Atlanta Braves' Ronald Acuña Jr. wins MLB's Hank Aaron Award as outstanding offensive performer

December 18th, 2023

Atlanta Braves' Ronald Acuña Jr. runs to third base on a double by Ozzie Albies during the fifth inning of the team's baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Sept. 22, 2023, in Washington. Shohei Ohtani and Acuña won the 2023 Hank Aaron Awards on Saturday, Dec. 16, presented by Major League Baseball to the most outstanding offensive performer in each league. The MLB award is picked by fan balloting combined with votes from a panel of Hall of Famers and former winners. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

The Atlanta Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr. and new L.A. Dodger Shohei Ohtani won the 2023 Hank Aaron Awards on Saturday, presented by Major League Baseball to the most outstanding offensive performer in each league.

The MLB award is picked by fan balloting combined with votes from a panel of Hall of Famers and former winners, a group that this year included former Atlanta Braves Chipper Jones and John Smoltz plus Johnny Bench, Craig Biggio, Ken Griffey Jr., Derek Jeter, Pedro Martínez, Eddie Murray, Albert Pujols, David Ortiz and Robin Yount.

Acuña and Ohtani also won Most Valuable Awards last month in voting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Ohtani was the first two-time unanimous MVP.

Acuña was a unanimous winner of his first NL MVP after becoming the first big leaguer with 40 homers and 70 stolen bases in a season. He was second in the NL with a .336 batting average for the Braves and led the major leagues with 149 runs, 217 hits, 386 total bases and 73 stolen bases while hitting 41 home runs with 106 RBIs.

Ohtani became a free agent after the season and left the Los Angeles Angels for a record $700 million, 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He led the AL with 44 homers and hit .304 with 96 RBIs, eight triples and 20 stolen bases in a season at the plate that ended Sept. 3 because of an oblique injury.

The right-hander was 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA in 23 starts on the mound, striking out 167 and walking 55 in 132 innings before tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow on Aug. 23. He had elbow surgery and won’t pitch next season.

Every team nominated candidates for the Aaron Awards and a group of MLB.com writers picked nine finalists in each league. The awards were introduced in 1999 to honor the 25th anniversary of Aaron breaking Babe Ruth’s career home run record.

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WABE News contributed to this report.