The Orioles today announced that second baseman JONATHAN SCHOOP has been voted the winner of the 2017 Louis M. Hatter Most Valuable Oriole Award by members of the local media who cover the team on a regular basis. He will be recognized for his accomplishments in an on-field ceremony prior to Sunday's regular season finale against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Schoop enters play today batting .295/.340/.514 (174-for-590) with 33 doubles, 32 home runs, 88 runs scored, and 105 RBI, having already set career-highs in hits, home runs, runs, and RBI. Schoop ranks seventh in Major League Baseball in RBI and second in the American League. His 51 RBI since the All-Star break are tied for the fourth-most in baseball and lead the American League. His 64 extra-base hits as a second baseman are third-most in baseball among second basemen, and his 65 total extra-base hits are 13th-most in the American League. His 51 multi-hit games are fifth-most and his 174 hits tied for fifth-most in the American League.
Schoop was named the American League Player of the Week for the week of July 17-23, hitting .433/.438/.800 (13-for-30) with two doubles, three home runs, eight runs, and 16 RBI over seven games; his 16 RBI led MLB and his three home runs were tied for the most in the AL during the week. He posted a career-high 26-game on-base streak from April 12-May 12 when he hit .344/.385/.613 (32-for-93) with 10 doubles, five home runs, 14 runs, 17 RBI, four walks, and four hit by pitches. Schoop was selected to the 2017 All-Star Game, his first career All-Star selection, going 1-for-1 with a double and run scored. 
Schoop recorded his 95th RBI of the season on August 26 to become the Orioles all-time single-season RBI leader by a second baseman (primary position) in team history. His 32 home runs are also a team record for a second baseman, breaking his own record of 25 set last season. He leads the Orioles in batting average (.295), hits (174), doubles (33), runs (88), RBI (105), and multi-hit games (51). His season WAR (wins above replacement) is 5.3; entering this season he had a career 5.0 WAR. He made his first career start at shortstop on July 8, and has appeared in four games (two starts) at the position this season.
The Most Valuable Oriole Award is named in honor of the late LOU HATTER, a former sportswriter for The Baltimore Sun who covered the Orioles for 27 years. Balloting for the Most Valuable Oriole Award is conducted with voting on a 5-3-1 basis. Also receiving votes were DYLAN BUNDY, WELINGTON CASTILLO, ADAM JONES, MANNY MACHADO, and TREY MANCINI.