The 2024 Chicago baseball awards
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Chicago fans hold up a 121 sign during a game between the Angels and White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on Sept. 24. Photo: Justin Casterline/Getty Images
The Chicago baseball season is officially over, as both the White Sox and the Cubs missed the playoffs — again.
- So we're bringing you something even better than the postseason: our third annual Axios Chicago baseball awards.
Hitting
Here were the offensive leaders:
Batting average: Cubs' Seiya Suzuki (.283). No player hit over .300, which may be why both teams are sitting out the postseason.
- The Sox' top hitter was Andrew Vaughn (.246).
Home runs: Cubs' Ian Happ (25) hit the most, but his total was less than half of what the league leaders produced.
Runs batted in: Happ (86). It was a good year for the left fielder, but also telling that not one Chicago player had over 100 RBIs.
Strikeouts: Happ (168)— feast or famine for the Cubs' best hitter.
Stolen bases: Cubs' Nico Hoerner (31) — he led both teams for the third year in a row, though his production dropped from last year.
Pitching
The lone bright spot for both teams was Japanese rookie Shota Imanaga. The Cubs star is in the running for the National League Rookie of the Year.
Earned run average: Imanaga (2.91).
Wins: Imanaga (15).
Strikeouts: White Sox starter Garrett Crochet (209).
Saves: Cubs reliever Héctor Neris (17).
Worst stats: The top Sox starter (Erick Fedde) had only 7 wins, and top Sox closer (Michael Kopech) had just 9 saves. Both were traded during the season.
Worst manager: The Sox combo of Pedro Grifol and Grady Sizemore was historically terrible. But the Cubs stole Craig Counsell from Milwaukee, made him the highest-paid manager in the league, only to finish with the exact same record as last year, missing the playoffs.
Best announcers: Jason Benetti in Detroit? New Sox play-by-play voice John Schriffen had a rough first year having to stay positive with so much losing. He was criticized for his calls and ended up beefing with sports radio hosts. But in his defense, he had to do something since nobody was watching the White Sox.
Biggest no-show: We knew the White Sox would be bad, but we thought Luis Robert Jr. would still be elite. Due to an early season injury, Robert never got on track, delivering career lows in almost every category.
- Honorable mention: What happened to Dansby Swanson?
Worst injury: We should rename this category "The Yoán Moncada" award. The Sox starter was injured running to first base (a traditional Sox injury). It was so bad, it sidelined him for the season.
Most embarrassing moment: There was no Tim Anderson boxing match this year, but the entire Sox season was an embarrassment. This outfield collision gets top honors, though.
- Mostly because of the Orioles' play-by-play announcer's declarative statement: "The White Sox have just gone full White Sox."
Weirdest statue: We were hoping the Ryno statue would challenge our all-time favorite for weirdest, but it was normal. So once again, the honor goes to the Harry Caray monument at Waveland and Sheffield.
- It's like the little Harry Carays are trying to eat the big Harry Caray's legs.
