My All-MLB Selections

It's almost award season in Major League Baseball.  The Gold Gloves were announced last week, and the finalists for the major awards have all been unveiled.  Those will all be awarded next week, while the All-MLB Team and some of the smaller awards will be presented this week in Las Vegas.

They didn't even have an All-MLB Team until 2019, but it was a long overdue honor.  Every other major league sport had an all-league team, but Baseball only had its individual awards, which left so many players unrecognized despite having a terrific season.  The All-MLB Team rectified that.  And, it's still pretty prestigious to be voted the best player in all of Major League Baseball at your position for that season.  So, even though this is just the fifth season an All-MLB Team has been chosen, it's already one of the biggest honors a player can receive.

Especially since picking the All-MLB Team isn't exactly easy.  At certain positions, it is.  But, there are also plenty of great seasons that can't be recognized simply because they're the second-best at that player's position during the season.  Good thing there's a Second Team All-MLB.  But even that's not enough at some positions.

Only one player at each infield position, catcher and DH is selected.  There's also three outfielders, regardless of position.  Starting rotations include five pitchers, so it makes sense that five starting pitchers get the nod along with two relievers.  There's no spot for a utility player, but I wouldn't be surprised if that's added in the future.  With all that in mind, here are the 16 guys I'd select for the First Team:

Catcher: William Contreras, Brewers-I went back and forth on this one before finally settling on William Contreras over Salvador Perez.  The fact that Salvy Perez played 158 games primarily as a catcher at age 34 and still put up the offensive numbers he did truly is remarkable.  But the numbers Contreras put up for the NL Central-winning Brewers were just a tick better.  Perez had more homers (27-23) and more RBIs (104-92), but Contreras held the edge in everything else.

1st Base: Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., Blue Jays-Don't tell Vladito that the Blue Jays had a down year.  Because he sure didn't.  He had 199 hits, 44 doubles, 98 runs scored, and a .323 average, all of which led MLB first basemen.  His 103 RBIs were second and his 30 home runs were third.  Most importantly, he stayed healthy, playing 159 games.  Bryce Harper, Josh Naylor, Pete Alonso and Matt Olson all had great years, as well.  But Guerrero gets the nod.

2nd Base: Ketel Marte, Diamondbacks-Ketel Marte had a great postseason last year and carried it into 2024.  He only played in 136 games, yet still led all Major League second basemen in both homers and RBIs by a wide margin.  Marte also had the highest slugging percentage and on-base percentage among second basemen while hitting .292.  Without him at the top of the lineup, the Diamondbacks don't come anywhere close to the playoffs.

Shortstop: Bobby Witt, Jr., Royals-This is one of the easy ones.  If not for Aaron Judge, Bobby Witt Jr. would be the runaway AL MVP.  Witt had the most hits (211) and highest average (.332) in the Majors, and he won a Gold Glove.  He also ranked among the top five in doubles, triples, slugging percentage and OPS.  So, yeah, Bobby Witt Jr. had a good season.  This will likely be the first of many All-MLB selections.

3rd Base: Jose Ramirez, Guardians-Can people please stop calling Jose Ramirez underrated?  Because we all know he isn't just really good at baseball, he's one of the best damn players in the American League!  And he has been for a few years!  He led Major League third basemen in everything by a wide margin while leading Cleveland to a division title and ALCS appearance.

Outfield: Aaron Judge, Yankees; Juan Soto, Yankees; Teoscar Hernandez, Dodgers-The 1-2 combo of Judge and Soto carried the Yankees to a pennant in what could be (but hopefully isn't) their only year together.  They're both AL MVP finalists, and rightfully so!  The only question is who'll be the third First Team All-MLB outfielder.  I went with Teoscar Hernandez, who finally had that breakout season that's long been expected of him.  Who knew all it took was putting him on the Dodgers?!  

Designated Hitter: Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers-We all know Ohtani's great.  That's not a surprise.  Yet he somehow still managed to amaze us with what he did in 2024.  He'll cruise to yet another MVP (his first in the National League) after the first 50 HR/50 SB season in Major League history.  Since he didn't pitch this season, he can only be All-MLB once this year.

Starting Pitcher: Chris Sale, Braves; Tarik Skubal, Tigers; Zack Wheeler, Phillies; Seth Lugo, Royals; Paul Skenes, Pirates-Chris Sale and Tarik Skubal both won the pitching Triple Crown and will probably be unanimous Cy Young winners.  So, two of the five First Team All-MLB starters are easy.  All five are, in fact.  Wheeler, Skenes and Lugo are also finalists for the Cy Young, and they'd all have an argument to win that award had Sale and Skubal not been so dominant this season.  Lugo and Wheeler were two of just four starting pitchers to throw 200 innings this season, and Skenes took baseball by storm after getting called up in May.

Relief Pitcher: Emmanuel Clase, Guardians; Kirby Yates, Rangers-His ALCS meltdown aside, Clase had one of the best seasons by a reliever in recent memory this year.  As a result, he's the first reliever to be a Cy Young finalist in 15 years.  So, he's a no-brainer choice.  The second reliver was a bit tricker, but I'm going with the Rangers' Kirby Yates.  He went 7-2 and was 33-for-34 in save opportunities.  Yates' batting average against (.113) and ERA (1.17) were nearly identical.  When they're both that low, that's too good to ignore.

As for my All-MLB Second Team, here it is: C-Salvador Perez (KC); 1B-Bryce Harper (PHI); 2B-Jose Altuve (HOU); SS-Francisco Lindor (NYM); 3B-Manny Machado (SD); OF-Jarren Duran (BOS), Anthony Santander (BAL), Jackson Merrill (SD); DH-Marcell Ozuna (ATL); SP-Shota Imanaga (CHC), Corbin Burnes (BAL), Ronel Blanco (HOU), Dylan Cease (SD), Framber Valdez (HOU); RP-Raisel Iglesias (ATL), Ryan Helsley (STL).  I could easily name a Third Team, as well, but MLB stops at two, so I'll do the same.