First baseman Eric Hosmer named 2013 Les Milgram Royals Player of the Year

KANSAS CITY, MO (November 5, 2013) - The Kansas City Royals announced today that first baseman Eric Hosmer has been named the 2013 Les Milgram Royals Player of the Year. The award was voted on by the Kansas City Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA).

Hosmer, 24, earned his first Les Milgram Player of the Year award after leading the team with a .302 batting average with a career-high 34 doubles, 17 homers and 79 RBI. He paced the American League with 60 multi-hit games, which were tied for the fifth-most in Royals history. Kansas City's first-round selection in 2008, Hosmer ranked seventh in the league in hits (188), ninth in overall batting average (.302) and sixth in batting average vs. left-handed pitching (.323). On May 18, he was batting .244 with 4 doubles, a homer and 11 RBI, but from May 19 on, he hit .317 with a Major League-leading 156 hits, 30 doubles, 16 homers, 68 RBI and a .484 slugging percentage. He was selected as the Majestic Royals Player of the Month three times (June, July and August) during the season, while he hit over .300 in each of the last four months of the year, including .324 in July and September.

The Royals announced yesterday that closer Greg Holland has been named the 2013 Bruce Rice Pitcher of the Year, while starting pitcher James Shields was honored with the Joe Burke Special Achievement Award last week.