The Luis Aparicio Award is given annually to a Venezuelan player in Major League Baseball (MLB) who is judged to have recorded the best individual performance in that year. The winner of the award is determined by a vote conducted by Venezuelan sports journalists and Spanish-language media around the world.[1] It is named after former MLB shortstop Luis Aparicio,[1] who is the only player from Venezuela to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.[2] The award was first presented in 2004, and was created in order to honour Aparicio's major league career and to commemorate his father, who died thirteen years before his son was elected into the Hall of Fame.[3]

Luis Aparicio Award
At U.S. Cellular Field, a bronze statue depicts a baseball player stepping on the base and leaning forward to catch a baseball being flipped to him.
A bronze statue of Luis Aparicio, the namesake of the award
LocationMaracaibo, Zulia
CountryVenezuela
History
First award2004
Most recentRonald Acuña Jr., Atlanta Braves

Johan Santana, Jose Altuve, Miguel Cabrera, and Ronald Acuña Jr. are the only players to win the Luis Aparicio Award more than once, with Cabrera having won the award five times.[4] Cabrera won the MLB Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award and Hank Aaron Award alongside the Luis Aparicio Award in 2012 and 2013,[5][6] becoming the first Venezuelan to win the MLB MVP Award.[7][8] Santana, the 2004 and 2006 recipient, also won the Cy Young Award in those two years,[5] winning by a unanimous vote on each occasion.[9] Altuve is the only player to win the Luis Aparicio Award, the MVP award, and become a World Series champion in the same season in 2017.[10] He has also won a batting title in three of his four award seasons. Santana (2006) and Cabrera (2012) are the only award winners to also earn the pitching and batting Triple Crown respectively in the same season.[11] In accomplishing the feat, Cabrera became the first player in 45 years to achieve a Triple Crown in batting since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967,[12] while Santana became the first pitcher since Dwight Gooden in 1985 to secure a "Major League Triple Crown" by leading all of MLB in wins, earned run average and strikeouts.[13] Francisco Rodríguez compiled a major league record of 62 saves in a single season in 2008 and went on to win the Rolaids Relief Man Award in the same year as the Luis Aparicio Award.[14][15][16] Five winners – Cabrera, Altuve, Magglio Ordóñez, Carlos González, and Arráez – were batting champions in their respective leagues in the same year they won the award.[17]

The award is presented annually before a baseball game hosted by the local team, Águilas del Zulia, on November 18 in Aparicio's hometown of Maracaibo, Zulia.[4] The date marks both the feast of the Virgin of Chiquinquirá – the patron saint of Zulia[18] – and the anniversary of Aparicio's professional debut.[3] As of 2023, the most recent recipient of the award is Ronald Acuña Jr. of the Atlanta Braves.

Winners

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Miguel Cabrera has won the award five times.
 
Jose Altuve is the second player with at least four awards.
Key
Year Links to the article about the corresponding baseball year
Player (X) Denotes winning player and number of times they had won the award at that point (if more than one)
Team The player's team at the time he won the award
Position The player's position at the time he won the award
^ Indicates multiple award winners in the same year
Player is active
Winners
Year Player Position Team Ref(s)
2004 Johan Santana Starting pitcher Minnesota Twins [19][20]
2005 Miguel Cabrera Outfielder Florida Marlins [21]
2006 Johan Santana (2) Starting pitcher Minnesota Twins [19][20]
2007 Magglio Ordóñez Outfielder Detroit Tigers [22][23]
2008 Francisco Rodríguez Relief pitcher Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim [24]
2009 Félix Hernández Starting pitcher Seattle Mariners [25][26]
2010 Carlos González Outfielder Colorado Rockies [27][28]
2011 Miguel Cabrera (2) First baseman Detroit Tigers [21][29]
2012 Miguel Cabrera (3) Third baseman Detroit Tigers [21][30]
2013 Miguel Cabrera (4) Third baseman Detroit Tigers [21][31]
2014 Jose Altuve Second baseman Houston Astros [32][33]
2015 Miguel Cabrera (5) First baseman Detroit Tigers [21][34]
2016 Jose Altuve (2) Second baseman Houston Astros [32][35]
2017 Jose Altuve (3) Second baseman Houston Astros [32][36]
2018^ Ronald Acuña Jr. Outfielder Atlanta Braves [37][38]
2018^ Jesús Aguilar First baseman Milwaukee Brewers [38][39]
2019 Eugenio Suárez Third baseman Cincinnati Reds [40][41]
2020 Ronald Acuña Jr. (2) Outfielder Atlanta Braves [42]
2021 Salvador Pérez Catcher Kansas City Royals [43]
2022^ Luis Arráez Second baseman Minnesota Twins [44][45]
2022^ Jose Altuve (4) Second baseman Houston Astros [45][46]
2023 Ronald Acuña Jr. (3) Outfielder Atlanta Braves [47]

See also

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References

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General

  • "Luis Aparicio Award". Baseball-Almanac.com. Baseball Almanac. Retrieved November 12, 2012.

