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GM Territory: Jim Bowden evaluates MVP, Cy Young, ROY awards & more · Foul Territory

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Welcome back in, everybody, to GM Territory. I'm your host,
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Trey Bowden, alongside Jim Bowden. Jim, let's do something fun today.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Let's give out some end-of-season awards.
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: Okay, I look forward to it. Let's start with the
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: MVP awards. We'll start with the American League. Who you
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: got in the American League?
• 0:24
  Speaker 3: For me, it's got to be Jordan Alvarez.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: You know, he's a legit triple crown threat, and he
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: could be the first one since Miggy back in 2012.
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: And runner-up, I think it has to be Junior Caminero.
• 0:36
  Speaker 3: Who do you got?
• 0:37
  Speaker 4: Yeah, look, I like that call a lot.
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: I think that we got to make sure the Astros
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: make the playoffs and we got to make sure that
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: Alvarez wins the Triple Crown.
• 0:46
  Speaker 4: If those two things happen and whether the Astros win the.
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: Division or get it as a wildcard team, if they're
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: a playoff team and Alvarez wins the Triple Crown, I
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: agree with you completely. Alvarez deserves and will get the award.
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: But I don't want to sleep on Junior Caminero either.
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: He has been such an impactful power bat for the Rays,
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: such a key reason why the Rays have the best
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: record in the entire American League. And I think if
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: there were a scenario where either the Mariners or Astros
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: won the West and Houston was on the outside looking
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: in and Alvarez didn't win the Triple Crown, then I
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: honestly think there would be a legitimate shot that Caminero
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: would get in. The other thing is I also think
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: we should at least mention that The great season Bobby
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: Witt Jr. is having with Kansas City, as his war
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: is actually higher than Caminero's right now. And also mentioned
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: Ben Rice, who's had an MVP kind of caliber season
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: with the New York Yankees. So I want to give
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: a special mention to them. But I think as of now,
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: I see it the same way you do. I've probably
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: got Alvarez one, Caminero two. But I think it's a
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: race that will be fun to monitor in September.
• 1:52
  Speaker 3: Oh, absolutely. Now.
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: DH only MVPs are historically rare, and I think it's
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: worth debating whether Alvarez's bat is special enough to override
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: that or whether a two way contributor at third base
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: like Caminero should get more credit for his defensive value.
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: Do you think there's any merit to that?
• 2:14
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I do. I think defense matters, right? I mean,
• 2:16
  Speaker 4: that's half the game.
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: So I do think that it's an advantage for Caminero
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: over Alvarez. You know, if it got close at the
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: end of the day, I think that should factor in
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: as well. In fact, let's shift gears right now and
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: let's go to the National League MVP because the National
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: League MVP right now is between a full-time DH at
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: this point, Shoei Otani, and Pete Crow Armstrong of the
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: Chicago Cubs. Now, I wrote an article on The Athletic
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: on Thursday of this past week, And I had PCA
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: winning this award over Shohei Ohtani. And one of my
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: reasons was at that time that I wrote the article
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: was the fact that what Pete Cromstrong brings to the
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: table defensively, right? He's a gold glove caliber center fielder.
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: He can beat you with his legs. He can beat
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: you with his arm, with his assist. He can beat
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: you with his range in center field.
• 3:04
  Speaker 4: And, you know, defense matters.
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: Offensively, both Ohtani and PCA are MVP deserving, although PCA
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: does have an advantage in the stolen bases in the
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: running game. which is an advantage that he has. But
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: the defense really is the big difference between the two.
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: It was interesting because then on Saturday, we heard from
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: Dodgers manager Dave Roberts that Otani was not going to
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: start Sunday or Tuesday. And in fact, it's kind of
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: up in the air when he's going to pitch again.
