LAS VEGAS (AP) — Shohei Ohtani and Ronald Acuña Jr. won the Hank Aaron Awards on Saturday, awarded by the majors to the players with the best offensive performance in each league.
The award is awarded through fan voting, combined with input from a panel of Hall of Famers and former baseball stars, a group that this year included Johnny Bench, Craig Biggio, Ken Griffey Jr., Derek Jeter, Chipper Jones, Pedro Martínez, Eddie Murray, Albert Pujols, David Ortiz, John Smoltz and Robin Yount.
Ohtani and Acuña won the Most Valuable Player award last month, in voting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of North America (BBWAA). Ohtani was the first player to win the award twice by unanimous vote.
The Japanese star became a free agent after the season. He has left the Los Angeles Angels to join the Los Angeles Dodgers on a 10-year, $700 million deal.
The right-hander was 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA in 23 starts as a pitcher. He struck out 167 and walked 55 in 132 innings before tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow on August 23.
He underwent elbow surgery and will not pitch next season.
Acuña was unanimously voted the National League’s Most Valuable Player for the first time. He is the first major league player with 40 home runs and 70 steals in the same season.
The Venezuelan was second in the National League with a .336 average for the Atlanta Braves and led the Major Leagues with 149 runs, 217 hits, 386 total bases and 73 steals. He hit 41 home runs and drove in 106 runs.
Each team nominated candidates for the Aaron Awards. A group of MLB.com writers chose nine finalists in each league.
The awards began to be presented in 1999, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the date Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s home run record.
Source: AP
2023-12-18 19:34:46
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