COOPERSTOWN — By Matthew Lomon

 

Dust off the old spikes and tear open a pack of Big League Chew because it’s time to play ball. After one of the more interesting off-seasons in recent memory (especially for clients of Scott Boras), Major League Baseball Opening Day is finally here.

In honor of the arduous 162-game journey ahead, we’ve decided to put our usual Railbirds slant on things by bridging the worlds of pro sports and Thoroughbred racing. This time, with assistance from our friends at Bet365, we’re handing out MLB hardware to five of horse racing’s finest players.

Here’s who made the short list for some of baseball’s most prestigious distinctions.

 

Award: Most Valuable Player

Racing Comparable: Flavien Prat, Jockey

What separates a very good player from the Most Valuable Player? Advanced analytics aside, an MVP-caliber player positively impacts their team’s capacity to win games by means no other player can. Flavien Prat, the pilot behind 17 $1 million horses, including Hot Rod Charlie and Flightline, is that type of player.

With over 1,600 wins and $160 million in earnings to his name, the Melun, France, native has been an immovable force atop the Thoroughbred racing game for nearly a decade. As he ventures into year 15, Prat is showing no signs of slowing down. In fact, he’s only getting better.

The 31-year-old is currently the leading earner among North American jockeys on the young 2024 campaign. If he can hold that position, it will be the first time the 31-year-old has ever accomplished such a feat. He did finish second to Irad Ortiz Jr. in 2022, albeit by almost $8 million.

Think of Prat like Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez, another 31-year-old former MVP runner-up (2020) who’s compiled some gaudy numbers in his own right. The Dominican national is currently set at +1,500 to capture AL MVP honors on Bet365.

 

Award: Cy Young

Racing Comparable: The Chosen Vron, 6-Year-Old Gelding

Before Canadian analytics savant Tom Tango created the FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) statistic, Earned Run Average or ERA, stood as the authority for measuring a pitcher’s true value.

While the latter’s aura has faded as a result of the former, it remains a key counting stat in the Cy Young race. For example, last year’s winners Blake Snell (NL) and Gerrit Cole (AL) authored the two lowest ERAs in the league at 2.25 and 2.63, respectively.

Numbers in that range would sound awfully familiar to anyone who’s successfully bet on The Chosen Vron recently. Over his last three starts, all wins, the Hector Berrios mount returned payouts of $2.80, $2.10, and $3. Margins that low don’t bring bettors much excitement, but what can we expect when a horse has won 16 of 21 career starts, and four graded matchups to boot?

Modest yields aside, The Chosen Vron’s stretch of utter dominance cannot be understated. Speaking of understated dominance, you can find San Francisco Giants ace Logan Webb at +900 to take home this year’s NL Cy Young, and Minnesota Twins staff sergeant Pablo Lopez at +1,000 on the AL side.

 

Award: Rookie of the Year

Racing Comparable: Just F Y I, 3-Year-Old Filly

Last year’s NL Rookie of the Year Corbin Carroll played 32 games in 2022, and this year’s AL Rookie of the Year frontrunner Evan Carter (+280) already has 40 games under his belt (23 regular season and 17 during the Rangers’ World Series run). So, how were they able to maintain their rookie status?

According to MLB.com, a player shall be considered a rookie as long as they don’t exceed 130 at-bats, 50 innings pitched, or 45 total days on an active Major League roster during the Championship Season.

By that logic, 3-year-old Just F Y I is still technically entering her rookie despite making three starts in 2023. The rapidly ascending filly is a perfect 3-for-3 to begin her promising career, earning scores in the Frizette (G1) and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1). Yet to race in 2024, the young phenom should be considered one of the favorites for this year’s Champion 3-Year-Old Filly Eclipse Award.

On that note, one of the favorites for Rookie of the Year in the AL is Carter’s teammate, Wyatt Langford (+400). The 22-year-old is batting .375 with 6 home runs and 20 RBI through 19 contests in his first Spring Training.

 

Award: Manager of the Year

Racing Comparable: Todd Pletcher, Trainer

Outside of football, it’s not farfetched to say baseball managers influence the outcome of a game more than any other coach. While critics might argue that personnel, budgetary, and strategy decisions are at the mercy of a computer, an algorithm’s value will never outweigh that of first-hand experience. Being able to resonate with an athlete, human or equine, is the key to untapping their true potential. But that’s nothing new for trainer Todd Pletcher.

One of the best to ever do it, the Dallas native has won the Eclipse Award for Trainer of the Year eight times. For reference, the record for most Manager of the Year titles is four, shared by Bobby Cox, Tony La Russa, and Buck Showalter. Pletcher’s 29-year run atop the North American leaderboards has resulted in over $480 million in career earnings.

A member of the United States Racing Hall of Fame, Pletcher has trained (or coached) 19 $2 million horses. Of that group, four exceeded $3 million, two $4 million, and one $5 million (English Channel).

While no active Major League manager owns a resume near Pletcher’s, Tampa Bay Rays skipper Kevin Cash is no slouch. If the two-time AL Manager of the Year (2020, 2021) can work his usual magic with this year’s batch of misfits and Statcast darlings, Cash at +900 looks like a steal.

 

Award: Reliever of the Year

Racing Comparable: Patches O’Houlihan, 4-Year-Old Gelding

One of the lesser-known trophies handed out by Major League Baseball, the Reliever of the Year Award, did not become a part of the regular prize rotation until 2014. Named after all-time greats Mariano Rivera (AL) and Trevor Hoffman (NL), the honor recognizes the arms, typically closing pitchers, who best perform their foremost duty of getting outs in high leverage situations.

In horse racing, there are few better at holding leads and closing out matches than Patches O’Houlihan. The 4-year-old gelding out of Ontario has made a habit of jumping out to early leads and suppressing any resistance from the competition.

Four of Patches O’Houlihan’s seven career wins have come in front-leading, gate-to-wire efforts. The Robert Tiller charge also scored twice in contests where he took the lead a little later on and shut things down to earn the save.

The Daisuke Fukumoto mount fits a similar profile to that of Houston Astros closer Josh Hader. A three-time recipient of the Hoffman award, Hader and his jaw-dropping 15K/9 has made ninth innings a living nightmare for hitters since 2017. The five-time All-Star currently sits at +400 to snag his first Rivera trophy.