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: And I think that's going to be the difference in
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: that MVP race, right? I mean, Trey, the way I
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: look at it is that had Otani kept pitching, you know,
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: through July, right? He had 14 starts in the area
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: of 179. Had he continued to pitch healthy up till now,
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: I think Otani beats PCA in the MVP. But because
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: he's injured and hasn't pitched since early July, I think
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: that opens the door for Pete Carl Armstrong. Oh, by
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: the way, on Saturday, PCA hit three home runs in
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: that game. And I think that was kind of the
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: clinching day where PCA won the MVP. Not just the
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: news that he had three more homers, but the news
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: that Otani also wouldn't be pitching again. And I think
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: when you look at comparing the two players now, with
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: Otani not on the mound, PCA wins because of the
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: defensive side of the game.
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I tend to agree with you there.
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: I think if Otani stayed healthy and was able to pitch,
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: as well as the production he's been having at the plate,
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: I would side with Otani. And Pete Kerr Armstrong's pimp
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: job on one of his homers. I saw the highlights.
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: Probably the coolest pimp job of the year. He's getting
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: my stamp of approval for best pimp job of the year.
• 4:42
  Speaker 4: I had to mention that. Was that the third home run?
• 4:44
  Speaker 4: Because that's the one I like the best. We kind
• 4:46
  Speaker 4: of look back.
• 4:47
  Speaker 3: He went the other way.
• 4:48
  Speaker 4: He got a breaking ball down and away.
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: He took it out to left field at Wrigley Field.
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: And as soon as he hit it, he turned around.
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: He looked the other way and dropped the bat.
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: It was.
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: But all three were pimped well. Like, the first one.
• 5:01
  Speaker 4: Was really cool as well.
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: So he really knows how to do the swag after
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: he hits the bombs now.
• 5:07
  Speaker 4: It's pretty special stuff.
• 5:09
  Speaker 3: Oh, absolutely.
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I like that he pimped it and then right
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: away just turned around. It was like, yeah, he knew.
• 5:14
  Speaker 4: He knew.
• 5:15
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that was really cool. All right, let's get the A.L.
• 5:19
  Speaker 3: Cy Young award going here. Jim, who do you have
• 5:23
  Speaker 3: for your A.L. Cy Young?
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: I don't think there's a discussion here. I think it's
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: Cam Schlittler, period. I think he's got a commanding lead
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: over everybody in the American League.
• 5:33
  Speaker 4: You know, it's funny.
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: When the season started, Tarek Skubal was the favorite. Garrett
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: Crochet was the second favorite. And both those guys got hurt,
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: and then Skubal got traded. And now neither one is
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: in the conversation. But it's Cam Schlittler. And I remember
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: when the Yankees first called him up, he looked like
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: an ace. And then we saw him in October, and
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: he looked like an ace.
• 5:52
  Speaker 4: And that's what he is.
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: It's very interesting on a dominant team of starting pitching
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: that when the Yankees get to the postseason, Schlittler will
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: probably be game one with Max Fried and Garrett Cole
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: pitching games two, three with Rodon in game four, right?
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: But Schlittler's not just the best Yankee pitcher this year.
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: He's been the best pitcher in the American League. I
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: think it's hard to find who's in second place, the runner-up.
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: Maybe I go Dylan Cease because of the strikeouts, but
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: I'm not really sure this is a race anymore.
• 6:23
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't think it's much of a race.
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: If we look at Cam Schlittler, what he's done this season,
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: he's currently leading the AL in ERA. He has held
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: opponents to one run or fewer in 19 of his
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: starts through late August. And look, he's emerged as the
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: Yankees ace with Freed, Cole, and Rendon missing time. He's
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: been stepping up all season. The only argument you can
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: make for Dylan Cease is he's leading the American League
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: in strikeouts. But He has less start-to-start consistency than Schittler,
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: but he has a higher swing and miss ceiling for sure. So, yeah,
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: I'm with you there. Cam Schittler has been unbelievable all
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: season long.
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: All right, let's go to the National League, Cy Young.
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: Who you got winning in the National League?
