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RHYS HOSKINS
MARVIN MILLER MAN OF THE YEAR
After six seasons as a lineup and clubhouse pillar, a community ambassador and a fan favorite in Philadelphia, Rhys Hoskins made an immediate impact on and off the field in his new home in Milwaukee. He assumed the role of Brewers’ player representative and immersed himself in the community with his wife, Jayme, through their involvement with the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Rhys and Jayme hosted 100 families at a Brewers game and remain active in MDA summer camps and promoting awareness of the disease through public service announcements, social media campaigns and other events throughout the year.
Aaron Judge found his groove in May and didn’t look back. He won half of the AL Player of the Month awards over the season in May, June and August. Multiple times this season, Judge was on pace to match or break the AL record of 62 home runs he had set just two years ago. He finished with 58 homers, becoming just the fifth player to top 50 in three different seasons. His 34 homers before the All-Star break set a new Yankees record for most home runs in the first half of a season, surpassing the previous mark of 33 he shared with Roger Maris. On August 14, Judge became the fastest player to 300 home runs, in just his 955th game and 3,431st at-bat. Along with his 58 homers, Judge led the league in RBIs with 144 and finished with an outstanding .701 slugging percentage and 1.159 OPS.
aaron judge
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
RHYS HOSKINS
PHILANTHROPIST
OF THE YEAR
Rhys Hoskins is the winner of the Players Trust Philanthropist of the Year Award, which recognizes the community work of individual Players, celebrating their altruistic spirit and positive social impact beyond the diamond.
During Rhys’ playing career in Philadelphia and Milwaukee, he and his wife, Jayme, have raised over $1 million for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. This year, they hosted 100 families at a Brewers game and remained active in MDA summer camps and promoting awareness of the disease through public service announcements, social media campaigns and other events. The Players Trust will make a $25,000 contribution to the Muscular Dystrophy Association in honor of the Hoskins’ tireless work.
Aaron Judge found his groove in May and didn’t look back. He won half of the AL Player of the Month awards over the season in May, June and August. Multiple times this season, Judge was on pace to match or break the AL record of 62 home runs he had set just two years ago. He finished with 58 homers, becoming just the fifth player to top 50 in three different seasons. His 34 homers before the All-Star break set a new Yankees record for most home runs in the first half of a season, surpassing the previous mark of 33 he shared with Roger Maris. On August 14, Judge became the fastest player to 300 home runs, in just his 955th game and 3,431st at-bat. Along with his 58 homers, Judge led the league in RBIs with 144 and finished with an outstanding .701 slugging percentage and 1.159 OPS.
aaron judge
AMERICAN LEAGUE
OUTSTANDING PLAYER
SHOHEI OHTANI
NATIONAL LEAGUE
OUTSTANDING PLAYER
Dodgers DH Shohei Ohtani broke new ground as an all-around offensive threat in 2024. With an epic 6-for-6, 10-RBI game against the Marlins in September, he became the first player in MLB history to record a 50-homer, 50-steal season. In August, Ohtani had become one of only six players ever to log a 40-40 season. He surpassed Hideki Matsui for the most home runs ever by a Japanese player in the majors with his 176th career longball in April and topped the 200 mark against Detroit in June. Ohtani led the National League in runs (134), homers (54), RBIs (130), slugging (.646), OPS (1.036) and total bases (411).
Tarik Skubal built on his strong end to the 2023 season by breaking out as one of baseball’s elite starters in 2024. He led the AL in wins (18), ERA (2.39) and strikeouts (228) to take home the AL Triple Crown. By the end of the season, Skubal had more than doubled his career bWAR from 5.1 to 11.4. He was a model of consistency, completing six innings or more in 25 of his 31 starts. His ability to limit hard contact and get ahead in counts contributed to his dominance. He logged a first pitch strike percentage of 68.7, and opponents had an expected batting average of just .210 and a hard-hit rate of 34.0. Skubal’s excellent year, along with a 39-26 second half, led the Tigers back to the postseason for the first time since 2014.
tarik skubal
AMERICAN LEAGUE
OUTSTANDING PITCHER
CHRIS SALE
NATIONAL LEAGUE
OUTSTANDING PITCHER
Injuries limited Chris Sale to a total of 31 starts with Boston from 2021-2023, but he regained his dominant form with a return to full health in Atlanta. Sale notched the eighth 200-strikeout season of his 14-year career, tying Steve Carlton for the second most in history by a left-hander behind Randy Johnson. Sale established a career-high with 18 victories while also leading the league in ERA (2.38) and strikeouts (225) to become the first pitcher to capture an NL “Triple Crown’’ since Clayton Kershaw in 2011. He set a single-season major league record by logging 18 consecutive starts with two or fewer earned runs allowed.
