Guardians Jose Ramirez, Triston McKenzie awarded by Cleveland BBWAA

On Dec 15, 2022

Cleveland Guardians' Jose Ramirez watches his single off Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Spenser Watkins during the fourth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Ron Schwane)

The Cleveland chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America awarded the Bob Feller Man of the Year Award to Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez and the Frank Gibbons/Steve Olin Good Guy Award to starting pitcher Triston McKenzie.

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The Bob Feller Man of the Year Award is given to the player deemed to be the team’s Most Valuable Player during the season. This past season, Ramirez hit .280 with an .869 OPS, 29 home runs, a league-leading 44 doubles, 126 RBIs and 20 stolen bases en route to a fourth-place finish in American League MVP voting. Ramirez also played much of the season with a thumb injury that required offseason surgery. It’s the third time Ramirez has won the Bob Feller Man of the Year Award and the second year in a row.

Rookie outfielder Steven Kwan, second baseman Andres Gimenez and closer Emmanuel Clase were also nominated.

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The Frank Gibbons-Steve Olin Good Guy Award seeks to recognize the player, person or people who exemplified a positive relationship with teammates and the media for the previous season. McKenzie not only had a standout 2022 season, posting a 2.96 ERA with 190 strikeouts in 191⅓ innings, but did so while taking on a larger role in the clubhouse among players on the youngest roster in baseball.

Kwan, starting pitcher Cal Quantrill, catcher Austin Hedges and manager Terry Francona were also nominated.

Ryan Lewis can be reached at [email protected]. Read more about the Guardians at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/cleveland-guardians. Follow him on Twitter at @ByRyanLewis.