NEW YORK – Texas outfielderwas a runaway winner of the American League's Most Valuable Player award.
Hamilton received 22 first-place votes and 358 points in voting announced Tuesday by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
Hamilton overcame eight trips to rehabilitation for drug and alcohol addiction to lead the major leagues in batting average (.359) and slugging percentage (.633) and help the Rangers reach their first World Series. He had 32 homers and 100 RBIs despite missing time with two broken ribs.
"It's awesome, everybody makes mistakes in their lives and everybody deserves a second chance," Rangers teammate said before voting was announced. "A lot of people don't take advantage of that second chance. But he took it and he ran with it."
After voting was concluded, Hamilton was voted MVP of the AL championship series win over the Yankees. Overall, he hit .190 in the postseason with five homers and nine RBIs
"There were other guys around the league who had great years, but seeing Josh, what he was able to do, it's pretty impressive," teammate Michael Young said. "You don't see guys go three-month stretches where they hit .400, it's just too difficult to do."
Hamilton is the sixth Rangers MVP, following Jeff Burroughs (1974), Juan Gonzalez (1996, 1998), Ivan Rodriguez (1999) and(2003).
Hamilton received 22 first-place votes and 358 points in voting announced Tuesday by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
Hamilton overcame eight trips to rehabilitation for drug and alcohol addiction to lead the major leagues in batting average (.359) and slugging percentage (.633) and help the Rangers reach their first World Series. He had 32 homers and 100 RBIs despite missing time with two broken ribs.
"It's awesome, everybody makes mistakes in their lives and everybody deserves a second chance," Rangers teammate said before voting was announced. "A lot of people don't take advantage of that second chance. But he took it and he ran with it."
After voting was concluded, Hamilton was voted MVP of the AL championship series win over the Yankees. Overall, he hit .190 in the postseason with five homers and nine RBIs
"There were other guys around the league who had great years, but seeing Josh, what he was able to do, it's pretty impressive," teammate Michael Young said. "You don't see guys go three-month stretches where they hit .400, it's just too difficult to do."
Hamilton is the sixth Rangers MVP, following Jeff Burroughs (1974), Juan Gonzalez (1996, 1998), Ivan Rodriguez (1999) and(2003).