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: For me, it's got to be Jacob Mizorowski. He leads
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: the MLB in ERA, strikeouts, whips. You know, he's really
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: been dominant, just like we thought. However, I think this
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: is a closer race than what we see in the
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: American League. Christopher Sanchez this past weekend was absolutely lights out.
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: He pitched a great game. And then Chris Sale as well.
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: He dialed it up his last start all the way
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: to 100 miles an hour, which he hasn't seen in years.
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: So I think the National League's a little bit of
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: a tighter race.
• 7:45
  Speaker 3: What do you think?
• 7:46
  Speaker 4: I think Miz has a pretty good lead.
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: I agree with you that both Chris Sale and Christopher
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: Sanchez have had Cy Young caliber seasons, both of them.
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: Both of them deserve to be in the conversation, but
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: I think they're second and third. I think Miz has
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: a big lead. You know, the one thing about Miz,
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: and you mentioned the strikeouts and the whip, you know
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: what really blows my mind is his hits per innings pitch.
• 8:08
  Speaker 2: Do you realize he's given up 4.7 hits per nine innings?
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: Do you know the record is 507 that was sent
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: in 1916?
• 8:18
  Speaker 4: So that's just incredible.
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: And we have never seen a pitcher in the history
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: of the game with this kind of velocity consistently.
• 8:26
  Speaker 4: Nobody ever.
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: I mean, that's just to me, it's just mind boggling
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: what he's been able to do. So I don't think
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: the race is as close as you think. That doesn't
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: mean it can't change in September, right? They all have
• 8:37
  Speaker 2: four or five starts left.
• 8:38
  Speaker 4: It could change.
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: But at least as of today, I think Miz clearly
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: wins it. But I'm glad that you mentioned Sanchez and
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: Sale because, you know, they both absolutely pitched like they
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: were Cy Young awards.
• 8:49
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• 9:50
  Speaker 2: Let's go to the bullpen because I'm not sure there's
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: really much of a discussion here either. But the National
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: League Relief Pitcher Award goes to.
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: Mason Miller. And this guy is a freak. As we know,
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: Mason Miller has had an unbelievable season. You know, at
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: one point early on, we were debating whether this guy
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: could win the Cy Young. You know, he's 32 for
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: 33 in save chances this season.
• 10:16
  Speaker 3: 102 strikeouts in just.
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: 56 in a third innings. He still carries that triple-digit
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: fastball paired with his wipeout slider.
• 10:25
  Speaker 3: It's a no-brainer here, Jim. It's got to be Mason Miller.
• 10:29
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I agree. And how about his ERA? It's still
• 10:32
  Speaker 4: under one. Like, are you kidding me? It's still under one.
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: I mean, you have 101.5-mile-an-hour fastball, the wipeout slider, and
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: then you came up with a changeup.
• 10:40
  Speaker 4: It's just not fair. It really isn't.
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: I do want to mention Yohan Duran of the Phillies
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: because he's converted 28 of 38. And in a normal season,
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: he would be in the discussion. He has 67 strikeouts
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: and 47 to third innings. He's an important reason why
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: the Phillies are going to make the playoffs as a
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: wildcard team. So I'll give a special mention to him.
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: Let's go over the American League right now. The American
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: League Relief Pitcher of the Year Award. Lewis Varland clearly
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: is going to get this award without a doubt, in
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: my opinion. And, you know, Varland has had a very
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: similar year than Mason Miller. He doesn't get the recognition
• 11:13
  Speaker 2: that Miller gets. But he's converted 30 of 31 save opportunities.
• 11:17
  Speaker 2: He has a whopping 83 punch outs and 67 in
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: the third innings. He has appeared in more games than
• 11:24
  Speaker 2: any closer in baseball. It's a staggering amount. And this
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: is a league that has a lot of really good relievers.
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: I think Brian Baker of the Tampa Bay Rays deserves mention,
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: as does Cade Smith of the Cleveland Guardians, a role
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: as Chapman of the Boston Red Sox. Even Jacob Latz
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: of the Texas Rangers deserves some love. But I think
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: Varland in the American League is like Mason Miller in
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: the National League.
