The 2025 Major League Baseball season has seen some standout performances,with top honors awarded by Baseball Digest/Inside Edge. Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners has been named the MLB Player of the Year, a testament to his exceptional season. Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates earned the title of MLB Pitcher of the Year, showcasing his dominance on the mound. Rounding out the major awards, aroldis Chapman of the Boston Red Sox was recognized as the MLB Reliever of the Year.
Raleigh’s selection as Player of the Year was a decisive victory, garnering 12 first-place votes, eight second-place votes, and four third-place votes from a distinguished panel of 24 baseball experts. This panel included seasoned writers, broadcasters, former players, managers, and executives. While Aaron Judge of the New York yankees also received meaningful support with eight first-place votes, 13 second-place, and three third-place, Raleigh’s overall performance resonated most strongly. Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers secured four first-place votes, three second-place, and 14 third-place votes.
These awards mark significant milestones for Baseball Digest. The MLB Player of the Year award has a rich history,dating back to 1969,with this being the 57th presentation. The MLB pitcher of the Year award, first given in 1994, is now in it’s 32nd year. The MLB Reliever of the Year award,a more recent addition,was first presented in 2012 and has been awarded annually sence 2015.
Cal Raleigh’s Player of the Year campaign was nothing short of historic.He led all of MLB with an astounding 60 home runs in 2025, also topping the American League with 125 runs batted in. His 60 home runs set a new Major League record for a switch-hitter in a single season, surpassing Mickey Mantle’s 54 in 1961. Furthermore, Raleigh’s 49 homers as a catcher broke the previous record of 42 held by Javy López in 2003.
On the pitching front,Paul Skenes dominated the league,leading MLB with a remarkable 1.97 earned run average (ERA). His 216 strikeouts placed him in a tie for second in the National League with Jesús Luzardo of Philadelphia, trailing only Logan Webb of San Francisco, who recorded 224 strikeouts. Skenes’ career ERA through his first 55 starts stands at an exceptional 1.9647, the third-lowest mark since ERA became an official statistic in both leagues in 1913. He trails only Al Mamaux (1.93 from 1914-16) and Dutch Ruether (1.9614 from 1917-20).
Aroldis Chapman’s return to elite form earned him the Reliever of the Year award. He tied for fifth in MLB with 34 saves in 2025, his highest total since recording 37 saves in 2019.Chapman was particularly dominant in closing out games, succeeding in each of his last 15 save opportunities. this marked his ninth season with 30 or more saves, placing him in a tie for fourth all-time with Joe Nathan and Billy Wagner among active and retired pitchers.
Chapman’s statistical dominance extended beyond saves. Among pitchers with 50.0 or more innings pitched in 2025, he led MLB with a 1.17 ERA, a 0.701 WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched), and held opponents to a mere .132 batting average. This stellar performance makes Chapman the first Red Sox pitcher to be named Baseball Digest’s Reliever of the Year as the award’s inception in 2012.
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