Aaron Judge and Pete Alonso had outstanding offensive seasons, and now they are two of 16 finalists for MLB’s 2022 Hank Aaron Award, presented annually to the player who is voted the most outstanding offensive performer in their league.
Judge of course set a new AL record with 62 home runs, but he also slashed .311/.425/.686 and led the AL with 131 RBI. He also led MLB in OBP, slugging, and OPS, as well as runs scored and total bases.
Alonso tied Judge’s RBI total with 131, leading the NL, and slashed .271/.352/.518 with 40 home runs.
Judge and Alonso were two of the 16 players – eight from each league – chosen as finalists by a panel of MLB.com writers. The two winners are then determined by a combo of fan vote and a panel of Hall of Famers.
Judge’s competition in the AL consists of Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, Rafael Devers, Shohei Ohtani, Jose Ramirez, Julio Rodriguez, and Mike Trout. Alonso’s fellow NL finalists are Nolan Arenado, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Paul Goldschmidt, Manny Machado, Austin Riley, and Kyle Schwarber.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bryce Harper were the 2021 winners. The last New York player to win the award was Derek Jeter in 2009; no Met has ever won, and Jeter (2006 and ’09) and Alex Rodriguez (2007) are the only Yankees to win it.
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