Witt honored with All-MLB First Team; Salvy, Lugo make Second Team
Anne Rogers
@anne__rogersKANSAS CITY -- Award season is continuing on this week with All-MLB Team honors presented by MGM Rewards, and three Royals have received some new hardware for their standout 2024 seasons.
Bobby Witt Jr. was named the All-MLB First Team¡¯s shortstop, while catcher Salvador Perez and starter Seth Lugo received Second Team honors at their respective positions. The Royals¡¯ three All-MLB selections tied with the Dodgers for second-most across the Majors, trailing only the Padres¡¯ four.
The announcement was made Thursday as part of the second annual All-MLB Weekend in Las Vegas, a multi-day offseason event to honor baseball¡¯s best. The All-MLB Team Show live at the Chelsea Theater on Thursday included the selections for All-MLB First and Second Teams, Hank Aaron Award, Comeback Players of the Year, Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman Relievers of the Year and Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter of the Year.
First established in 2019, All-MLB honors recognize the best player or players at each position across the Majors every season with First Team and Second Team selections.
Fan voting accounted for half of the selection process, with the other 50 percent coming from a decorated panel of media members, broadcasters, former players and other officials throughout the game.
When casting their ballots, voters were asked to consider only performance during the regular season. Each All-MLB team includes one selection apiece at catcher, first base, second base, shortstop, third base and DH, three outfielders (regardless of specific outfield position), five starting pitchers and two relievers.
In 2024, Witt made his first All-Star team, won his first career Gold Glove and has now been honored with his first All-MLB Team selection. He is also guaranteed a top-three finish in the American League MVP Award, which will be announced next Thursday.
The awards are racking up, and deservedly so for the 24-year-old shortstop who posted baseball¡¯s second-best WAR (10.4 on FanGraphs) behind Aaron Judge (11.2) in 2024. Witt was this season¡¯s batting champion with a .332 average and an MLB-best 211 hits, his first career 200-hit season. He posted a .389 on-base percentage and a .588 slugging percentage with 32 homers, 45 doubles, 31 stolen bases and 109 RBIs. His second consecutive 30-30 campaign made him the first shortstop to have multiple 30-30 seasons.
Witt, who played 160 games at shortstop and 161 total this year, became the second shortstop in Major League history to record a season with at least 30 home runs, 30 stolen bases, 100 runs and 100 RBIs, joining Alex Rodriguez in 1998.
Perez is a two-time All-MLB First Team catcher from 2020-21 and was selected to the Second Team in ¡®24 after another remarkable season for the 34-year-old Royals captain. Selected to his ninth All-Star Game this year, Perez slashed .271/.330/.456, hit 27 homers ¨C matching his second-best single-season total ¨C and ranked seventh in the AL with 104 RBIs, also the second-highest total of his career.
This year marked the eighth season with at least 20 homers, matching George Brett for the most in Royals history. Perez also ranked second in the Majors with 29 go-ahead RBIs, trailing Judge¡¯s 32.
Perez played in 158 games in 2024, the second-highest total of his career, and made 90 starts at catcher, 44 at first base and 23 as the designated hitter. Last month, he was honored as the 2024 Roberto Clemente Award winner, baseball¡¯s most prestigious award for a player¡¯s off-the-field contributions.
This is Lugo¡¯s first career All-MLB selection, and it comes after a season in which he established himself as one of baseball¡¯s best and most reliable starters. Lugo¡¯s 3.00 ERA ranked sixth in the AL and was the lowest single-season ERA by a Royals starter since Zack Greinke had a 2.16 ERA in with the winner to be announced next Wednesday.
The 34-year-old righty pitched 206 2/3 innings this year, second-best in baseball, and was one of eight pitchers who made 33 starts. Twenty-two of those starts ¨C nearly 67 percent ¨C were quality starts, and he completed at least six innings in 25 of his 33 starts.
Lugo, a first-time All-Star and Gold Glover in 2024, held opponents to a .227 average, struck out 181 batters, posted a 5.7 percent walk rate and a 1.09 WHIP, the latter of which ranked seventh in the AL.
First baseman Vinnie Pasquantino and starter Cole Ragans were among the other Royals nominees for All-MLB teams.