MLBPAA announces team winners of 14th annual Heart & Hustle Award
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. - The Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association (MLBPAA) is pleased to announce the 30 preliminary winners of the 2018 Heart & Hustle Award. This esteemed award honors active players who demonstrate a passion for the game of baseball and best embody the values, spirit and traditions of the game. The Heart & Hustle Award is also the only award in Major League Baseball that is voted on by former players. Voting is conducted prior to the All-Star Break.
The MLBPAA formed 30 committees, comprised of Alumni players with established relationships to each team. One player from each Major League team is chosen by the committees based on their passion, desire and work ethic demonstrated both on and off the field. These players will be recognized prior to an upcoming home game. As the season draws to a close, all alumni and active players will vote to select the final winner from the 30 team winners. The previous overall winners are David Eckstein (2005), Craig Biggio (2006, 2007), Grady Sizemore (2008), Albert Pujols (2009), Roy Halladay (2010), Torii Hunter (2011), Mike Trout (2012), Dustin Pedroia (2013), Josh Harrison (2014), Anthony Rizzo (2015), Todd Frazier (2016) and Brett Gardner (2017).
The overall winner will be announced Nov. 8, 2018, at the 19th annual Legends for Youth Dinner in New York City. This event is the primary fundraiser for the series of free Legends for Youth Baseball Clinics. These clinics impact more than 18,000 children each year at 185 clinics, allowing them the unique opportunity to interact with and learn from players who have left a lasting impact on the game of baseball.
The 30 individual team winners are as follows:
Baltimore Orioles: Adam Jones
Boston Red Sox: Mookie Betts
Chicago White Sox: Yolmer S¨¢nchez
Cleveland Indians: Jos¨¦ Ram¨ªrez
Detroit Tigers: JaCoby Jones
Houston Astros: Alex Bregman
Kansas City Royals: Salvador P¨¦rez
Los Angeles Angels: Mike Trout
Minnesota Twins: Eduardo Escobar
New York Yankees: Austin Romine
Oakland Athletics: Matt Chapman
Seattle Mariners: Guillermo Heredia
Tampa Bay Rays: Joey Wendle
Texas Rangers: Isiah Kiner-Falefa
Toronto Blue Jays: Curtis Granderson
Arizona Diamondbacks: Paul Goldschmidt
Atlanta Braves: Nick Markakis
Chicago Cubs: Javier B¨¢ez
Cincinnati Reds: Scooter Gennett
Colorado Rockies: Trevor Story
Los Angeles Dodgers: Matt Kemp
Miami Marlins: J.T. Realmuto
Milwaukee Brewers: Christian Yelich
New York Mets: Brandon Nimmo
Philadelphia Phillies: C¨¦sar Hern¨¢ndez
Pittsburgh Pirates: Corey Dickerson
San Diego Padres: Jos¨¦ Pirela
San Francisco Giants: Brandon Crawford
St. Louis Cardinals: Harrison Bader
Washington Nationals: Trea Turner
To learn more about the MLBPAA, please visit www.baseballalumni.com