Yelich repeats with Aaron award
The Brewers star again wins as the most outstanding offensive performer in the National League.
Two years with the Milwaukee Brewers, two Hank Aaron Awards.
That's how it has shaken out for outfielder Christian Yelich, who on Wednesday was named winner of the 2019 Hank Aaron Award as most outstanding offensive performer in the National League. Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels was the winner in the American League.
Yelich, 27, who is also expected to be strongly in the mix for his second consecutive NL most valuable player
award, was the winner in the NL for the second consecutive season despite being limited to 130 games by injuries, including a broken kneecap that sidelined him for the final 2 1/2 weeks. Trout also was on the injured list at the end of the season with a foot injury that limited him to 134 games.
Yelich led the majors with a .671 slugging percentage and 1.100 OPS while also topping the NL with a .329 batting average, his second consecutive title, a .429 on-base percentage and 7.3 offensive WAR. He set career highs with 44 home runs and 30 stolen bases to go with 100 runs scored and 97 RBI.
Yelich was the first player to go 40/ 30 (homers, steals) in the majors since teammate Ryan Braun in 2012. He won NL player of the week honors twice, for the weeks ending on March 31 and April 21.
“I want to give a big thanks to Hank Aaron, the Hall of Fame voters, and my teammates and coaching staff,” Yelich said in a statement. “Hank Aaron is such an important person in the history of baseball and the city of Milwaukee. To receive this award is an enormous honor and I look forward to sharing this excitement with my family and our great fans.”
Fans vote for the Hank Aaron Award on mlb.com and are joined in that process by a special panel of Hall of Fame players, led by Aaron. Others on the panel include Brewers Hall of Famer Robin Yount, Johnny Bench, Ken Griffey Jr., Eddie Murray and Roberto Alomar.
“Mike Trout and Christian Yelich continue to have outstanding seasons and are very deserving of this award,” Aaron said. “Christian and Mike are great ambassadors of the game and their offensive play this year has been spectacular. I congratulate them on winning the award again.”
Trout, 28, led the majors with a .483 OBP and topped the AL with a .645 slugging percentage and 1.083 OPS. He ranked second in the league with a career-high 45 home runs while batting .291 with 110 runs scored and 104 RBI, and earned his eighth consecutive all-star selection.
“I would like to extend a sincere thank you to Hank Aaron, the Hall of Famers and fans for this honor,” said Trout. “This would not be possible without the support of my teammates, coaches, family and my wife, Jessica.”
The only other Brewer to win the Hank Aaron Award was Prince Fielder in 2007.