Cabrera Named Tigers Nominee For 2015 Hank Aaron Award
Major League Baseball and MLB Advanced Media announced that Miguel Cabrera was named the Detroit Tigers nominee for the 2015 Hank Aaron Award.
Fans can vote for the 2015 Hank Aaron Award exclusively online at MLB.com and the 30 Club sites. For the sixth straight year, a special panel of Hall of Fame players led by Hank Aaron will join fans in voting for the award, which is officially sanctioned by Major League Baseball and has recognized the most outstanding offensive performer in each League since it was established in 1999.
Cabrera finished the 2015 season with a .338 batting average, winning his fourth American League batting title in the last five seasons. Cabrera became the ninth player in MLB history to win four batting titles in a five-year span, joining Wade Boggs, Rod Carew, Ty Cobb, Tony Gwynn, Rogers Hornsby, Nap Lajoie, Stan Musial and Honus Wagner. Additionally, Cabrera joined Cobb and Harry Heilmann as the only players in Tigers history to win four batting crowns. Cabrera also led the American League with a .440 on-base percentage, while he was tied for sixth with 77 walks and ninth with a .534 slugging percentage.
The Hall of Fame panel led by Aaron includes some of the greatest offensive players of all-time –Roberto Alomar, Johnny Bench, Craig Biggio, Eddie Murray, Frank Thomas and Robin Yount. These Hall of Famers – who combined for 16,697 hits, 8,712 RBI and 2,166 home runs – have all been personally selected by Aaron to lend their expertise to select the best offensive performer in each League.
Continuing through October 11th, fans will have the opportunity to select one American League and one National League winner from a list comprising of one finalist per Club. The winners of the 2015 Hank Aaron Award will be announced during the 2015 World Series.
Combined, the nominees have been named All-Stars 90 times, including 16 2015 All-Stars. The group also features 20 players under the age of 30 with five (Arenado, Correa, Harper, Herrera and Trout) under the age of 25. The finalists for the 2015 Hank Aaron Award are:
| American League | National League | ||
| Baltimore Orioles | Chris Davis | Arizona Diamondbacks | Paul Goldschmidt |
| Boston Red Sox | David Ortiz | Atlanta Braves | Freddie Freeman |
| Chicago White Sox | Jose Abreu | Chicago Cubs | Anthony Rizzo |
| Cleveland Indians | Michael Brantley | Cincinnati Reds | Joey Votto |
| Detroit Tigers | Miguel Cabrera | Colorado Rockies | Nolan Arenado |
| Houston Astros | Carlos Correa | Los Angeles Dodgers | Adrian Gonzalez |
| Kansas City Royals | Lorenzo Cain | Miami Marlins | Dee Gordon |
| LA Angels of Anaheim | Mike Trout | Milwaukee Brewers | Ryan Braun |
| Minnesota Twins | Brian Dozier | New York Mets | Curtis Granderson |
| New York Yankees | Brian McCann | Philadelphia Phillies | Odubel Herrera |
| Oakland Athletics | Josh Reddick | Pittsburgh Pirates | Andrew McCutchen |
| Seattle Mariners | Nelson Cruz | St. Louis Cardinals | Matt Carpenter |
| Tampa Bay Rays | Logan Forsythe | San Diego Padres | Matt Kemp |
| Texas Rangers | Prince Fielder | San Francisco Giants | Buster Posey |
| Toronto Blue Jays | Josh Donaldson | Washington Nationals | Bryce Harper |
Past winners of the Hank Aaron Award include: Giancarlo Stanton and Mike Trout (2014); Miguel Cabrera and Paul Goldschmidt (2013); Cabrera and Buster Posey (2012); Jose Bautista and Matt Kemp (2011); Bautista and Joey Votto (2010); Derek Jeter and Albert Pujols (2009); Aramis Ramirez and Kevin Youkilis (2008); Alex Rodriguez and Prince Fielder (2007); Jeter and Ryan Howard (2006); David Ortiz and Andruw Jones (2005); Manny Ramirez and Barry Bonds (2004); Rodriguez and Pujols (2003); Rodriguez and Bonds (2001-02); Carlos Delgado and Todd Helton (2000) and Manny Ramirez and Sammy Sosa (1999).
The Hank Aaron Award was introduced in 1999 to honor the 25th Anniversary of Aaron breaking Babe Ruth's all-time home run record, and, at that time, was the first major award introduced by Major League Baseball in more than 25 years.