Tag Archives: Craig Biggio

Ronald Acuna Jr. Wins MLB’s National League Hank Aaron Award

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Ronald Acuna Jr. has picked up another prestigious honor…

The 25-year-old Venezuelan professional baseball outfielder for the Atlanta Braves has won the 2023 Hank Aaron Awards on Saturday, presented by Major League Baseball (MLB) to the most outstanding offensive performer in each league.

Ronald Acuña Jr.,The MLB award is picked by fan balloting combined with votes from a panel of Hall of Famers and former winners, a group that this year included Johnny Bench, Craig Biggio, Ken Griffey Jr., Derek Jeter, Chipper Jones, Pedro Martínez, Eddie Murray, Albert Pujols, David Ortiz, John Smoltz and Robin Yount.

Acuna was a unanimous winner of his first National League MVP after becoming the first big leaguer with 40 homers and 70 stolen bases in a season.

Acuna was second in the NL with a .336 batting average for the Braves and led the major leagues with 149 runs, 217 hits, 386 total bases and 73 stolen bases while hitting 41 home runs with 106 RBI.

Shohei Ohtani, meantime, won the American League’s Hank Aaron Award.

The pair also won Most Valuable Player awards last month in voting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Ohtani was the first two-time unanimous MVP.

Every team nominated candidates for the Aaron awards and a group of MLB.com writers picked nine finalists in each league. The awards were introduced in 1999 to honor the 25th anniversary of Aaron breaking Babe Ruth‘s career home run record.

Houston Astros Star Jose Altuve Notches 2,000 Career Hits

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Jose Altuve has 2,000 reasons to smile…

The 33-year-old Venezuelan professional baseball player and Houston Astros star has notched 2,000 career hits, becoming the third player in franchise history to reach the milestone.

Jose AltuveAltuve hit a leadoff single in the fifth inning against the Seattle Mariners right-hander Logan Gilbert on Saturday night.

He was thrown out trying to stretch the play into a double, but the Minute Maid Park crowd was ready to celebrate.

As Altuve trotted toward the dugout, a 2,000-hit graphic was displayed on the jumbotron and the eight-time MLB All-Star tipped his helmet to the roaring crowd. With the fans still cheering, Altuve stepped up out of the dugout for a curtain call, once again tipping his helmet.

“We did a little champagne toast and they said some things about me and then I had to say some things about me, too,” Altuve said about the postgame clubhouse celebration. “It was good.”

Hall of Famers Craig Biggio (3,060) and Jeff Bagwell (2,314) also reached 2,000 hits with the Astros. They were both in attendance on Saturday night.

Altuve also singled on Gilbert’s first pitch of the game and singled in the seventh, ending the day with 2,001 career hits. He finished 3-for-5 in a 10-3 loss to Seattle.

“That’s quite an accomplishment,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “A couple other Hall of Famers here got 2,000 hits. … Hopefully he can stay healthy and be around for the next 1,000.”

Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman, Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen and Chicago White Sox infielder Elvis Andrus also reached 2,000 career hits this season. Andrus got his milestone hit on April 5. Freeman accomplished the feat on June 25, and McCutchen reached the milestone on June 11.

There are seven active MLB players with at least 2,000 hits: Miguel Cabrera, Joey Votto, Nelson Cruz, Andrus, McCutchen and Freeman.