Baseball Digest names Paul Skenes as top pitcher
MLB notes
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NEW YORK -- Cal Raleigh won the Baseball Digest/Inside Edge major league player of the year award Friday, narrowly beating out Aaron Judge.
The switch-hitting catcher from the Seattle Mariners, who became the seventh player to hit 60 home runs in a season, received 12 of 24 first-place votes and finished with 56 points in balloting by a panel of baseball writers and broadcasters that included former players, managers and executives.
Judge was chosen first on eight ballots, and the New York Yankees outfielder garnered 53 points. Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani got the other four first-place votes and came in a distant third.
Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes was selected pitcher of the year by a wide margin over Detroit Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal, and Boston Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman was a runaway winner for reliever of the year.
Texas hires manager
ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Texas Rangers hired Skip Schumaker as their manager, agreeing Friday on a four-year contract with the former NL Manager of the Year.
Schumaker's deal was announced after Chris Young, the president of baseball operations, acknowledged earlier in the day that the Rangers were focused on an internal candidate in their search to replace Bruce Bochy. Schumaker had been in a senior advisory role with the team since last year.
The 45-year-old Schumaker was the 2023 NL Manager of the Year when Miami went 84-78 and made the fourth postseason appearance in club history. That was the same year Texas, with Bochy in his debut there, won its only World Series championship. Before going to Miami,
Schumaker was a bench coach for St. Louis. He also played for the Cardinals.