• 11:47
  Speaker 4: I think they're kind of no brainers.
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I tend to agree with you here. Something that
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: I think is pretty interesting, too, is these American League
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: reliever of the year candidates and same with the National League.
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: They were all a part of 2025 trade deadline trades,
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: you know, with Duran and Miller. So, look, general managers
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: did a great job last season and we're seeing it
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: pay off this season. Hopefully, we see more trades from
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: the 2026 season pay off in the 2027 season. And
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: like you mentioned, Lewis Varlin, he's had 61 appearances so
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: far this season, and durability matters for this award. And
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: then as far as Brian Baker of the Rays, I
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: think that's another great candidate. And the Rays have had
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: an unbelievable season, a lot better than I thought they
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: were going to have. And I think Like you said,
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: that's definitely a good honorable mention here. Let's now move
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: on to our National League Rookie of the Year. And Jim,
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: I think we had a little bit different opinions here.
• 12:49
  Speaker 3: So let's start with you. Who's your National League Rookie
• 12:52
  Speaker 3: of the Year award winner?
• 12:53
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so my preseason pick was J.J. Weatherholt of the St.
• 12:58
  Speaker 2: Louis Cardinals. And I think heading into this weekend, I think.
• 13:02
  Speaker 4: He was the leader.
• 13:03
  Speaker 2: He certainly was leading all the National League rookies in war.
• 13:08
  Speaker 2: But this is a guy that was hitting for power.
• 13:10
  Speaker 2: He was stealing bases. And he's been the best defensive
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: second baseman in the game with the best range to
• 13:17
  Speaker 2: both sides. And I really believe that he was in
• 13:21
  Speaker 2: the lead this weekend. And then we got the news
• 13:23
  Speaker 2: on Sunday that he had been placed on the injured
• 13:26
  Speaker 2: list with wrist tendonitis. So I think that injury is
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: going to open the door to Cincinnati Reds first baseman
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: Sal Stewart, who's got 30 homers and 100 RBIs, leading
• 13:36
  Speaker 2: all rookies in those two categories. Not a great defender
• 13:39
  Speaker 2: at first, but holds his own, is adequate out there.
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: So I think the IL stint for Weatherholt might end
• 13:46
  Speaker 2: up giving the award to Stewart.
• 13:48
  Speaker 4: We'll have to see. I think J.J.
• 13:49
  Speaker 2: Had the lead before he went on the IL at least.
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: But there's other rookies we should talk about too. Carson
• 13:55
  Speaker 2: Benj of the Mets, who came on strong, I think
• 13:57
  Speaker 2: a little bit– A little bit late to overtake Stewart
• 14:01
  Speaker 2: and Weatherholt, but he deserves mention. And the best rookie pitcher,
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: without a doubt, in this entire league, we'll get to
• 14:08
  Speaker 2: in a minute, is Nolan McClain, Benj's teammate. So you
• 14:11
  Speaker 2: look at the Mets rookies between Carson Benj and Wright, A.J.
• 14:14
  Speaker 2: Ewing in center, and McClain in the rotation. That's really
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: good news for Mets fans going forward. But I would
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: say I got Weatherholt edging out Stewart, but I think
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: the IL stint might allow Stewart to surpass him.
• 14:26
  Speaker 4: What was your take?
• 14:27
  Speaker 3: Yeah, my take was Sal Stewart.
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: I mean, he broke multiple Cincinnati Reds franchise records for
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: a rookie, having 30 home runs, 100 plus RBIs.
• 14:36
  Speaker 3: And, you know, it's only going to keep going up.
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: He's going to continue to stat pad as we get
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: towards the end of the season. And, you know, like
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: you said, Carson Bench, I think he's definitely an honorable
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: mention candidate here. He's had a great season for New York,
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: but he just kind of got hot too late. But
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: Sal Stewart would definitely be my pick. How about the
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: American League? Who's your American League rookie of the year?
