When I heard Aramis Ramirez won the Hank Aaron Award, I thought "That’s nice… for what?"
As a Cub fan as much as it pains me, I’ll link to an article by Justin Gibson of the St Louis Sports Examiner who admittedly makes a good point:
Ramirez winning the award is as big of a joke as Cubs outfielder Kosuke Fukudome’s 2008 All-Star selection. Is Ramirez a great hitter? Absolutely — but not the top, or near it.
Especially when compared to St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols.
In one less game, Pujols hit for a .068 higher batting average than Ramirez, as well as 10 more home runs, five more RBI’s, 30 more walks, a higher OBP of .082 and a higher slugging average of .135 — all while striking out 40 fewer times.
Gibson goes on comparing stat by stat how much better Pujols is. Okay, we get it. I don’t anyone is going to argue with you. Except the thousands that voted for Ramirez.
The problem is with the plethora of these corporate awards set up by MLB (the Hank Aaron Award is sponsored by Century 21 Real Estate) that have little meaning other than to bring good PR to the corporations.
Unless you believe what Bud Selig says, "The Hank Aaron Award is on a par with the Cy Young and the MVP."
Oh really?