Odubel Herrera Named Phillies Nominee for 2015 Hank Aaron Award
Fans Can Vote Through October 11th at MLB.com; Award Recognizes Most Outstanding Offensive Performers in Each League Hall of Fame Panel Led by Hank Aaron Includes 2015 Inductee Craig Biggio as well as Roberto Alomar, Johnny Bench, Eddie Murray, Frank Thomas and Robin Yount
Major League Baseball and MLB Advanced Media announced that center fielder Odubel Herrera was named the Phillies nominee for the 2015 Hank Aaron Award.
Fans can vote for the 2015 Hank Aaron Award exclusively online at MLB.com and the 30 Club sites. For the sixth straight year, a special panel of Hall of Fame players led by Hank Aaron will join fans in voting for the award, which is officially sanctioned by Major League Baseball and has recognized the most outstanding offensive performer in each League since it was established in 1999.
Herrera, in his rookie season, led the Phillies in batting with a .297 average, and also finished first on the team in runs scored (64) and doubles (30). He is the first Phillies rookie to record 30 doubles in a season since Scott Rolen in 1997, and the first player in Major League Baseball to bat at least .297 with 30 doubles and 16 stolen bases since Ichiro Suzuki in 2001. Among National League rookies, Herrera ranked second in batting average and doubles, third in hits (147), multi-hit games (34) and total bases (207), fourth in runs and seventh in on-base percentage (.344).
The Hall of Fame panel led by Aaron includes some of the greatest offensive players of all-time -Roberto Alomar, Johnny Bench, Craig Biggio, Eddie Murray, Frank Thomas and Robin Yount. These Hall of Famers - who combined for 16,697 hits, 8,712 RBI and 2,166 home runs - have all been personally selected by Aaron to lend their expertise to select the best offensive performer in each League.
Continuing through October 11th, fans will have the opportunity to select one American League and one National League winner from a list comprising of one finalist per Club. The winners of the 2015 Hank Aaron Award will be announced during the 2015 World Series.
Combined, the nominees have been named All-Stars 90 times, including 16 2015 All-Stars. The group also features 20 players under the age of 30 with five (Arenado, Correa, Harper, Herrera and Trout) under the age of 25. The finalists for the 2015 Hank Aaron Award are:
| American League | National League | ||
| Baltimore Orioles | Chris Davis | Arizona Diamondbacks | Paul Goldschmidt |
| Boston Red Sox | David Ortiz | Atlanta Braves | Freddie Freeman |
| Chicago White Sox | Jose Abreu | Chicago Cubs | Anthony Rizzo |
| Cleveland Indians | Michael Brantley | Cincinnati Reds | Joey Votto |
| Detroit Tigers | Miguel Cabrera | Colorado Rockies | Nolan Arenado |
| Houston Astros | Carlos Correa | Los Angeles Dodgers | Adrian Gonzalez |
| Kansas City Royals | Lorenzo Cain | Miami Marlins | Dee Gordon |
| LA Angels of Anaheim | Mike Trout | Milwaukee Brewers | Ryan Braun |
| Minnesota Twins | Brian Dozier | New York Mets | Curtis Granderson |
| New York Yankees | Brian McCann | Philadelphia Phillies | Odubel Herrera |
| Oakland Athletics | Josh Reddick | Pittsburgh Pirates | Andrew McCutchen |
| Seattle Mariners | Nelson Cruz | St. Louis Cardinals | Matt Carpenter |
| Tampa Bay Rays | Logan Forsythe | San Diego Padres | Matt Kemp |
| Texas Rangers | Prince Fielder | San Francisco Giants | Buster Posey |
| Toronto Blue Jays | Josh Donaldson | Washington Nationals | Bryce Harper |
Past winners of the Hank Aaron Award include: Giancarlo Stanton and Mike Trout (2014); Miguel Cabrera and Paul Goldschmidt (2013); Cabrera and Buster Posey (2012); Jose Bautista and Matt Kemp (2011); Bautista and Joey Votto (2010); Derek Jeter and Albert Pujols (2009); Aramis Ramirez and Kevin Youkilis (2008); Alex Rodriguez and Prince Fielder (2007); Jeter and Ryan Howard (2006); David Ortiz and Andruw Jones (2005); Manny Ramirez and Barry Bonds (2004); Rodriguez and Pujols (2003); Rodriguez and Bonds (2001-02); Carlos Delgado and Todd Helton (2000) and Manny Ramirez and Sammy Sosa (1999).
The Hank Aaron Award was introduced in 1999 to honor the 25th Anniversary of Aaron breaking Babe Ruth's all-time home run record, and, at that time, was the first major award introduced by Major League Baseball in more than 25 years.