Every year, the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) hands out their end of season Major League Baseball awards during a weeklong ceremony live on MLB Network. Players and managers from both the National and American leagues are nominated, and the elite from these nominees are selected to receive various awards for individual and team performance. The highlights from this ceremony include the announcements of the NL & AL MVPs, the NL & AL Cy Youngs, & the NL & AL Managers of the Year awards, amongst a host of other great achievements, such as Gold Gloves & Silver Sluggers, being handed out throughout the league. It’s a time for celebration and these writers have an award for just about anything & everything. Let’s take a look and see how the Braves fared at this past week’s BBWAA awards ceremony.
Michael Harris II wins NL Rookie of the Year
Listen, the only surprise here is that Harris didn’t share this award with fellow Braves rookie phenom Spencer Strider, as both guys were simply incredible for the Braves this season. Harris provided an instant spark for a Braves team that desperately needed it in late May of ’22. His ability to not only play Gold Glove-caliber CF defense (how was he not a GG finalist?), but also hit for both power and average immediately transformed this Braves team into a contender. The ROY hit .297/.339/.514 with 20 stolen bases and 19 home runs in just 114 games played. Defensive metrics for Harris (per Baseball Savant) were great, ranking him in the 95th percentile for Arm Strength, 95th percentile for Sprint Speed, and 92nd percentile for Outs Above Average. All of these metrics passed the eye test too, as Braves fans were enamored with his stellar play.
Dansby Swanson, Max Fried win Gold Gloves
Dansby Swanson bet on himself heading into a contract year by rejecting all of the Braves low offers and boy did he ever win that bet big time as he’s a hot ticket free agent now. He’s coming off a career year on offense and defense, highlighted by his first career Gold Glove. His defense has always been phenomenal, so how this is his first ever GG is simply beyond me. Meanwhile, Max Fried continues piling up GG awards as the ace of the Braves pitching rotation. Fried’s pickoff move to first is simply lethal, and he’s always been great at fielding his position. It’s certainly not a shock to me that these guys were recognized for their defensive achievements.
Brian Snitker finalist for NL Manager of the Year
Honestly, Snitker should’ve won this award in this writer’s humble, yet biased, opinion. Buck Showalter of the Mets won the award for the fourth time in his solid managerial career; however, his team blew a 10 ½ game lead to the Braves in the NL East division and got swept by our favorite team in the most important series of the year in Atlanta on September 30- October 2. I was at the October 1st game, and we dominated the Mets from start to finish despite my opinion that the Mets had the starting pitching advantage on their side (Kyle Wright vs. Max Scherzer). Enough about the Mets though, after all, we’re only here to discuss the Braves & Brian Snitker. Snit did very well this year despite navigating through some serious injuries to starting players that more or less cost them their entire seasons (Adam Duvall, Ozzie Albies, Luke Jackson, etc.) He also dealt with various in-season injuries to players such as Ronald Acuna, Jr., Tyler Matzek, and Eddie Rosario that cost those guys playing time & effectiveness over the course of the year. This is not to mention the admirable job he did in handling the ongoing Marcell Ozuna drama. Add all of this up, and it’s clear that Snit was very deserving of being a 2022 NL MOTY finalist.
Max Fried is the NL Cy Young runner-up
Max Fried’s competitive spirit is second to none, famously pitching an absolute gem in Game 6 of the World Series after injuring his ankle on an awkward fielding play at first base. More recently, Braves fans found out that he pitched in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Phillies despite losing fifteen pounds (!) from battling through the flu a couple weeks prior to his outing. The Braves website lists Fried at 6’4” 190 lbs, and that’s likely when he’s weighed soaking wet. He’s a tall, lanky guy who can’t afford to lose more weight than he already does over the season. That said, Fried has established himself as the Braves true ace & the best left hander in the game. Sandy Alcántara won the award this year, but Fried’s time as the NL’s premier pitcher is coming.
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