Mike Trout and Giancarlo Stanton are two of the best young sluggers in baseball, and they have the trophies to prove it. Trout took home the Hank Aaron Award for the American League’s best offensive player, with Stanton representing the National League, per Major League Baseball.
Trout wasn’t on hand to accept the honor, but he made sure to show his gratitude in a video message, per MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez:
The Los Angeles Angels outfielder had another otherworldly season, with 36 home runs, 115 runs batted in, 16 stolen bases and a slash line of .287/.377/.561. He also had the highest WAR (7.8) among all offensive players, according to FanGraphs.
The award’s namesake saw Trout play earlier in the year and gave the 23-year-old his stamp of approval:
Stanton had a similarly impressive season, socking 37 home runs and driving in 105 runs, cracking the century mark in that category for the first time. According to Nick Hamelin of Baseball Essential, those 37 home runs traveled nearly three miles:
Aaron was caught off guard with Stanton’s impressive physique, per Lindsay Berra of MLB.com:
The two young stars could collect more hardware very soon, with Trout a heavy favorite to win the AL Most Valuable Player Award and Stanton a strong contender in the NL.
With both players just beginning to enter their respective primes, this is unlikely to be the last year they’ll be at the podium at the end of the season accepting baseball’s highest honors.
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