While José Abreu didn’t have much success in the postseason, he’s now in line for his first postseason accolade. MLB announced their Hank Aaron Award finalists on Wednesday, and Abreu made the short list.
The Hank Aaron Award recognizes “the most outstanding regular season offensive performer” in both the American and National League. In addition to Abreu, MLB named José Ramírez, Mike Trout, Nelson Cruz, DJ LeMahieu, Brandon Lowe and Teoscar Hernández the A.L. finalists.
Of that list, Abreu may have the best case to win the award, as he ranked first in RBI (60) and SLG (.617), second in home runs (19), and fourth in average (.317). No one else came close to matching that combination of power and consistency.
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To select the winner there is both a fan vote, and a vote from a panel of Hall of Famers. This year the panel of Hall of Famers includes Hank Aaron, Roberto Alomar, Johnny Bench, Craig Biggio, Ken Griffey Jr., Eddie Murray and Robin Yount.
Since the award was first introduced in 1999 a White Sox player has never won.