A .359 batting average made Josh Hamilton the American League’s Most Valuable Player. Second to
stand was Miguel Cabrera of Detroit and Yankees’ Robinson Cano made it to the third place. Cano was
followed by Jose Bautista of Toronto. He finished fourth.

Of the 28 first place votes, Hamilton had 22 ballots. Cabrera collected 5 of the vote sand Bautista got the
remaining one vote. All the position holders were apt for the award, but to see the contribution coming
from Hamilton, no one could be as valuable as him. He secured a .359 batting average. In slugging
percentage as well as on base plus slugging percentage, he led the league. He had .369 for hitting with
the runners at scoring positions. From June, Hamilton led the Texas Rangers and went on to a lead of
nine games in three months. He led with an average of .410. He batted in for 70 runs, O.B.P of .461. He
had a slugging percentage of .717, scored 51 extra base hits and total bases of 226. What he did in those
three months could easily overcome the fact that he played just five games in the last few weeks. Marc
Topkin from The St. Petersburg Times voted for Hamilton and said his over .400 hit in a span of near
about 80 games was a sheer feat. The Rangers took off at the same time and asserted themselves. His
impact on the team’s performance goes without say. Even though the voting was being speculated, the
award rightly went to Josh Hamilton.
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