Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge and Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt were awarded this year’s Hank Aaron Awards for the most outstanding offensive performers in their respective leagues, Major League Baseball announced Wednesday.
Judge’s historic season saw him surpass Roger Maris in the history books for the single-season American League home run record with his 62nd long ball in Arlington, Texas, during the last week of the season. His 62 home runs were 16 more than the next-highest total (Phillies LF Kyle Schwarber with 46) which is the largest gap since Jimmie Foxx led the home run race by 17 in 1932.
In addition to the home run record, Judge, 30, led the league in runs (133), RBIs (131), slugging percentage (.686), on-base percentage (.425), OPS+ (211) and total bases (391).
Goldschmidt, meanwhile, picked up the Hank Aaron Award for the second time thanks to a career season in which he led the National League in slugging (.578) and OPS (.404) while coming in second in RBIs (115) and third in batting average (.317).
In July, Goldschmidt, 35, was named the starting first baseman for the NL All-Star team, marking his seventh All-Star selection since coming into the league with Arizona in 2011.
The Hank Aaron Awards recognize the most outstanding offensive performers in each league. Players are nominated for consideration by each team, then a panel of MLB.com writers determines eight finalists for each league.
A fan vote is added to the votes of a special panel of Hall of Fame players that this year included Ken Griffey Jr., Chipper Jones, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, Johnny Bench, Craig Biggio, Eddie Murray and Robin Yount.
Last year’s Aaron Awards went to Blue Jays 1B/DH Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the AL and Phillies RF/DH Bryce Harper in the NL.
–Field Level Media