Former Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz and Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant were announced as the winners of the 2016 Hank Aaron Awards prior to Game 2 of the World Series. Named after the Hall-of-Fame slugger, the award is presented annually to the top offensive player in each league.
The Hank Aaron Award is voted on by a panel of Hall of Famers, and all 30 teams are represented by one player. Fan voting played a factor in selecting a winner from each league for the first time since the award’s inception in 1999.
Rookie shortstop Corey Seager was the Los Angeles Dodgers’ nominee. In his first full season in the Majors, he hit .308/.365/.512 with a 137 OPS+, .372 wOBA and 137 wRC+ over 157 games.
Seager led qualified Dodgers in batting average, on-base percentage, total hits (193), doubles (40), triples (five) and was second in home runs (26). Matt Kemp (2011) is the lone Dodgers player to win the Hank Aaron Award.
For Bryant, the hardware is the first of what’s expected to be multiple accolades this winter. He batted .292/.385/.554 with 35 doubles, 39 home runs, 102 RBI, 149 OPS+ and a National-League best 121 runs scored.
Bryant hit the most home runs in a season by a Cubs player since Derrek Lee’s 46 homers in 2005. He’s the first Cub to win the Hank Aaron Award since Sammy Sosa in 1999. Bryant was named NL Rookie of the Year in 2015, and is the favorite to take home the MVP Award this season.
Meanwhile, Ortiz earned his second Hank Aaron Award, previously getting crowned the top American League hitter in 2005. Ortiz this season led the Majors with a .620 slugging percentage, 1.021 on-base plus slugging and 48 doubles.
He hit .315/.401/.620 with 38 home runs and an 127 RBI over 151 games. Ortiz retired after the 2016 season, which came when the Red Sox were swept by the Cleveland Indians in the AL Division Series.
