Since 1925, The Sporting News has awarded annual honors to the best in baseball.

It started with SN’s first MLB All-Star teams just more than a century ago. In 1936, The Sporting News added individual honors for the top players, managers and executives, eventually expanding to include rookie and comeback players of the year.

To this day, SN’s MLB awards remain peer-voted. Players vote on player awards, while managers choose among their fellow managers and executives choose the season’s top executive, in addition to the All-Star teams. This year’s balloting included votes from nearly 260 players and 18 executives. 

In a change from last year, this season’s awards aren’t dominated by just one or two teams. Eight different teams are represented between SN’s eight awards, and the All-Star teams highlight both prominent names and unheralded stars.

Here are Sporting News’ 2025 awards — the 100th anniversary edition — as voted by the players, managers and executives.

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MLB Player of the Year: Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cubs

Pete Crow-Armstrong is the first Cub to win the Sporting News Player of the Year Award since Sammy Sosa in 1998. He left no doubt.

Written off by many after a brutal second half in 2025 was followed by a sluggish start to 2026, Crow-Armstrong flipped a switch at the end of May and became the best player in baseball from that point on. “PCA” hit .308 with 39 home runs and a 1.077 OPS from May 30 onward, and he finished the season tied for the MLB lead in home runs with 45.

A true five-tool player, Crow-Armstrong became the seventh 40-40 player in MLB history, notching 41 stolen bases to go along with his gaudy home run total while continuing to play excellent defense in centerfield. 

Crow-Armstrong’s 10.6 fWAR is the highest single-season mark of any player other than Aaron Judge in the last 20 seasons — yes, even more than Shohei Ohtani.

MORE: Ranking the worst trades in MLB history

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AL Rookie of the Year: Kevin McGonigle, Tigers

It was a loaded rookie class in the American League, with Parker Messick, Payton Tolle, Chase DeLauter and Munetaka Murakami among the names who not only put up impressive numbers, but played a role in pushing their teams to the postseason.

Still, keeping Kevin McGonigle from Rookie of the Year honors always felt like an uphill climb for the rest of the pack, even as Messick likely earned himself some down-ballot Cy Young votes.

McGonigle was as well-rounded as advertised in year one with the Tigers, showcasing rare patience to the tune of a .376 on-base percentage and batting .278 with an .806 OPS.

Consistency is what kept the former top prospect at the top of the Rookie of the Year leaderboard throughout the season. McGonigle never hit more than four home runs in a month, but he finished the year with a solid 18 long balls to go along with his on-base ability and defense.

McGonigle is the first Tigers rookie to receive the honor from Sporting News since Michael Fulmer in 2016.

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NL Rookie of the Year: Sal Stewart, Reds

The Rookie of the Year debate in the National League is highly compelling. Sal Stewart’s raw numbers largely lead the pack, but the impressive defense of JJ Wetherholt, the strong finishes by Carson Benge and TJ Rumfield and even the quietly reliable season posted by Nolan McLean effectively turned it into a five-way race.

Stewart, in the end, becomes Sporting News’ NL Rookie of the Year after hitting 32 home runs with 111 RBI across a full 162 games for the Reds. Stewart set a Reds rookie record for RBI before August even ended, and he emerged as one of the most intimidating young power bats in the game before his 23rd birthday.

Stewart is the first Reds rookie to receive the honor since Jonathan India in 2021, and he’s the first primary first baseman to earn SN’s NL Rookie of the Year Award since a player with a similar profile: Pete Alonso in 2019.

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AL Comeback Player of the Year: Yordan Alvarez, Astros

Yordan Alvarez is going to get a few honors during this award season, and it’s easy to forget after his stellar campaign that he simply wasn’t a factor for the Astros in 2025. The former Rookie of the Year and World Series hero was limited to 48 games in 2025 due to hand and ankle injuries, hitting only six home runs. Alvarez’s absence played a major role in Houston missing the postseason for the first time since 2016.

Come 2026, Alvarez more than made up for his time away. The 29-year-old turned in his third career season with an OPS north of 1.000, leading all qualified hitters with a .316 AVG to go along with 42 home runs and 106 RBI across 158 games. Alvarez’s .432 on-base percentage marked a new career-high despite three previous seasons over .400.

