Major League Baseball announced the finalists for the 2021 All-MLB Team on Wednesday afternoon, and five Yankees made the cut.
Gerrit Cole, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Jonathan Loaisiga, and Aroldis Chapman were all named finalists for the 2021 All-MLB Team, recognizing the best players across the baseball, regardless of league affiliation.
Fans and a panel of media members, broadcasters, former players and other officials will vote to determine the First and Second teams, with voting running through Friday, Nov. 19 at 5:00 p.m.
The Yankees had two All-MLB selections in 2020, with DJ LeMahieu earning a spot on the First Team and Cole landing on the Second Team.
Cole, a 2021 AL Cy Young finalist, had a strong second season in pinstripes, though he ultimately fizzled out due to hamstring issues and saw a dip in his numbers as the league began cracking down on pitchers using foreign substances on the baseballs. Still, he finished with a 3.23 ERA and led the AL with a 5.93 K/BB ratio and 16 wins.
Judge earned his third All-Star appearance in 2021, slashing .287/.373/.544 with 39 homers and 98 RBI. And perhaps most importantly, he stayed healthy for most of the season, playing in 148 regular season games.
Stanton, meanwhile, had a nice bounce-back campaign with a .273/.354/.516 slash line, 35 homers and 97 RBI. He hit 19 of those home runs in August, September and October, coming up with some huge home runs to help the Yankees reach the postseason.
In the bullpen, Chapman went through a rough stretch in late June and early July where he allowed 10 earned runs over 4.1 innings, but he ultimately rebounded to have a nice season, earning an All-Star nod with a 3.36 ERA and 15.5 K/9. Loiasiga, on the other hand, was a much steadier presence in the back end of the bullpen, finishing with a career-best 2.17 ERA in 70.2 innings.