LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Houston Astros slugger Jose Altuve accepted the American League Hank Aaron Award on Wednesday shortly before his team took the field aiming to level the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Altuve and the Miami Marlins Giancarlo Stanton received the annual honor given to the top offensive performers in the American and National leagues.
The award is determined by online voting by fans and by a special panel of Hall of Famers led by Hank Aaron himself.
Aaron and Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred were at Dodger Stadium to present the awards prior to game two of the World Series.
“Jose Altuve and Giancarlo Stanton are two of our sport’s elite offensive performers,” Manfred said. “While they have contrasting styles of play, Jose and Giancarlo demonstrate that talent, character and work ethic — attributes synonymous with the life and career of Hank Aaron — are the keys to success in our great game.”
Aaron, who hit 755 career home runs, praised both winners not only as “tremendous baseball talents” but also as “wonderful ambassadors of our great sport.”
Astros second baseman Altuve is hitting 3.86 with 10 runs, five home runs, eight runs batted in, eight walks and one steal in the Astros’ 12 post-season games. The Venezuelan’s .388 average going into Wednesday’s game was the highest in a single playoffs since David Freese hit .397 over 18 games for the Cardinals in 2011.
Stanton led all major leaguers with 59 home runs for the Marlins this season, the most since 2001.
© Agence France-Presse