Vaccines are being administered. Fans are returning to the stands. The MLB regular-season schedule once again features 162 games.
Finally, after what felt like the worst year in human history, there's light at the end of the tunnel, with the latest indication coming this week when Major League Baseball begins its 2021 campaign Thursday with a full Opening Day slate.
We've been previewing the 2021 season from all angles, offering 21 random (and bold?) predictions, pinpointing three dark-horse teams that could surprise everyone and breaking down the entire MLB landscape through a betting lens.
Now, let's focus on individual MLB awards, taking a stab at which players will win the MVP Award, Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year Award in the American League and National League.
We asked our NESN Digital team to submit their predictions for who will bring home the MLB hardware this season, and some picks proved more popular than others. Let's dive in.
Lauren Campbell
AL MVP: Bo Bichette, Toronto Blue Jays
NL MVP: Ronald Acuña Jr., Atlanta Braves
AL Cy Young: Shane Bieber, Cleveland Indians
NL Cy Young: Jacob deGrom, New York Mets
AL Rookie of the Year: Bobby Dalbec, Boston Red Sox
NL Rookie of the Year: Ke'Bryan Hayes, Pittsburgh Pirates
Mike Cole
AL MVP: Gleyber Torres, New York Yankees
NL MVP: Ronald Acuña Jr., Atlanta Braves
AL Cy Young: Lucas Giolito, Chicago White Sox
NL Cy Young: Jacob deGrom, New York Mets
AL Rookie of the Year: Andrew Vaughn, Chicago White Sox
NL Rookie of the Year: Ian Anderson, Atlanta Braves
Ricky Doyle
AL MVP: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
NL MVP: Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers
AL Cy Young: Shane Bieber, Cleveland Indians
NL Cy Young: Jacob deGom, New York Mets
AL Rookie of the Year: Jarred Kelenic, Seattle Mariners
NL Rookie of the Year: Ian Anderson, Atlanta Braves
Adam London
AL MVP: Alex Bregman, Houston Astros
NL MVP: Ronald Acuña Jr, Atlanta Braves
AL Cy Young: Lucas Giolito, Chicago White Sox
NL Cy Young: Walker Buehler, Los Angeles Dodgers
AL Rookie of the Year: Randy Arozarena, Tampa Bay Rays
NL Rookie of the Year: Sixto Sanchez, Miami Marlins
Sean McGuire
AL MVP: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
NL MVP: Juan Soto, Washington Nationals
AL Cy Young: Shane Bieber, Cleveland Indians
NL Cy Young: Jacob deGrom, New York Mets
AL Rookie of Year: Randy Arozarena, Tampa Bay Rays
NL Rookie of Year: Sixto Sanchez, Miami Marlins
Logan Mullen
AL MVP: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
NL MVP: Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres
AL Cy Young: Tyler Glasnow, Tampa Bay Rays
NL Cy Young: Jacob deGrom, New York Mets
AL Rookie of the Year: Randy Arozarena, Tampa Bay Rays
NL Rookie of The Year: Sixto Sanchez, Miami Marlins
Dakota Randall
AL MVP: Giancarlo Stanton, New York Yankees
NL MVP: Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres
AL Cy Young: Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees
NL Cy Young: Walker Buehler, Los Angeles Dodgers
AL Rookie of the Year: Jarred Kelenic, Seattle Mariners
NL Rookie of the Year: Ian Anderson, Atlanta Braves
Ben Watanabe
AL MVP: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
NL MVP: Juan Soto, Washington Nationals
AL Cy Young: Hyun Jin Ryu, Toronto Blue Jays
NL Cy Young: Blake Snell, San Diego Padres
AL Rookie of the Year: Nick Madrigal, Chicago White Sox
NL Rookie of the Year: Sixto Sanchez, Miami Marlins
BREAKDOWN
Now that each person's picks have been revealed, here's a top-level overview of the responses, by award.
AL MVP: Mike Trout (4), Bo Bichette (1), Alex Bregman (1), Giancarlo Stanton (1) Gleyber Torres (1)
NL MVP: Ronald Acuña Jr. (3), Juan Soto (2), Fernando Tatis Jr. (2), Christian Yelich (1)
AL Cy Young: Shane Bieber (3), Lucas Giolito (2), Hyun Jin Ryu (1), Gerrit Cole (1), Tyler Glasnow (1)
NL Cy Young: Jacob deGrom (5), Walker Buehler (2), Blake Snell (1)
AL Rookie of the Year: Randy Arozarena (3), Jarred Kelenic (2), Bobby Dalbec (1), Nick Madrigal (1), Andrew Vaughn (1)
NL Rookie of the Year: Sixto Sanchez (4), Ian Anderson (3), Ke'Bryan Hayes (1)