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so in the American League, in terms of the
• 15:05
  Speaker 2: rookie position player of the year, it's the same one
• 15:07
  Speaker 2: I picked in March. As you know, my preseason pick
• 15:09
  Speaker 2: was Kevin McGonigal, the shortstop third baseman of the Detroit Tigers.
• 15:13
  Speaker 2: Nothing has changed for me. I think he's going to
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: bring the trophy home. He's been on base at a 38% clip.
• 15:18
  Speaker 4: He's hit for power.
• 15:20
  Speaker 2: He's an on-base machine. I absolutely love the bat. He's
• 15:23
  Speaker 2: one of the best disciplined hitters in the game. He
• 15:25
  Speaker 2: plays solid defense, whether he's at short or third base.
• 15:28
  Speaker 2: He leads all American League rookies in war. And so he,
• 15:31
  Speaker 2: to me, is easy the winner. I think Munataki Murakami
• 15:34
  Speaker 2: can finish in second. I don't think he should be
• 15:37
  Speaker 2: eligible for the Rookie of the Year award because he's
• 15:39
  Speaker 2: a veteran player coming over from Japan. And I've always
• 15:42
  Speaker 2: felt like that rule should be changed, that the service
• 15:45
  Speaker 2: time in Japan changes. should count against rookie status here
• 15:49
  Speaker 2: in Major League Baseball. And I hope the writers at
• 15:51
  Speaker 2: some point change that. But yeah, I've got McGonigal winning
• 15:55
  Speaker 2: that over Murakami.
• 15:57
  Speaker 4: How about you?
• 15:58
  Speaker 3: I do as well. I do as well.
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: You know, McGonigal has been very consistent all year long. Power, discipline,
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: solid defense on the left side of the infield. I
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: know he was your preseason pick. And yeah, I think
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: he deserves this award. Murakami, obviously, you know, he's a
• 16:15
  Speaker 1: huge power presence in the White Sox turnaround. And he's
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: been getting on base at a high clip, especially towards
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: the end of the year.
• 16:23
  Speaker 3: But like you said, I agree.
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: Like, you know, he's a pro ballplayer. He's not necessarily
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: a rookie. And I think they should definitely make a
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: change there for that award. All right, everyone, we're going
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: to take a quick break. But when we come back,
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: we're going to talk about our AL and NL comeback
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: players of the year and managers of the year.
• 16:42
  Speaker 3: We'll be right back.
• 16:44
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• 17:45
  Speaker 3: All right, everyone, welcome back.
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: If you could do us a favor before we get
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: to our Comeback Players of the Year, please hit that
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: like button and that subscribe button, too. It really helps
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: the channel, and it really allows us to make more
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: videos like this, so we greatly appreciate it. All right, Jim,
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: AL Comeback Player of the Year, who is it for you?
• 18:06
  Speaker 4: I got three candidates, okay?
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 18:09
  Speaker 2: I've got Garrett Cole of the Yankees and Mike Trout
• 18:12
  Speaker 2: of the Angels. I love both of those candidates. I
• 18:15
  Speaker 2: wish I could give them each the award. But my
• 18:18
  Speaker 2: third candidate, I think I have to give it to him.
• 18:19
  Speaker 2: That's Jordan Alvarez.
• 18:20
  Speaker 4: I do.
• 18:21
  Speaker 2: You know, Alvarez was injured last year. And now, you know,
• 18:25
  Speaker 2: we just talked about him as MVP of the league.
• 18:27
  Speaker 2: How does he not win comeback player of the year, too?
• 18:29
  Speaker 2: I think he does.
• 18:31
  Speaker 4: So I'm going to go Alvarez. How about you?
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, I want to disagree and give you
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: why it should be Mike Trout. Just come a big
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: Trout guy, but I simply can't. Jordan Alvarez, like we
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: mentioned earlier in the show, he's going for a triple
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: crown award.
