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NEW YORK, Oct. 21 – Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bryce Harper and Shohei Ohtani are the finalists for Player of the Year in balloting for the 2021 Players Choice Awards presented by MLB The Show. The winners will be announced Thursday, Oct. 28, on ESPN’s 6 p.m. SportsCenter.
Andrew Miller, Max Scherzer and Marcus Semien are the nominees for the Marvin Miller Man of the Year award, which goes to the player “whose leadership most inspires others to higher levels of achievement.”
The Players Choice Awards presented by MLB The Show have special significance to players because the winners are selected in balloting among their peers. In addition to the Marvin Miller Man of the Year and Player of the Year award winners, the outstanding players, pitchers, rookies and comeback players in both the American and National Leagues will be recognized.
The 2021 Curt Flood Award recipient will also be announced. The award is given annually to “a former player, living or deceased, who in the image of Flood demonstrated a selfless, longtime devotion to the Players Association and advancement of players’ rights.”
Marvin Miller, who served as the Major League Baseball Players Association’s first full-time executive director from 1966-1982 and guided its emergence as one of the country’s strongest and most cohesive labor unions, was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in September. Curtis Granderson, who retired after the 2019 season, won the Miller award four times. Other recent honorees include Nelson Cruz (2020), Anthony Rizzo (2017), Adam Jones (2015) and Clayton Kershaw (2014).
Below are all the finalists:
Player of the Year
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bryce Harper, Shohei Ohtani
Outstanding Player Award
American League: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Shohei Ohtani, Salvador Perez
National League: Bryce Harper, Austin Riley, Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr.
Outstanding Pitcher Award
American League: Gerrit Cole, Lance Lynn, Robbie Ray
National League: Corbin Burnes, Max Scherzer, Zack Wheeler
Outstanding Rookie Award
American League: Randy Arozarena, Adolis García, Ryan Mountcastle
National League: Dylan Carlson, Jonathan India, Patrick Wisdom
Comeback Player Award
American League: Mitch Haniger, Trey Mancini, Cedric Mullins
National League: Brandon Crawford, Buster Posey, Joey Votto
Marvin Miller Man of the Year
Andrew Miller, Max Scherzer, Marcus Semien
Since 1992, the Players Choice Awards have recognized the outstanding on- and off-field performances of players. Voting among all players was conducted in mid-September.
The Awards are being presented by MLB The Show, which featured one of this year’s nominees, Fernando Tatis Jr., as its 2021 cover athlete. Each winner will receive a Players Choice Award courtesy of Candy Digital. For more information on the 2021 Players Choice Awards, visit the link here.
About MLB Players, Inc.
MLB Players, Inc. is the business arm of the Major League Baseball Players Association. The Major League Baseball Players Association (www.MLBPLAYERS.com) is the collective bargaining representative for all professional baseball players of the 30 Major League Baseball teams and serves as the exclusive group licensing agent for commercial and licensing activities involving active Major League Baseball players. On behalf of its members, it operates the Players Choice licensing program and the Players Choice Awards, which benefit the needy through the Major League Baseball Players Trust (www.PlayersTrust.org), a charitable foundation established and run entirely by Major League Baseball players. Follow: @MLBPlayersInc on Instagram and Twitter.
About Candy Digital
Candy Digital is a next generation digital collectible company founded by three executive partners: Michael Rubin, Executive Chairman, Fanatics; Mike Novogratz, founder and CEO, Galaxy Digital; and Gary Vaynerchuk, Serial Entrepreneur and Investor.
Candy Digital is Major League Baseball’s Official Partner for NFT’s and digital collectibles. Candy is building Major League Baseball’s official NFT ecosystem where fans and collectors will be able to purchase, trade, and share officially licensed NFTs to deepen their love of the sport. Candy’s team of world-class digital artists, designers, and technologists are developing a broad range of digital collectibles, beginning with sports content and expanding into art, entertainment, music, and more. For more, visit candy.com.