Injuries have cost Alvarez time over the years, but he proved again in 2026 that he is nearly in a class of his own as an all-around hitter when he’s fully healthy.

MORE: Inside the Yordan Alvarez vs. Cam Schlittler AL MVP debate

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NL Comeback Player of the Year: Zack Wheeler, Phillies

There was a time in which Thoracic Outlet Syndrome was something of a death knell for pitchers. While past recipients of the surgery — including Matt Harvey — were able to get back on the mound, they struggled to regain peak form. Either that is no longer the case or Zack Wheeler is superhuman.

Wheeler not only met his projected timeline to return, but he pitched like nothing ever happened. The 36-year-old posted a 3.00 ERA across 28 starts for the Phillies, striking out 193 batters in 162 innings and playing a decisive role in digging Philadelphia out of an early hole in the standings once he returned in late April and helped it reach the postseason.

Wheeler is the first Phillies player to earn SN’s NL Comeback Player of the Year Award since Mike Lieberthal in 2002.

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AL Manager of the Year: Will Venable, White Sox

The White Sox set the MLB single-season loss record with a 41-121 campaign in 2024. Their first solution was to hire Will Venable as their manager, giving the former Padres outfielder his first managerial gig.

To say Venable has answered the challenge would be an understatement.

The 43-year-old oversaw a 19-win improvement in 2025, but a 60-102 record still wasn’t nearly the end game for the White Sox. Chicago set its sights on improvement again in 2026, but no one could’ve envisioned a trip to the postseason on the South Side. The White Sox won 84 games, competing for the AL Central crown right down to the final weekend of the regular season and coming within a win of the ALCS.

Calling the White Sox a ragtag bunch might not be fair to the players, but with only one fully functional starter by the time October rolled around and plenty of unheralded bats setting the tone, the job Venable did undoubtedly earned him plenty of respect around baseball.

Venable is the first White Sox manager to receive SN’s Manager of the Year honors since Ozzie Guillen in 2005.

NL Manager of the Year: Pat Murphy, Brewers

It’s a three-peat for Pat Murphy, who becomes the NL’s first manager to win the Sporting News award in three consecutive seasons since Bobby Cox (2002-05) and the first manager overall since Kevin Cash (2019-21).

Unlike Cox and Cash, Murphy has won in each of his first three seasons as a full-time MLB manager. While the Brewers might not have been quite as underestimated going into 2026 as they were in previous seasons, few would have expected Milwaukee to win 103 games and run away with an improved NL Central division.

The Brewers were a juggernaut in the regular season, led by a Cy Young-worthy season from Jacob Misiorowski, a deep bullpen and a glut of position players who all bring something valuable to the team. Milwaukee’s approach is all about developing and replacing stars, and the organization was able to do that again after trading former ace Freddy Peralta.

Murphy is the 13th manager and third active manager to be named Sporting News Manager of the Year at least three times, joining Cash and predecessor Craig Counsell.

MLB Executive of the Year: Erik Neander, Rays

On the topic of developing and replacing stars, the Rays’ similar approach turned them into an even more unexpected juggernaut in 2026. Counted out by many in a division with the reigning American League champions, the World Series-hopeful Yankees and Red Sox and an Orioles team widely considered a sleeper contender, the Rays went and won the AL East with one of baseball’s lowest payrolls.

Much of the credit goes to president of baseball operations Erik Neander, who is Sporting News’ Executive of the Year. Neander’s low-cost additions of Bryan Baker, Victor Mesa Jr. and Ryan Vilade over the last 18 months were wins, with Baker emerging as one of MLB’s most dominant relievers.

To the Rays’ credit, they didn’t just sit on their hands at the August trade deadline despite the season already being a success. Tampa Bay acquired a low-cost, controllable catcher in Liam Hicks from the Marlins and took advantage of Freddy Peralta’s down seasons with the Mets by landing him for a limited return. After a rocky start to his Rays tenure, Peralta earned AL Pitcher of the Month honors in September.

Neander previously won the Executive of the Year award in 2019, making him one of three active heads of baseball operations to have won the award multiple times.

AL All-Star team

Here’s the Sporting News AL All-Star team for 2026:

* tie for fourth OF selection

NL All-Star team

Here’s the Sporting News NL All-Star team for 2026:

* tie for fourth OF selection