The Chicago White Sox first baseman was awarded for his efforts this season in the form of the AL MVP
2020 was a special season for the Chicago White Sox, as they clinched their first postseason berth since 2008. While many will say they got in due to the shortened season and the expanded playoff format, there’s no denying that the White Sox were still a great team in the AL. Now, their best player is taking home some hardware.
On Thursday, the Baseball Writer’s Association of America named White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu as the winner of the 2020 AL MVP award. Abreu received 21-of-30 first-place votes, and successfully held off New York Yankees infielder D.J. LeMahieu and Cleveland Indians third baseman Jose Ramirez.
Abreu first White Sox MVP in over 15 years
The White Sox haven’t had one of its players win the AL MVP since Frank Thomas took home the honors back in 1994. Now, Abreu is now the fifth player in White Sox history to win the award, joining Thomas (1993-94), Dick Allen (1972) and Nellie Fox (1959).
Through 60 games, Abreu recorded a .317 batting average, .370 on-base percentage and a league-high .617 slugging percentage, while hitting 19 home runs and a league-high 60 RBI. Additionally, the 33-year-old first baseman led the AL with hits (76) and total bases (148).
The White Sox started off the truncated campaign strong, but fizzled out towards the end, where they won two of their last 10 games of the regular-season. As a result, they finished just one game behind the Minnesota Twins for the AL Central, but clinched the seventh-seed. Chicago lost in the Wild-Card Round to the Oakland Athletics in three games, where Abreu slashed .286/.286/.571, while recording four hits, one home run and two RBI.
While Abreu said that all that matters is his mom views him as the MVP, the BBWAA agreed as well. After seven MLB seasons, Jose Abreu can officially call himself an MVP.