NEW YORK, 6 November 2004 — Barry Bonds was named the best player in baseball’s major leagues by his peers Thursday nabbing the Player of the Year and Outstanding Player in the National League in the Players Choice Awards.
Seattle Mariners right fielder Ichiro Suzuki, who set a single-season record for hits in a season, was selected the American League’s Outstanding Player. Suzuki’s 262 hits snapped the 84-year-old mark of George Sisler.
Suzuki, who has a career batting average of .339, won the AL Outstanding Rookie Award in 2001. Bonds 40, led all players in the National League with .362 batting average. He also had 45 homers, 101 RBI and 232 walks.
It was the seventh Players Choice Award for Bonds, who last won Player of Year honors in 2001. Philadelphia’s Jim Thome was named the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award recipient. Named in honor of the Players Association’s first executive director, the award is given to the player in either league whose on-field performance and contributions to his community inspire others to higher levels of achievement.
Thome, who was tied for fifth in the NL with 42 homers, has worked with the CapCure, United Way and United Cerebral Palsy charities.
Minnesota Twins lefthander Johan Santana, who was 20-6 with a 2.61 ERA and 265 strikeouts in 2004, was named the AL’s Outstanding Pitcher.
Jason Schmidt of the San Francisco Giants, who was 18-7 with a 3.20 ERA and 251 strikeouts, earned NL Outstanding Pitcher honors.
Pittsburgh’s Jason Bay was tabbed as the NL’s Outstanding Rookie with Oakland’s Bobby Crosby winning the honors in the AL. Bay hit .282 with 26 homers and 82 RBI in 120 games. Crosby hit just .239 but had 22 homers, 34 doubles and 64 RBI.
