First baseman Jose Abreu was named 2020 American League MVP during a season in which he led the Chicago White Sox back to the playoffs for the first time in 12 years.
The 33-year old beat out the New York Yankees’ DJ LeMahieu and the Cleveland Indians’ Jose Ramirez for the honor and was reduced to tears when the announcement was made on live television. “You can dream about it, but you can’t imagine the feeling,” Abreu said through White Sox translator Billy Russo on MLB Network after composing himself.
Abreu received 21 first-place votes among Baseball Writers Association of America members, with eight second-place votes and one third-place vote for 374 points overall. Ramirez was second with 303 points (eight first place) with LeMahieu third with 230 points (one first place).
In his seventh season with the White Sox after defecting from Cuba, Abreu batted .317 and led the American League with a .617 slugging percentage, as well as 76 hits and 60 RBIs. He became just the fourth player in AL history to lead the league in both hits and RBI. He also hit 19 homers.
It was the first MVP Award for Abreu, who finished as high as fourth in the voting during his rookie-of-the-year season in 2014. Abreu is a career .294 hitter with 198 home runs and 671 RBIs, with a .520 slugging percentage and an .870 OPS.
Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber (173 points) of the Indians was fourth and Mike Trout (172) of the Los Angeles Angels finished fifth. –Field Level Media ()