Stanton named top NL player by MLB peers
Giancarlo Stanton’s trophy case might be getting a little crowded.
He picked up another honor Wednesday, his 28th birthday, when he was named the NL Outstanding Player by his fellow major leaguers as part of the Players Choice Awards organized by the MLB Players Association.
Stanton’s peers voted for the Marlins’ right fielder over the Rockies’ Charlie Blackmon and Nolan Arenado. He was also a candidate for MLB Player of the Year, which covers both leagues, but lost to Jose Altuve of the Astros.
This award is the latest in a series for Stanton, whose banner season on the field has given way to a banner end-of-year award season off of it. He has so far been recognized by league executives (via the Sporting News All-Star team), major league managers and coaches (as a finalist for a Gold Glove), a panel of Hall of Famers (with the NL Hank Aaron Award), and now other players.
He’s also a safe bet to win a Silver Slugger, which will be announced Thursday, and is a finalist for NL MVP, which is voted on by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
Stanton this season was tops in the majors in homers (59, the ninth-best single-season total ever) and RBI (132, a Marlins record) and the best in the NL in slugging percentage (.631). He also hit .281 with a .376 OBP and 123 runs scored.
As the NL Outstanding Player, Stanton earned a $20,000 grant for the charity of his choice. He said on MLB Network that he’d donate to the All-Star Smiles Foundation, his organization that provides free dental care to children in need.
Stanton also won NL Outstanding Player in 2014, when he finished second to Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw in NL MVP voting.
Players voted for the Players Choice Awards on Sept. 19. There are 10 awards, including Outstanding Player, Outstanding Pitcher, Outstanding Rookie and Comeback Player in the AL and NL. There are also the all-encompassing Player of the Year and Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award, which goes to a player who inspires others through on-field performance and off-field community/charitable endeavors.
Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo, a Parkland native, was named Man of the Year. His Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation raises money for cancer research and provides support for children and their families battling cancer.
thealey@ sunsentinel.com; @timbhealey