• 18:48
  Speaker 3: And, you know, that's a really, really hard thing to do,
• 18:50
  Speaker 3: you know, in today's age.
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: So, you know, Garrett Cole, he's looking like he's back
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: to his pre-injury self. Trout's getting on base, hitting for power,
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: and he's actually running again. You know, Alvarez's case is
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: hard to argue against given the surrounding MVP buzz, but
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: this is a good spot maybe to give Cole and
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: Trout their flowers for the game itself, not just for
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: the stat sheet. So, you know, I think Alvarez won
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: an MVP. It's hard to beat that when you're going
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: for a triple crown.
• 19:23
  Speaker 2: All right, let's go to the National League Comeback Player
• 19:28
  Speaker 2: of the Year.
• 19:28
  Speaker 4: Who do you have in the National League?
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: In the National League, I got Zach Wheeler. Runner up,
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: it's got to be Sandy Alcantara. Zach Wheeler, look, he's
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: vintage level season coming back from surgery for thoracic outlet
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: syndrome last fall.
• 19:45
  Speaker 3: He's cooled off somewhat down the stretch.
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: However, you know, I think his dominance, if we look
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: at it from a whole season perspective, I would give
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: to Zach Wheeler. Now, the counter case has got to
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: be Sandy from the Marlins. He is an MLB leading
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: 21 quality starts this season following a mediocre 2025 coming
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: off a Tommy John. Arguably, a steeper hill climb than Wheeler's. But,
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: you know, who had the harder recovery? You know, that's
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: how I think you got to frame it. And I'm
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: going to give it to Zach Wheeler.
• 20:20
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I like them both.
• 20:21
  Speaker 2: I mean, they both deserve it, without a doubt. It'd
• 20:23
  Speaker 2: be fun to see Alcantara get it. 21 quality starts
• 20:26
  Speaker 2: this year have been incredible. I love how he pitches
• 20:28
  Speaker 2: deep into games, something we don't see a lot of
• 20:30
  Speaker 2: starters do. But I tend to agree with you, Wheeler
• 20:33
  Speaker 2: and Alcantara, the best two top. All right, let's get
• 20:35
  Speaker 2: to American League Manager of the Year. I want to
• 20:39
  Speaker 2: start by saying this. You know, the Manager of the
• 20:41
  Speaker 2: Year award doesn't go to the best manager.
• 20:43
  Speaker 4: It really doesn't.
• 20:45
  Speaker 2: Instead, it goes to the manager that overachieved with the
• 20:48
  Speaker 2: expectations of the team. I think if you were given
• 20:51
  Speaker 2: the best manager award in the American League, you would
• 20:53
  Speaker 2: give it to Kevin Cash and Aaron Boone. Kevin Cash
• 20:56
  Speaker 2: of the Rays, Aaron Boone of the New York Yankees.
• 20:58
  Speaker 2: But that's not what this award is. So we have
• 21:01
  Speaker 2: to look at teams that we weren't expecting to be
• 21:03
  Speaker 2: this good as the best candidates. So I'm going to
• 21:05
  Speaker 2: say that the manager of the year in the American
• 21:07
  Speaker 2: League should be Will Venable of.
• 21:09
  Speaker 4: The Chicago White Sox.
• 21:11
  Speaker 2: He took a team that lost 102 games last year
• 21:14
  Speaker 2: and now is in first place with the White Sox.
• 21:16
  Speaker 2: It's been an incredible season for Chicago. Will Venable has
• 21:20
  Speaker 2: had a very steady hand all season long, and I
• 21:22
  Speaker 2: think he deserves to win this award. And I think
• 21:25
  Speaker 2: the runner-up should go to Chad Tracy of the Boston
• 21:27
  Speaker 2: Red Sox. He was put in a tough position in
• 21:30
  Speaker 2: April when the Red Sox fired former world champion manager
• 21:33
  Speaker 2: Alex Cora, replaced him with Tracy. Tracy did a good
• 21:37
  Speaker 2: job of riding the ship. They had a tremendous month
• 21:39
  Speaker 2: of July, and this is a team that's going to
• 21:42
  Speaker 2: the postseason. So I've got Venable winning it, Tracy in second,
• 21:46
  Speaker 2: but I want to just special mention Tracy. the Kevin
• 21:49
  Speaker 2: Cash and Aaron Boone, because I think they were the
• 21:50
  Speaker 2: two best managers in the American League this year.
