NewsFielder, Gallardo earn writers' honors
Milwaukee-area baseball scribes hand out annual awards
By Brian McTaggart / MLB.com
10/27/09 11:29 AM EST
The Brewers announced their postseason award winners Tuesday as voted on by members of the Milwaukee Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.First baseman Prince Fielder was unanimously voted Brewers' Most Valuable Player after batting .299 with 46 home runs and a franchise-record 141 RBIs in 162 games. Fielder, who received all six first-place votes, also won the award in 2007.
The National League Most Valuable Player candidate ranked among the league leaders in nearly every offensive category, including RBIs (T1st, 141), home runs (2nd, 46), OPS (2nd, 1.014), slugging percentage (2nd, .602), total bases (2nd, 356), extra-base hits (3rd, 84), walks (4th, 110), on-base percentage (5th, .412), multi-hit games (5th, 54) and runs (6th, 103).
Yovani Gallardo received four first-place votes to be named Brewers' Most Valuable Pitcher. Trevor Hoffman received the other two first-place votes. Gallardo, in his first full season in the Majors, went 13-12 with a 3.73 ERA in 30 starts. He became just the fifth pitcher in franchise history to have 200 strikeouts in a season. His 204 strikeouts ranked fifth in the NL while his .219 opponents' batting average ranked third.
Trevor Hoffman earned five first-place votes to earn Top Newcomer honors. Infielder Casey McGehee received the remaining first-place vote. Hoffman went 3-2 with a 1.83 ERA and 37 saves in 55 appearances this season. He extended his all-time Major League saves record to 591, as he ranked fifth in the NL in that category in 2009.
Reliever Todd Coffey was voted Brewers Unsung Hero, receiving three first-place votes. Infielder Craig Counsell (two) and McGehee (one) also earned first-place votes. Coffey went 4-4 with a 2.90 ERA in 78 games. He led the NL with a career-high 83 2/3 relief innings while his 78 appearances tied for seventh in the league and ranked third in franchise history behind Ken Sanders (83 in 1971) and Ray King (82 in 2001).
Craig Counsell earned the Good Guy Award for the second consecutive season. His four first-place votes edged outfielder Mike Cameron for the honor.
In addition to the awards voted on by the BBWAA, the Brewers announced Mike Cameron as the winner of the Michael Harrison Award for Community Service. Among his charitable contributions was $20,000 to "Team Smile," which allowed 298 children from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee to receive free dental care.
Cameron also hosted and contributed $13,400 for a Bowl-A-Thon event which gave 17 Milwaukee-area youths the opportunity to attend recording artist Usher's Camp New Look in Atlanta.
Brian McTaggart is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
