St. Louis Cardinals first baseman and MVP finalist Paul Goldschmidt was voted the winner of the 2022 National League Hank Aaron Award. Goldschmidt bested Los Angeles Dodgers teammates Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, and five other finalists.
Betts and Freeman were the Dodgers’ first finalists since Corey Seager in 2020. Matt Kemp (2011) is the only Dodgers player to ever win the Hank Aaron Award.
Freeman (Atlanta Braves) and José Abreu (Chicago White Sox) won in 2020, and Bryce Harper (Philadelphia Phillies) and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Toronto Blue Jays) were voted recipients for the 2021 season.
Each team nominates players to be considered, and a panel of MLB.com writers determine eight Hank Aaron Award finalists for each league. Fans additionally had the opportunity to vote for a winner in the American League and NL.
In addition to Hank Aaron Award fan voting, a panel of Hall of Fame players that includes Ken Griffey Jr., Chipper Jones, Pedro Martínez, John Smoltz, Johnny Bench, Craig Biggio, Eddie Murray and Robin Yount voted for respective league winners as well.
The Hank Aaron Award was introduced in 1999 to honor the 25th Anniversary of his breaking Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record. At the time it was the first major award introduced by MLB in more than 25 years.
In his first season with the Dodgers, Freeman batted .325/.407/.511 with 47 doubles, 21 home runs and 100 RBI while appearing in 159 games. Freeman remained in the Dodgers lineup for every game until the night after the team clinched the NL West title.
Freeman led the Majors with 199 total hits and in doubles. His on-base percentage and runs scored (117) were tops in the NL. He ranked second in the league in batting average, on-base plus slugging (.918), wOBA (.393) and wRC+ (157).
Betts hit .269/.340/.533 with 40 doubles, 35 home runs and 82 RBI over 142 games. Betts tied with Freeman for the NL lead in runs (117), and his slugging percentage was second in the league.
Goldschmidt batted .317/.404/.578 with 41 doubles, 35 home runs and 115 RBI this year. He produced a 25-game hitting streak, and led the NL in slugging percentage, on-base plus slugging (.981) and OPS+ (180). Goldschmidt previously topped Freeman for the 2022 Players Choice NL Outstanding Player Award.
The complete group of finalists for the 2022 NL Hank Aaron Award included Pete Alonso (New York Mets), Nolan Arenado (Cardinals), Manny Machado (San Diego Padres), Austin Riley (Braves) and Kyle Schwarber (Phillies).
Aaron Judge, another MVP finalist and Players Choice Award winner, won the AL Hank Aaron Award.
Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez (Houston Astros), Rafael Devers (Boston Red Sox), Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout (Los Angeles Angels), José Ramirez (Cleveland Guardians) and Julio Rodríguez (Seattle Mariners) also were AL Hank Aaron Award finalists.
Hank Aaron Award winners
Vladmir Guerrero Jr. and Bryce Harper (2021)
José Abreu and Freddie Freeman (2020)
Mike Trout and Christian Yelich (2019)
J.D. Martinez and Christian Yelich (2018)
Giancarlo Stanton and Jose Altuve (2017)
Kris Bryant and David Ortiz (2016)
Josh Donaldson and Bryce Harper (2015)
Giancarlo Stanton and Mike Trout (2014)
Miguel Cabrera and Paul Goldschmidt (2013)
Miguel Cabrera and Buster Posey (2012)
José Bautista and Matt Kemp (2011)
José Bautista and Joey Votto (2010)
Derek Jeter and Albert Pujols (2009)
Aramis Ramirez and Kevin Youkilis (2008)
Alex Rodriguez and Prince Fielder (2007)
Derek Jeter and Ryan Howard (2006)
David Ortiz and Andruw Jones (2005)
Manny Ramirez and Barry Bonds (2004)
Alex Rodriguez and Albert Pujols (2003)
Alex Rodriguez and Barry Bonds (2001-2002)
Carlos Delgado and Todd Helton (2000)
Manny Ramirez and Sammy Sosa (1999)
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