Craig Counsell
The Baseball Writer’s Association of America’s MLB awards finalists are out and the Milwaukee Brewers have two finalists.
Christian Yelich, despite missing the final two weeks of the season with a broken kneecap, was named a finalist for the National League Most Valuable Player award. He’s joined by Cody Bellinger of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Anthony Rendon of the Washington Nationals as finalists.
Yelich claimed his second straight batting title after finishing with a .329 average. He also topped the National League with a .671 slugging percentage, a .429 on-base percentage and a 1.100 OPS. Yelich clubbed a career high 44 home runs, drove in 97 runs, scored 100 runs and stole 30 bases.
Brewers manager Craig Counsell is a finalist for National League Manager of the Year. He’s joined by Atlanta’s Brian Snitker and the Cardinals Mike Shildt.
Counsell finished second in the NL Manager of the Year award in 2018. He guided the Brewers down the stretch, going 18-2 over a three week period to come from five games behind the Cubs to nail down the second wild-card spot. It gave the Brewers back-to-back playoff appearances for just the second time in franchise history.
The award winners will be announced Monday through Thursday of next week.