Fifty-one years had passed since a Twins rookie was named the team's Most Valuable Player. Miguel Sano ended that streak Tuesday.
The 22-year-old slugger was chosen, in a vote by writers who cover the team, the Twins MVP for 2015 and also the team's top rookie, a historic double achievement "that makes me so proud of him," said Tony Oliva, the only other Twin to accomplish the feat.
"He didn't play at all [in 2014], and for him to bounce back so quickly, it's a great sign for his future," said Oliva, who earned both honors in 1964. "He's a guy who has a lot of confidence. Miguel is a great player who will be here for a long, long time."
Sano became the youngest player ever to earn the Calvin Griffith Award as team MVP; he's 19 months younger than Kent Hrbek was when he won the award in 1984. Meanwhile, 40-year-old Torii Hunter became the oldest player to win the Bob Allison Award, given to the player who "exemplifies determination, hustle, tenacity, competitive spirit and leadership, both on and off the field." The awards are part of the team's annual Diamond Awards, selected by a vote of the Twin Cities chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.
Kyle Gibson, whose 3.84 ERA, 194â…” innings pitched and 145 strikeouts were career highs, was named Twins Pitcher of the Year, "a nice honor personally, but it's not as meaningful as it would be if our team had accomplished its goals," said the righthander, who turns 28 Friday.
Winning the Joseph Haynes Award validates Gibson as one of the staff leaders for the Twins, but the former first-round pick said he sees plenty of room for improvement.
"I'm happy with my year, but I've got a lot of things I want to work on next year," he said. "And I want to be more consistent. I saw last week that [Toronto lefthander] David Price gave up five runs or more just three times all year — that's the kind of pitcher I'd like to be."
Aaron Hicks was voted the team's most improved player. Eddie Rosario was elected Defensive Player of the Year, and Hunter was awarded the media good-guy honor, his third such trophy in the Mike Augustin Award's 10-year history. Max Kepler and Jose Berrios were the Twins minor league player and pitcher of the year, respectively, and Brian Dozier and former Twins pitcher Julio Becquer were honored for their community service work.
Pirates reliever Tony Watson, a Grimes, Iowa, native who had a 1.91 ERA in 77 games, became the third consecutive non-Twin to be voted the Dick Siebert Award as best major leaguer from the Upper Midwest.
Sano's achievements were the most noteworthy of the Twins' first winning season in five years, a feat especially remarkable given that he didn't debut until July 2 and played only 80 games. Yet the Dominican DH still blasted 18 home runs and drove in 52 runs while drawing 53 walks, a remarkable half-season of production.
His .269 batting average, .385 on-base percentage and .530 slugging percentage led Twins regulars in all three categories, and his .916 OPS tied for the highest in franchise history by a rookie — with Oliva.
"I think he will keep getting better and better. I hope he hits 45 or 50 home runs next year," Oliva said. "He's confident. He'll put up some big numbers."
The Twins and BBWAA will present the awards at the 11th annual Diamond Awards banquet at Target Field Jan. 28.
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