Tuesday it was announced that Texas Rangers OF, Josh Hamilton, would be the recipient of the 2010 AL MVP award. Hamilton received first place votes on 22 of 28 ballots.
Detroit Tigers 1B Miguel Cabrera was runner-up with five first-place votes. Yankees 2B Robinson Cano finished third, Blue Jays OF Jose Bautista finished fourth, and White Sox 1B/DH Paul Konerko finished fifth.
Hamilton led Major League Baseball in batting average (.359) and helped the Rangers to their first ever World Series appearance. Hamilton becomes the fourth player in team history to win the award and the fifth time the Texas organization has brought it home, with Juan Gonzalez winning the award twice (1996 and 1998).
A $100,000 bonus is given to Hamilton for winning the award. Most importantly, everyone within the organization is happy for Hamilton because he is a great teammate. Everyone recognizes the drastic turnaround from the drug and alcohol abuse early in his career. “We don’t do what we did this year without him”, Team President Nolan Ryan said of Hamilton.