Fans to help select baseball's Man of the Year
New York, NY, Saturday, September 6, 2014 … Beginning today, fans voting on-line will help select the Major League baseball player whose on-field performance and contributions to his community inspire others to higher levels of achievement. Fan-voting for the Marvin Miller Man of the Year award will be conducted on www.MLBPLAYERS.com, the official website of Major League baseball players, through midnight, Friday, September 12.
The Marvin Miller Man of the Year award is bestowed annually by Major League players, along with nine other Players Choice Awards, to honor the players they believe are the best in the game. Players on each of the 30 Major League teams have nominated one teammate as a candidate for the 2014 Marvin Miller Man of the Year award.
Fans now may visit www.MLBPLAYERS.com to select their favorite among the nominees. Six division finalists chosen by the fans will appear on the 2014 Players Choice Awards ballot when all Major Leaguers vote to select the winner on Tuesday, September 16. Balloting on September 16 will be conducted under the supervision of accounting firm KPMG.
Retired New York Yankees relief pitcher Mariano Rivera was the 2013 Marvin Miller Man of the Year. Past winners of the award, named for the legendary baseball union leader, also include Chipper Jones, Michael Young, Brandon Inge, Curtis Granderson, Torii Hunter, Albert Pujols, Jim Thome, John Smoltz, Mike Sweeney, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Eric Davis and Paul Molitor.
The 2014 Players Choice Awards also honor the outstanding player, rookie, pitcher, and comeback player in each league, as well as the season's overall Outstanding Player. 2014 Players Choice Award winners in all categories will designate charities to receive grants totaling $260,000 from the Players Trust. Since 1992, the Players Trust has recognized the outstanding on-field and off-field performances of Players Choice Awards winners by contributing more than $3 million to charities around the world.
The following players were nominated by their teammates for the 2014 Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award:
Arizona Diamondbacks - Paul Goldschmidt; Atlanta Braves - Craig Kimbrel; Baltimore Orioles - Nick Markakis; Boston Red Sox - Craig Breslow; Chicago Cubs - Anthony Rizzo; Chicago White Sox - Paul Konerko; Cincinnati Reds - Skip Schumaker; Cleveland Indians - Nick Swisher; Colorado Rockies - Brandon Barnes; Detroit Tigers - Max Scherzer; Houston Astros - Chad Qualls; Kansas City Royals - Billy Butler; Los Angeles Angels - Josh Hamilton; Los Angeles Dodgers - Clayton Kershaw; Miami Marlins - Mike Dunn; Milwaukee Brewers - Jonathan Lucroy; Minnesota Twins - Brian Deunsing; New York Mets - Zack Wheeler; New York Yankees - Carlos Beltran; Oakland Athletics - Sean Doolittle; Philadelphia Phillies - Cole Hamels; Pittsburgh Pirates - Clint Barmes ; San Diego Padres - Ian Kennedy; San Francisco Giants - Tim Hudson; Seattle Mariners - Robinson Cano; St. Louis Cardinals - Jason Motte; Tampa Bay Rays - Ben Zobrist; Texas Rangers - Adrian Beltre; Toronto Blue Jays - Jose Bautista; Washington Nationals - Adam LaRoche
The Major League Baseball Players Association (www.MLBPLAYERS.com / @MLB_Players) is the collective bargaining representative for all professional baseball players of the thirty Major League Baseball teams and serves as the exclusive group licensing agent for commercial and licensing activities involving active Major League baseball players. On behalf of its members, it operates the Players Choice (@MLBPAClubhouse) group licensing program and Players Choice Awards, which benefit the needy through the Major League Baseball Players Trust (www.PlayersTrust.org @MLBPlayersTrust), a charitable foundation established and run entirely by Major League baseball players.