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I tend to agree with you. You know, Will
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: Venable took a 102 loss team to first place in
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: the AL Central. I mean, right now, obviously things can change,
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: but I would actually give the award now that I'm
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: thinking about it more to Chad Tracy. I mean, think
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: about taking over a locker room like he did in
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: the middle of April, where it seems like the house
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: is burning all around you. And you're able to get
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: that team to go on multiple win streaks throughout the
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: season and a rally behind you. And now to probably
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: hopefully make the postseason that has got to be really
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: hard to do. And I think that just can't go unnoticed.
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: So for me, I'm probably going to go with Chad
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: Tracy just from that fact alone.
• 22:38
  Speaker 3: You know, Will Venables, you look at the White Sox team.
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: They weren't expecting this this season, and obviously that's why
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: you would credit this award to him. But the job
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: that Chad Tracy has done since taking over, I feel
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: like it's got to be awarded.
• 22:54
  Speaker 2: Well, I know you remember where I picked for National
• 22:56
  Speaker 2: League Manager of the Year on this show, on GM territory.
• 23:00
  Speaker 2: Craig Stammen, that's right. That's who I'm going to give
• 23:03
  Speaker 2: the Manager of the Year award. Leading the Padres into
• 23:06
  Speaker 2: this position, not easy. But again, like I did the
• 23:09
  Speaker 2: American League, Pat Murphy of the Brewers and Dave Roberts
• 23:12
  Speaker 2: of the Dodgers have been the two best managers in
• 23:15
  Speaker 2: the National League this year. And Murphy is very worthy
• 23:18
  Speaker 2: of winning his third consecutive Manager of the Year award.
• 23:21
  Speaker 2: And Dave Roberts is a future Hall of Fame manager
• 23:24
  Speaker 2: breaking records. And I know the people that vote are
• 23:26
  Speaker 2: going to say, well, the team is too good.
• 23:28
  Speaker 4: The payroll is too high. You're expected to win.
• 23:30
  Speaker 2: But the job that Dave Roberts has done, dealing with
• 23:33
  Speaker 2: all the injuries, preparing the players for October, dealing with
• 23:36
  Speaker 2: a lot of age and decline in the second half
• 23:39
  Speaker 2: of his lineup, having to mix and match like he's
• 23:43
  Speaker 2: been able to do in the bullpen. Dave Roberts has
• 23:45
  Speaker 2: done an excellent job managing this Dodger team. But manager
• 23:49
  Speaker 2: of the year award doesn't go to the best managers
• 23:51
  Speaker 2: in most cases. A lot of times it's on the
• 23:54
  Speaker 2: team that's overachieved. And a lot of people didn't see
• 23:56
  Speaker 2: the Padres as a team that was going to make
• 23:59
  Speaker 2: the playoffs. And they have a chance to make the
• 24:01
  Speaker 2: playoffs here. They're in a fight with Arizona for that
• 24:04
  Speaker 2: third wildcard spot.
• 24:05
  Speaker 4: But I like where they are.
• 24:07
  Speaker 2: And I think Craig Stammen, for someone that's never managed
• 24:09
  Speaker 2: before in his life, to be able to sit here
• 24:11
  Speaker 2: and succeed like he has with his Padres team. I've
• 24:15
  Speaker 2: been very, very impressed with him. He's done a really
• 24:17
  Speaker 2: good job handling the bullpen, the lineup. Every time they struggle,
• 24:21
  Speaker 2: he seems to find a way to keep everybody on track.