Specific

  1. ^ a b "Going To The Big Time". The Miami Herald. October 26, 2005. Retrieved November 13, 2012. Miguel Cabrera...was named winner of the Luis Aparicio players award, presented to the top Venezuelan in the major leagues. [He] edged Minnesota pitcher Johan Santana and Angels' closer Francisco Rodriguez in a vote of 100 journalists from the Venezuelan and international Spanish-language media. (subscription required)
  2. ^ van Dyck, Dave (February 9, 2010). "Out of retirement: No. 11 goes to Vizquel". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
  3. ^ a b Landino, Leonte. "Luis Aparicio". The Baseball Biography Project. Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
  4. ^ a b "Luis Aparicio Award". Baseball-Almanac.com. Baseball Almanac. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
  5. ^ a b "Most Valuable Player MVP Awards & Cy Young Awards Winners". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  6. ^ "Hank Aaron Award & Branch Rickey Award Winners". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  7. ^ Beck, Jason (November 15, 2012). "Miggy beats Trout to add AL MVP to collection". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  8. ^ Fine, Larry (November 15, 2012). "Detroit's Cabrera wins AL MVP award". Chicago Tribune. Reuters. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  9. ^ "Santana unanimous choice for AL Cy Young Award". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Associated Press. November 18, 2006. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  10. ^ "José Altuve gana unánime el Primer Luis Aparicio". ESPN. ESPN. October 25, 2017. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  11. ^ "Triple Crown Winners". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  12. ^ Beck, Jason (October 4, 2012). "Miggy secures first Triple Crown since 1967". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  13. ^ Sherman, Joel (June 22, 2012). "Claims to 'Fame' – Work left for Johan, CC before Hall is certainty". New York Post. p. 84. Retrieved April 17, 2014. (subscription required)
  14. ^ "Rookie of the Year Awards & Rolaids Relief Award Winners". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  15. ^ Spencer, Lyle; Schwartz, Michael (September 14, 2008). "K-Rod nabs single-season saves mark". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  16. ^ "Single-Season Leaders & Records for Saves". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
  17. ^ "Yearly League Leaders & Records for Batting Average". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  18. ^ Santoro, Nicholas J. (August 12, 2011). Mary in Our Life: Atlas of the Names and Titles of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and Their Place in Marian Devotion. iUniverse. p. 671. ISBN 9781462040223. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
  19. ^ a b "Johan Santana Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
  20. ^ a b "Rockies bench slump-ridden center fielder". Star Tribune. Minneapolis–Saint Paul. October 28, 2007. Archived from the original on April 17, 2014. Retrieved November 12, 2012. Twins pitcher Johan Santana was the first winner in 2004 and again in 2006.
  21. ^ a b c d e "Miguel Cabrera Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  22. ^ "Magglio Ordóñez Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
  23. ^ Gage, Tom (October 28, 2007). "Ordonez gets award from Venezuelan media". The Detroit News. Retrieved April 17, 2014. (subscription required)
  24. ^ "Francisco Rodríguez Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  25. ^ "Félix Hernández Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
  26. ^ Baker, Geoff (November 18, 2009). "Felix Hernandez finally gets some hardware to take home". The Seattle Times. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  27. ^ "Carlos González Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  28. ^ Harding, Thomas (October 28, 2010). "CarGo takes home Aparicio Award". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  29. ^ Beck, Jason (October 20, 2011). "Cabrera unanimous winner of Aparicio Award". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Archived from the original on October 27, 2011. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
  30. ^ Schmehl, James (October 27, 2012). "Detroit Tigers' Miguel Cabrera wins Hank Aaron Award, given to league's top offensive player". mlive.com. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
  31. ^ "Miguel Cabrera gana el premio Luis Aparicio con unanimidad". El Universal (in Spanish). Caracas. October 24, 2013. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  32. ^ a b c "Jose Altuve Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  33. ^ "José Altuve ganó el premio Luis Aparicio". El Universal (in Spanish). Caracas. October 22, 2014. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  34. ^ Beck, Jason. "Miggy edges Altuve to earn 5th Aparicio Award". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  35. ^ "José Altuve se adueñó del Luis Aparicio 2016". El Nacional (in Spanish). Caracas. October 26, 2016. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
  36. ^ "José Altuve recibe Premio Luis Aparicio 2017". You Tube (in Spanish). Caracas. November 8, 2017. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  37. ^ "Ronald Acuña Jr. Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  38. ^ a b "Jesús Aguilar y Ronald Acuña fueron co-ganadores del premio Luis Aparicio". MLB.com (in Spanish). October 24, 2018. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  39. ^ "Jesús Aguilar Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  40. ^ "Eugenio Suárez Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  41. ^ Sheldon, Mark (October 23, 2019). "Suárez named top Venezuelan MLB player in '19". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Archived from the original on December 7, 2019. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  42. ^ "Acuña gana su segundo premio Luis Aparicio". ESPN Deportes (in Spanish). ESPN Internet Ventures. October 21, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  43. ^ Worthy, Lynn (October 28, 2021). "Kansas City Royals' Salvador Perez beats out Jose Altuve for Luis Aparicio Award". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  44. ^ "Luis Arráez Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  45. ^ a b "Baseball: Luis Arráez and José Altuve won the Luis Aparicio Award". archysport.com. November 2, 2022. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  46. ^ "Jose Altuve Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  47. ^ "Ronald Acuña Jr. Wins Luis Aparicio Award for Outstanding Performance in 2023 MLB Season". bnn. October 28, 2023. Retrieved November 20, 2023.