It’s been a wild year in the Major Leagues, and now that we’ve reached the final week of the regular season, it’s time to have a look at what’s still at stake around baseball. In addition to the question of which teams will claim the remaining postseason spots up for grabs, who will top the statistical leaderboards? Who will take home the hardware this awards season?
Here’s a look at what’s at stake over the final days of the regular season:
AL Wild Card
Five teams — the Yankees, Red Sox, Mariners, Blue Jays and Athletics — remain in the hunt for the two AL Wild Card spots. The Yanks have a two-game lead over the Red Sox for the top Wild Card spot, while Boston sits a half-game ahead of the Mariners — who are seeking their first postseason berth since 2001 — and one game ahead of the Blue Jays for the final spot. The A’s are still alive, though two straight losses to Seattle dropped Oakland to 3 1/2 games back.
NL East
The Braves lead the Phillies by 3 1/2 games in the NL East after winning the first game of a pivotal three-game series between the division foes this week in Atlanta. The Braves are looking to win a fourth straight division title, while the Phillies are eyeing their first postseason appearance since 2011.
NL West
The Giants are trying to hold off the Dodgers to not only win the NL West crown, but also avoid playing in the NL Wild Card Game. San Francisco maintained its two-game lead over Los Angeles — with five to play — after each club notched a win on Tuesday night.
Batting average titles
Trea Turner raised his NL-leading average to .325 with a three-hit night on Tuesday, while Juan Soto went 0-for-4 to drop his average to .318.
Meanwhile, in the AL, a pair of Astros teammates — Yuli Gurriel (.317) and Michael Brantley (.315) — are battling it out with Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (.313) for the title. That said, it’s worth noting that Brantley, who has been sidelined since Sept. 12, is unlikely to qualify for the honor. He has only 483 plate appearances (19 shy of the qualifying threshold) and he isn’t expected to return until this weekend, at the earliest.
Home run crowns
It doesn’t get much more exciting than the race for the AL home run title. After a homer on Tuesday, Salvador Perez leads MLB with 47, followed by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. with 46, while Shohei Ohtani has 45 and Marcus Semien has 43.
The NL home run crown looks likely to go to Fernando Tatis Jr. (41), but Atlanta’s Adam Duvall (38) is within striking distance.
Strikeout leaders
Toronto’s Robbie Ray leads the AL (and the Majors) with 244 strikeouts, while Yankees ace Gerrit Cole is second in the AL with 237.
As for the NL, Zack Wheeler (247) is trying to hold off Max Scherzer (232) and Corbin Burnes (230) down the stretch.
ERA leaders
Ray also appears poised to claim the AL ERA title, with his 2.68 mark representing the only sub-3.00 ERA in the AL. Cole is second at 3.08
The race for the NL (and MLB) ERA title is much tighter. Scherzer (2.28 ERA) is clinging to a narrow lead over Burnes (2.29), while Walker Buehler (2.49) and Brandon Woodruff (2.56) aren’t far behind.
MVP
Ohtani has built the most unique case in the history of the MVP Award, though Guerrero will try to make one final push for the AL MVP Award by willing the Blue Jays into the postseason.
The NL MVP race is a bit more open, with Bryce Harper and Tatis taking it down to the wire — and Soto making a late surge of his own.
Cy Young
Ray has seemingly taken the lead over Cole, but both pitchers have one monumental start remaining — and each will come against the other’s team. Cole faces the Blue Jays on Wednesday, while Ray takes on the Yankees on Thursday. Those two outings could potentially change the AL Cy Young conversation — not to mention the AL Wild Card race.
As for the NL Cy Young Award, the frontrunners have shuffled spots a few times over the last month, but it seems to likely be down to Scherzer and Burnes. Of course, Wheeler, Buehler and Woodruff are also still on the fringe, but it would take an incredible finish this week to claim the honor.
Rookie of the Year
On the heels of his incredible postseason performance seemingly out of nowhere, Tampa Bay’s Randy Arozarena has made a solid case for the AL Rookie of the Year Award, but Baltimore’s Ryan Mountcastle is making a late charge.
Meanwhile, the Reds’ Jonathan India seems likely to claim the NL ROY Award, though the other top candidates include the Marlins’ Trevor Rogers and the Cubs’ Patrick Wisdom.