Bruce Bochy, who came out of retirement this season, won his fourth World Series last night as the Texas Rangers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks in five games. Bochy, 68, led the San Francisco Giants to World Series titles in 2010, 2012 and 2014 and the San Diego Padres to the National League pennant in 1998. Only three managers have won more World Series: Casey Stengel and Joe McCarthy with seven and Connie Mack with five. The Rangers (90-72) made the playoffs as a wild card team, then beat the Tampa Bay Rays, Baltimore Orioles and the Houston Astros to reach the series. — Kevin Brewerstyle&g ..read more

Has any player ever missed the last month of the season and won the MVP award? Shohei Ohtani should. The Angels designated hitter-pitcher dominated the American League again. Ohtani hit .304/.412/.654 with a league-leading 44 home runs and 102 runs. On the mound, he was 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA in 23 starts. He suffered an oblique strain on Sept. 3. Ohtani is sui generis. He is unprecedented. He is my AL Player of the Year. The Baltimore Orioles, with a league-best 101 wins, and the Tampa Bay Rays each placed three players on the AL All-Star team. The Rangers added two players and manager Bruce ..read more

Blake Snell (14-9, 2.25), who led the league in pitching bWAR and ERA, is my pick as National League Pitcher of the Year. The Padres left-hander was 10-2 with a 1.35 ERA in his final 16 starts. Snell is one of three Padres players on the NL All-Star team, along with left fielder Juan Soto and second baseman Ha-Seong Kim. Atlanta also placed three players on the team, including Player of the Year Ronald Acuna Jr., who had 41 home runs and 73 stolen bases, posting the best power/speed number of all time. He also led the league in runs, hits and on-base percentage. Mookie Betts, who played righ ..read more

2023 age >> 32 2023 salary >> $10 million Contract status >> Signed a three-year, $26 million contract on Nov. 22, 2022 ..read more

Contract status >> Signed a five-year, $46 million contract on Nov. 17, 2022 ..read more

position | shortstop  bats | right  throws | right 2023 age >> 30 Contract status >> Signed through 2033 Teams >> Red Sox (2013-22), Padres (present) Career statistics >> Baseball-Reference.com Signed >> Agreed to an 11-year, $280 million contract on Dec. 8, 2022 Resume >> All-MLB first team (2019) >> Four-team All-Star (2016, 19, 21-22) >> Top 10 in MVP voting (2019, 22 ..read more

Manny Machado, who led the league in fWAR and led the Padres to their first (full season) playoff appearance in 16 seasons, is my pick as National League Player of the Year. Machado hit .298/.366/.531 with 30 home runs, 102 RBIs and 100 runs. He emerged as a leader, too. Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado of the Cardinals and Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman were also worthy candidates. Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcantara was the league’s best pitcher, and Atlanta featured the league’s top rookies: center fielder Michael Harris and pitcher Spencer Strider. The Mets lead the All-Sta ..read more

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position | first base  bats | both  throws | right 2022 age | 29 2022 salary | $10 million Contract status | Signed through 2022 Earliest free agent | 2023 Career statistics | Baseball-Reference.com Teams | Pirates (2016-20), Nationals (21-22), Padres (22-present) Acquired | Traded by the Nationals with Juan Soto to the Padres for Luke Voit, LHP MacKenzie Gore, OF Robert Hassell III, SS C.J. Abrams, OF James Wood and RHP Jarlin Susana on Aug. 2, 2022. Resume >> NL All-Star (2019 ..read more

position | right field  bats | left  throws | left 2022 age | 23 2022 salary | $17.1 million Contract status | Signed through 2022 Arbitration eligible | 2023 Earliest free agent | 2025 Career statistics | Baseball-Reference.com Teams | Nationals (2018-22), Padres (2022-present) Acquired | Traded by the Nationals with 1B Josh Bell to the Padres for LHP MacKenzie Gore, OF Robert Hassell III, SS C.J. Abrams, OF James Wood and RHP Jarlin Susana on Aug. 2, 2022. Resume >> All-MLB first team (2020-21) >> All-MLB second team (2019) >> Two-time All-Star (2021-22) > ..read more