Colton Cowser began the year winning Rookie of the Month in April after he hit six home runs with 18 RBIs and a 1.004 OPS. From July 19 to August 4, Cowser had a 17-game hitting streak, which was the longest by an Oriole since 2021 and tied for the longest by an Orioles rookie. During his streak Cowser hit .391, with a 1.077 OPS along with four home runs and 15 RBIs. He led all American League rookies in home runs with 24. Cowser also hit 24 doubles, becoming the ninth Orioles rookie to record a 20+ home run and 20+ double season.
COLTON COWSER
AMERICAN LEAGUE
OUTSTANDING ROOKIE
JACKSON MERRILL
NATIONAL LEAGUE
OUTSTANDING ROOKIE
Jackson Merrill, a first-round pick by San Diego in the 2021 MLB draft, made an instant impact at the plate, in the field and on the basepaths in his first year with the Padres. Merrill led all MLB rookies in RBIs (90), batting average (.292), home runs (24), OPS (.826) and fWAR (5.3). He also displayed a penchant for producing in the clutch with six game-tying or go-ahead home runs in the eighth inning or later – tying him with Hall of Famer Frank Robinson (1956) for the most in a season by a player 21 or younger. In July, Merrill became the first Padres rookie and the youngest San Diego player ever to be named to an All-Star team.
Two injury-plagued seasons in 2022 and 2023 limited Tyler O’Neill to just 168 games total. After a trade from the Cardinals to the Red Sox this past offseason, he looked to prove he was still the player who finished eighth in NL MVP voting in 2021. O’Neill did just that, beginning the season setting a new MLB record by hitting a home run in his fifth straight Opening Day. For the rest of the season, he was a constant presence in the heart of Boston’s lineup. O’Neill ended the season with 31 home runs, reaching 30+ home runs for the second time in his career (34 in 2021). Throughout the season, O’Neill terrorized left-handed pitchers, leading the league with a .750 slugging percentage against them and finishing tied for second with 16 home runs versus southpaws.
TYLER O'NEILL
AMERICAN LEAGUE
COMEBACK PLAYER
CHRIS SALE
NATIONAL LEAGUE
COMEBACK PLAYER
Injuries limited Chris Sale to a total of 31 starts with Boston from 2021-2023, but he regained his dominant form with a return to full health in Atlanta. Sale notched the eighth 200-strikeout season of his 14-year career, tying Steve Carlton for the second most in history by a left-hander behind Randy Johnson. Sale established a career-high with 18 victories while also leading the league in ERA (2.38) and strikeouts (225) to become the first pitcher to capture an NL “Triple Crown’’ since Clayton Kershaw in 2011. He set a single-season major league record by logging 18 consecutive starts with two or fewer earned runs allowed.
Dave Winfield, a player representative for the Padres and Yankees and clubhouse influence throughout his 22-year Hall of Fame career, received his baseball indoctrination when players were first asserting their collective bargaining rights. In 1973, after being drafted by four teams in three professional sports, he signed with San Diego at age 20 and joined the Padres without spending a day in the minors. Free agency was in its infancy, with salary arbitration soon to follow, and Winfield immersed himself in the issues as a young player before earning the confidence of executive directors Marvin Miller and Don Fehr as a trusted and steady, thoughtful leader. After signing a 10-year, $23 million contract with the Yankees to become the game’s highest-salaried player in the 1980 offseason, Dave played a pivotal role in maintaining player unity during a 50-day strike to protect free agency the following year. He remained a forceful advocate for player rights in the 1980s and throughout the longest strike in baseball history in 1994-95 before his retirement. A longtime board member of the union’s philanthropic arm, The Players Trust, Dave joined the MLBPA staff in 2013 as senior advisor to Executive Director Tony Clark.
