Bichette, Gausman receive top Blue Jays honours from Toronto baseball writers

SS Bo Bichette earned the Neil MacCarl Award as Blue Jays Player of the Year from the Toronto baseball writers on Tuesday.

November 28, 2023

Official Toronto Blue Jays News Release

The Toronto Chapter of the BBWAA has announced its annual award winners.

SS Bo Bichette earned the Neil MacCarl Award as Player of the Year while RHP Kevin Gausman landed Pitcher of the Year. The Most Improved Player Award was given to LHP Yusei Kikuchi and Rookie of the Year honours went to INF Davis Schneider. Also recognized were third base coach Luis Rivera and team travel & clubhouse operations director Mike Shaw as the John Cerutti Award co-recipients for displaying goodwill, cooperation, and character.

Bichette, 25, finished third in the American League in batting average (.306) and fourth in hits (175), while his 77 opposite-field hits were 11 more than any other major leaguer. The Orlando native racked up 30 doubles and 20 home runs, reaching both marks for a third straight season, just the fourth player in Blue Jays history to do so. The offensive output helped propel the shortstop to his second career AL All-Star nod.

Gausman, 32, set a career high with an AL-leading 237 strikeouts while also leading the Junior Circuit in fWAR (5.3), strikeout rate (31.1%), and strikeouts per nine (11.53), to go along with a 3.16 ERA (fourth in the AL) over 185 innings pitched (10th). In his second season with the club, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound righty earned his second career All-Star nomination while finishing third in AL Cy Young voting.

Kikuchi, 32, enjoyed a bounceback season, setting personal bests in wins (11), innings pitched (167 2/3), strikeouts (181), ERA (3.86), and WHIP (1.27). From 2022 to 2023, the Morioka, Japan, native lowered his ERA by 1.33 runs (5.19 -> 3.86), nearly halved his walk rate (12.8 -> 6.9), and provided a steadying presence in the rotation, pitching into the fifth inning in all but one of his 32 starts.

Schneider, 24, burst onto the scene after being called up for his Major League debut on August 4 in Boston. The 5-foot-9, 190-pound second baseman became the fourth player in franchise history to homer in his first career at-bat, taking James Paxton (Ladner, B.C.) deep over the Green Monster. Over his first 25 games, Schneider produced a 1.315 OPS, the best mark in the modern era (since 1901).

Rivera served as Toronto’s third base coach for the last 11 seasons. The former infielder played professionally for 18 seasons, including 11 in the majors, before taking on a coaching role with Cleveland in 2000. The native of Cidra, Puerto Rico, joined the Blue Jays in 2010 to manage double-A New Hampshire and eventually worked his way into a major league coaching role for the 2011 campaign. Rivera retired at the end of the 2023 season, his 13th consecutive campaign on a major league staff.

Shaw worked his 28th season in the Blue Jays organization in 2023. The Halifax native joined the Blue Jays in 1996 in the Ticketing department, before moving to Communications and eventually overseeing Team Travel & Clubhouse Operations where he spent the last 19 seasons. He was twice voted by his MLB peers as the Travel Secretary of the Year in 2014 and 2021. Shaw will be leaving the Blue Jays in December to pursue another MLB opportunity next season.