The Baseball Writers' Association of America has taken the next step towards voting a few special players into the history books by choosing the finalists for all of this year's MLB awards.

The finalists were announced on MLB Network, and while certain candidates have a much better chance of taking home some hardware than others, it is an honor for all of these athletes to be considered.

In each league, there are five candidates for MVP, in addition to three names for Manager of the Year, Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award.

No award will be more controversial than the AL MVP, with Detroit Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera and Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout both vying for the honor. Advanced metrics point to Trout's contributions both at the plate and on defense, suggesting that he is the better player, but Cabrera winning the Triple Crown for the first time since 1967 makes him the favorite among fans who are wary of overly complicated statistics.

While this award is a two-man race, the others will provide more suspense. The BBWAA will reveal the winners of the awards on MLB Network in the coming days, with a full schedule of the announcements available via BBWAA.com.

Individual achievements are of paramount importance in baseball, and while the San Francisco Giants won the ultimate team award this fall, these finalists have a chance to be just as much a part of the sport's lore as the 2012 World Series champions.

Here are this year's finalists.

AL Rookie of the Year Candidates



Yoenis Cespedes, Oakland Athletics

Yu Darvish, Texas Rangers

Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels

NL Rookie of the Year Candidates



Todd Frazier, Cincinnati Reds

Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals

Wade Miley, Arizona Diamondbacks

AL Manager of the Year

Bob Melvin, Oakland Athletics

Buck Showalter, Baltimore Orioles

Robin Ventura, Chicago White Sox

NL Manager of the Year

Dusty Baker, Cincinnati Reds

Bruce Bochy, San Francisco Giants

Davey Johnson, Washington Nationals

AL Cy Young

David Price, Tampa Bay Rays

Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

Jered Weaver, Los Angeles Angels

NL Cy Young

R.A. Dickey, New York Mets

Gio Gonzalez, Washington Nationals

Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers

AL MVP

Adrian Beltre, Texas Rangers

Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers

Robinson Cano, New York Yankees

Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers

Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels

NL MVP

Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers

Chase Headley, San Diego Padres

Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates

Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals

Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants