The players have spoken, and according to them, Josh Hamilton is the best among them.
The Texas Rangers center fielder, who has tormented the New York Yankees with four home runs in the ALCS, has been named Sporting News’ player of the year, as selected by a panel of 326 Major League Baseball players.
Hamilton is a fine choice, hitting .359/.411/.633 with 32 home runs and 100 RBIs despite playing only 133 games this season due to injuries. He also plays a mean – and aggressive – center field, which is part of the reason for his injuries. (Stop running into walls!)
While you could make an argument for the likes of Miguel Cabrera, Carlos Gonzalez, Joey Votto and Albert Pujols, to name a few, it’s tough to gripe about Hamilton ultimately being the choice.
Also announced were the top pitchers (Felix Hernandez, Roy Halladay), rookies (Austin Jackson, Jason Heyward), managers (Ron Gardenhire, Bud Black), comeback players (Vladimir Guerrero, Tim Hudson) and relievers (Rafael Soriano, Heath Bell), as well as an All-Star team, which you can check out here.
Getting back to Hamilton, it’s nice to see the former No. 1 draft pick begin to realize his promise. While there is no need to glorify or over-dramatize the man, we can still point out the long journey he has taken to reach this point, fighting an ongoing battle with drug and alcohol addiction along the way. It must be rewarding for him to be recognized by his peers for having such a remarkable season.
You can follow Bob on Twitter, and get all your HBT updates here.