Guerrero Jr., Semien named AL MVP finalists; Ray in contention for Cy Young
Posted November 8, 2021 7:28 pm.
Last Updated November 8, 2021 8:04 pm.
Bring on the hardware.
Toronto Blue Jays infielders Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Marcus Semien were both named finalists for the American League’s Most Valuable Player on Monday, along with Los Angeles Angels duel threat Shohei Ohtani.
Guerrero Jr., 22, was brilliant in his sophomore campaign with the Blue Jays, with a major-league best 48 home runs to go with 111 runs batted in. He also led the AL in slugging percentage (.601) and on-base percentage (.401).
Semien, 31, joined the Blue Jays last winter on a one-year deal that proved to work out brilliantly for both the player and team as the veteran finished with 45 home runs and 102 RBIs while appearing in 162 games. The Blue Jays extended a qualifying offer to Semien this past weekend, making them eligible to receive draft-pick compensation if he signs elsewhere. He won his first-ever Gold Glove award on Sunday.
Josh Donaldson (2015) and George Bell (1987) are the only two players in team history to win the MVP award.
The AL MVP will be announced on November 18.
Meanwhile, Blue Jays starting pitcher Robbie Ray has been named one of three finalists for the American League Cy Young award, given annually to the best pitcher in each league.
We spy a Cy ????????@RobbieRay is an AL Cy Young Finalist! pic.twitter.com/ciAWiBTL2W
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) November 9, 2021
22 years old. A HISTORIC breakout.
Vladdy is an AL MVP Finalist! ???? pic.twitter.com/NaEkBVexCF
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) November 9, 2021
A record-breaking year across the board.
Semi’ is an AL MVP Finalist! ???? pic.twitter.com/tzA72Piazl
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) November 9, 2021
Ray, New York Yankees right-hander Gerrit Cole and Chicago White Sox righty Lance Lynn were the top three vote-getters in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and were named finalists on Monday.
The winner will be announced on November 17.
Ray, 30, was 13-7 with an AL-leading 2.84 ERA and a league-leading 248 strikeouts in what was a career season for the southpaw. It’s also worth noting that Ray’s career mark of 11.2 K/9 is currently considered an all-time record.
Ray also finished with 6.6 bWAR (Wins Above Replacement) while Cole ended the season worth 5.7 bWAR and Lynn with 5.4 bWAR, respectively.
The Blue Jays extended a qualifying offer to Ray this past weekend.
Roy Halladay (2003), Rogers Clemens (1997 and ’98) and Pat Hentgen (1996) are the only previous Blue Jays to have won the Cy Young Award.
Max Scherzer of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Zack Wheeler of the Philadelphia Phillies and Corbin Burnes of the Milwaukee Brewers were named finalists for the NL Cy Young.
