason.
Author Profile
- Chris is a New Jersey native whose favorite sports team is the Arizona Diamondbacks. He previously attended Western New England College to study Sports Management. Chris has been following the Diamondbacks since he was 12. You can find him on Twitter at @aecanada12.
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