ESPN: Vote now, two yankees favorite players nominated for Hank Aaron Award.
Throughout the regular season, who was each league’s top offensive player?
That is the standard by which the Hank Aaron Award recipients are selected each year. The award was established in 1999 to honor the 25th anniversary of Aaron breaking Babe Ruth’s all-time career home run record, and the winners are decided by votes from a panel of Hall of Famers as well as baseball fans. Voting for the 10 finalists in each league was made public on Monday. It will remain open until Sunday, October 13 at 11:59 p.m. ET.
Please vote for your favorite candidate for the Hank Aaron Award. The Astros’ American League’s Jordan Alvarez hit 35 balls out of the park this season, surpassing the 30-home run mark for the fourth time. He also recorded a career-high 71 extra-base hits. However, Alvarez has always been much more than just a slugger, ranking among the big league leaders in average (.308), on-base percentage (.392), and OPS (.959). In addition, Alvarez cut his strikeout rate to a career-best 15%.
Red Sox Jarren Duran enjoyed a breakthrough year in Boston. With 48 doubles and 14 triples, he led the AL in both categories. Duran finished with 83 extra-base hits, fourth most in MLB, when his 21 home runs are taken into account. Along with his 34 stolen bases, he became the third player in franchise history (after Mookie Betts and Jacoby Ellsbury) to record a 20–30 season.
The Hank Aaron Award winners of all time
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays
Guerrero had a sluggish April before stepping it up at the plate and finishing the season with a slash line of.345/.412/.590. Guerrero, who won the Aaron Award in the AL in 2021, finished the season with 30 home runs, 103 RBIs, and an average of.323. With 199 hits in his career, he struck out just 13.8% of the time.
Orioles Gunnar Henderson
In 2024, the current AL Rookie of the Year elevated his game even further with an OPS of.893, 21 stolen bases, and 37 home runs. Manny Machado and Henderson became the only Orioles, both under the age of 23, to have at least 30 home runs and 20 steals. The most number of runs scored by an Oriole since Roberto Alomar in 1996, Henderson’s 118 runs scored placed him fourth in the AL.
Yankees’ Aaron Judge
After hitting 62 home runs in 2022, the Yankees captain was named the AL’s Hank Aaron Award winner. And his season in 2024 was possibly better. Judge not only led the Majors in home runs (58), but he also became the first player since Ryan Howard and Prince Fielder in 2009 to earn at least 140 RBIs. Judge finished the season with a.322 batting average and the best OPS of any qualifying hitter since Barry Bonds in 2004 (1.159).
