Pito!!!
For the first time since Frank Thomas went back-to-back in 1994, the AL MVP resides on the south side of Chicago. Jose Abreu has won the 2020 AL Most Valuable Player as voted on by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
After a bit of a slow start to the season, Abreu caught fire in August and didn’t look back in September. The 33-year-old Cuban recorded a .317/.370/.617 line good for a .987 OPS, to go with 19 HRs, 60 RBIs, and some fantastic defense. It gets better: Pito hit 53.3% of balls hard this season and sported a ridiculous 186 wRC+ with runners in scoring position. Not to mention, Abreu tied a major-league record with six home runs over a three-game series with the Cubs.
Jose Abreu breaks it WIDE OPEN
— MVPito On 35th (@SoxOn35th) August 22, 2020
Abreu was the odds-on favorite to win the award at -200. However, Jose Ramirez made his case towards the end of the season with a hot streak that scorched the South Siders, and DJ LeMahieu had an interesting case as well. Nevertheless, Abreu wound up with 21 of the 30 first-place votes, with Ramirez earning 8 tallies and LeMahieu 1. Teammate Tim Anderson finished 7th in the voting.
Here is the final vote tally for the Baseball Writers Association of America:
Congratulations to Jose from all of us here at Sox on 35th!
Featured Photo: Brandon Anderson (@b_son4) / Twitter
It’s great to see Jose winning the MVP.
He has finally been given some solid surrounding support in the line-up.
A great man and a great player.