Nominees named for 2019 Aaron Award
Major League Baseball announced last Thursday the finalists for the 2019 Hank Aaron Award, which is given annually to the most outstanding offensive player in each league. The award began in 1999 -- the 25th anniversary of Aaron's 715th home run, which broke Babe Ruth's career record.
This year's finalists in the AL are: Trey Mancini of the Orioles, Xander Bogaerts of the Red Sox, Yoán Moncada of the White Sox, Carlos Santana of the Indians, Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers, Alex Bregman of the Astros, Jorge Soler of the Royals, Mike Trout of the Angels, Nelson Cruz of the Twins, DJ LeMahieu of the Yankees, Marcus Semien of the A's, Omar Narvaez of the Mariners, Austin Meadows of the Rays, Danny Santana of the Rangers and Randal Grichuk of the Blue Jays.
In the NL, the finalists are: Ketel Marte of the D-backs, Freddie Freeman of the Braves, Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs, Eugenio Suarez of the Reds, Nolan Arenado of the Rockies, Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers, Starlin Castro of the Marlins, Christian Yelich of the Brewers, Pete Alonso of the Mets, Bryce Harper of the Phillies, Josh Bell of the Pirates, Fernando Tatis Jr. of the Padres, Kevin Pillar of the Giants, Paul Goldschmidt of the Cardinals and Anthony Rendon of the Nationals.
For the 10th straight year, a panel of Hall of Famers will also take part in the voting process. It consists of Aaron himself, as well as Roberto Alomar, Johnny Bench, Craig Biggio, Ken Griffey Jr., Eddie Murray and Robin Yount. The winners of the award will be announced during the 2019 World Series.
Recent winners include Yelich and J.D. Martinez in 2018, Giancarlo Stanton and Jose Altuve in '17, Kris Bryant and David Ortiz in '16, Harper and Josh Donaldson in '15, and Stanton and Trout in '14.