• 24:24
  Speaker 2: So I'm going to go with Craig Stammen as NL
• 24:27
  Speaker 2: Manager of the Year.
• 24:28
  Speaker 4: How about you, Trey?
• 24:29
  Speaker 3: Yeah, no arguments here. You know, I completely agree.
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: For a first-time manager to make a playoff push like
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: he has, it's very impressive. I do have a question
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: for you, though, about Dave Roberts. Would you say that
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: he basically can't win this award no matter how well
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: the Dodgers play based.
• 24:49
  Speaker 4: On the payroll?
• 24:49
  Speaker 3: And yeah, I do.
• 24:52
  Speaker 2: I don't think you have any chance. And I think
• 24:53
  Speaker 2: that's just the way the system works. It's not fair
• 24:56
  Speaker 2: and it's not right. You know, one of the things
• 24:58
  Speaker 2: about the manager of the year award is the people
• 25:01
  Speaker 2: that are voting really don't know behind the scenes what
• 25:03
  Speaker 2: managers are doing. They really don't know how they motivate,
• 25:07
  Speaker 2: how they discipline, how they work with the front office,
• 25:09
  Speaker 2: with analytics. All they know is the media members is
• 25:13
  Speaker 2: what they see in them running the game and what
• 25:16
  Speaker 2: they see in the media rooms before.
• 25:18
  Speaker 4: And after the games.
• 25:19
  Speaker 2: But they're not really watching the most important part of
• 25:23
  Speaker 2: how they're preparing the team, how they strategize. And how
• 25:26
  Speaker 2: they're dealing with the players on a regular basis. You know,
• 25:29
  Speaker 2: I mean, as you know, I was a GM for
• 25:30
  Speaker 2: 17 years. And I could evaluate managers because I was
• 25:34
  Speaker 2: a GM. I was working with them every single day.
• 25:36
  Speaker 2: That's a really good way to evaluate them, right? So
• 25:40
  Speaker 2: outside looking in, there's a strong pattern on how these
• 25:43
  Speaker 2: awards go. And it's not oftentimes the best manager. It's
• 25:47
  Speaker 2: the manager, again, that overachieves with the team that they have. So, look,
• 25:51
  Speaker 2: we have a lot of great managers in this game,
• 25:53
  Speaker 2: but to be able to honor and recognize a Will
• 25:56
  Speaker 2: Venable or a Chad Tracy or a Craig Stammen, it's good. Now,
• 26:00
  Speaker 2: I will also say this. A lot of times when
• 26:03
  Speaker 2: these guys win the awards, they often get fired or
• 26:05
  Speaker 2: leave within a year or two. Skip Schumacher was manager
• 26:09
  Speaker 2: of the year. Boom, he left the Marlins. We've seen
• 26:13
  Speaker 2: a lot of this over the years. So just because
• 26:15
  Speaker 2: you win the awards, I don't want these managers to think, oh,
• 26:17
  Speaker 2: they're fine now. Because there's been a long history of
• 26:20
  Speaker 2: manager of the years that end up losing their jobs
• 26:22
  Speaker 2: within two years of it. So it really doesn't mean
• 26:25
  Speaker 2: too much outside of, I think, more importantly, we're recognizing
• 26:29
  Speaker 2: teams that had better years than we expected, like the
• 26:32
  Speaker 2: Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox.
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I feel like there's got to be some kind
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: of change, maybe. I can't see them ever kind of
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: changing that outlook. But to not give Dave Roberts any
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: kind of credit or a chance to win the award
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: based off a team's payroll is just silly.
• 26:50
  Speaker 3: It really is.
• 26:51
  Speaker 4: All right, everyone.
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: That's going to do it for this episode of GM Territory.
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: Before we go, please do us a favor, hit that
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: like button, hit that subscribe button too.
• 27:00
  Speaker 3: It really helps out the channel. Challenge relaxed.
• 27:04
  Speaker 4: We gone.