Baseball commissioner Bud Selig announced
Sunday that Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees and Albert Pujols of the St.
Louis Cardinals are the winners of the 2009 Hank Aaron Award, as voted on by
the fans.
The award, introduced in 1999 to honor the 25th anniversary of Aaron breaking
Babe Ruth's all-time home run record, recognizes the most outstanding
offensive performer in each league.
Jeter batted .334 with 107 runs scored, 27 doubles, one triple, 18 homers, 66
runs batted in, and 30 stolen bases in 153 games during the 2009 season. The
10-time All-Star shortstop reached the 200-hit plateau for the seventh time in
his career (one shy of Lou Gehrig's club mark), and passed Gehrig for most
hits in club history on September 11.
The 29-year-old Pujols hit .327 with a career-best 47 home runs, 135 RBI, 124
runs scored, 45 doubles, one triple, and a team-high 16 stolen bases this
year. The first baseman led the league in homers, runs, on-base percentage
(.443) and slugging percentage (.658), while ranking third in RBI. Pujols set
team records with five single-season grand slams and 11 career homers with the
bases loaded. The eight-time All-Star was the top overall vote-getter for the
80th All-Star Game in St. Louis.
Past winners include Sammy Sosa and Manny Ramirez (1999); Todd Helton and
Carlos Delgado (2000); Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez (2001, 2002); Pujols
and Rodriguez (2003); Bonds and Manny Ramirez (2004); Andruw Jones and David
Ortiz (2005); Ryan Howard and Jeter (2006); Prince Fielder and Rodriguez
(2007); and Aramis Ramirez and Kevin Youkilis (2008).
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