Despite a disappointing end to the 2018 season for the Cleveland Indians, two of their stars have been named as finalists for top American League postseason awards.
On Monday, pitcher Corey Kluber was named as one of three finalists for the American League's Cy Young award. Kluber is the reigning winner of the Cy Young and will be looking for his third award after also capturing the honor in 2014. Blake Snell of the Tampa Bay Rays and Houston Astros' ace Justin Verlander round out this year's list of finalists.
In addition, 3B Jose Ramirez has been honored as a finalist for the American League's Most Valuable Player award for the second year in a row. Boston outfielder Mookie Betts and Angels outfielder Mike Trout join Ramirez as MVP finalists.
In his 33 starts during the 2018 regular season, Kluber (20-7) registered 222 strikeouts against 34 walks, 179 hits and 69 earned runs allowed over 215.0 innings of work while anchoring a pitching staff that led the way to the Indians’ third consecutive AL Central Division Championship. Opposing batters hit just .223 against Kluber this season.
Ramirez put together another monster offensive season for the Tribe, hitting .270 with 39 home runs and 105 runs batted in to help power the Indians offense. He was voted in as the starter for the American League at third base in the 2018 All Star Game. Ramirez's production began to tail off in the second half of the season. In September, he was held to just a .174 average with 2 homers and 11 RBI. Then in the ALDS, he was 0-for-11 at the plate as the Tribe was swept by the Astros.
The American and National League Cy Young Awards will be announced on November 14. The AL and NL MVP award winners will be revealed on November 15.