HOUSTON – The Major League Baseball Players Awards were announced on Thursday night and it was a banner evening for Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve.
The awards are voted on by the players and Altuve won a pair of them.
His peers voted him the American League’s Most Outstanding Player for the second consecutive year, choosing him over Yankees OF Aaron Judge and Indians 3B Jose Ramirez.
Interestingly, that trio also makes up the finalists for the American League MVP award set to be announced on Thursday, Nov. 16, by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
Altuve also won the Players Choice Player of the Year award over a pair of National League sluggers, Giancarlo Stanton of the Marlins and Nolan Arenado of the Rockies. Stanton led the majors with 59 home runs, while Arenado hit .309 with 37 home runs and 130 runs batted in.
This was also the second consecutive year for Altuve to bring home that award.
Altuve, of course, is still basking in the glow of winning the World Series in a fantastic seven-game series over the Dodgers, put up incredible numbers in 2017.
He posted his fourth consecutive season of 200 or more hits, finishing with 204. It was also the fourth consecutive season he led the league in hits.
He also posted a career-best .346 batting average and had an 8.1 offensive WAR (wins over replacement) which was the best mark in the American League.