Twins nominated for 7 Esurance MLB Awards
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins, who were one of the biggest surprises in baseball this season, are up for seven 2015 Esurance MLB Awards, including Miguel Sano for Best Rookie, Paul Molitor for Best Manager and general manager Terry Ryan for Best Executive.
Sano, 22, hit .269/.385/.530 with 18 homers, 17 doubles and 52 RBIs in 80 games. He was the American League Rookie of the Month for August.
Molitor, in his first year at the helm, guided the Twins to 83 wins, a 13-win improvement over 2014. It was their first winning season since 2010, as Minnesota wasn't eliminated from the American League Wild Card chase until the final weekend of the season.
Ryan was the architect of the team, which saw a mix of veterans and rookies make a major impact. Ryan is in his second stint as Twins GM, as he was GM from 1994-2007 before returning to the post in 2011.
Rookie Eddie Rosario is also up for an award for Best Moment, when he hit a homer on the first pitch of his career against then-A's left-hander Scott Kazmir on May 6. Rosario's family came to the game at Target Field from Puerto Rico and was able to watch him make history, as he was just the 29th player in Major League history to homer on the first pitch of a career.
Video: 2015 MLB Awards: Best Moment - Rosario
Veteran Torii Hunter and rookie Byron Buxton are also up for Best Interview, when MLB Central hosted the two in June. Hunter, then 39, joked throughout the segment about the youth of the 21-year-old Buxton.
The Twins were also nominated for Best Video Board Moment, when a fan frantically air drummed as the man seated next to her tried to keep up and the crowd cheered her on.
The Esurance MLB Awards annually honor Major League Baseball's greatest achievements as part of an industry-wide balloting process that includes five components, each of which accounts for 20 percent of the overall vote: media, front-office personnel, retired MLB players, fans at MLB.com and Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) voters.
Individual awards will go to the Best Major Leaguer in addition to the winners in the following categories: The Best Everyday Player, Starting Pitcher, Rookie, Defensive Player, Breakout Player, Bounceback Player, Manager, Executive, Social Media Personality and Postseason Performer.
Winners will also be recognized for the year's best offensive play, defensive play, Moment, single-game performance, Social Media Post, Celebrity Fan, Fan Catch, Interview, TV call, radio call, Player-Fan Interaction, Video Board Moment and Trending Topic.
Voting will remain open through Nov. 13 by visiting mlb.com/awards. Winners will be announced live on MLB Network and MLB.com on Nov. 20.