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Two LA Stars Among the Finalists for NL Hank Aaron Award

Originally posted on FanNation Inside The Dodgers
By Jeff J. Snider | Last updated 10/18/22

Major League Baseball announced the finalists for the Hank Aaron Award on Monday, awarded annually since 1999 to the most outstanding offensive player in each league.

The 2022 Hank Aaron Award finalists were announced by Major League Baseball on Monday, with eight players from the American League and eight players from the National League reaching the final round of voting. The award is presented to the player voted as the most outstanding regular-season offensive performer from each league, and it was established in 1999, the 25th year after Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record of 714.

Not surprisingly, there were two Dodgers among the finalists.

Freddie Freeman was among the league leaders in nearly every offensive category, finishing second in batting average and OPS and leading the league in hits, doubles, on-base percentage, and runs scored.

Mookie Betts was tied with Freeman for the league lead in runs scored, finished second in slugging percentage and isolated power, and was tied for fifth with a team-leading 35 homers.

The six other finalists in the National League are Pete Alonso of the Mets, Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt of the Cardinals, Manny Machado of the Padres, Austin Riley of the Braves, and Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies.

On the American League side, the eight finalists are Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez of the Astros, Rafael Devers of the Red Sox, Aaron Judge of the Yankees, Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout of the Angels, Jose Ramirez of the Guardians, and Julio Rodriguez of the Mariners.

From now through October 24, fans can vote for the player from each league they think should receive the award by going to MLB.com/aaron.

This article first appeared on FanNation Inside The Dodgers and was syndicated with permission.

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