The Best Major League Baseball Player
ESPY Award
An ESPY Award (short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award) is an accolade currently presented by the American broadcast television network ABC, and previously ESPN (as of the 2017 ESPY Awards the latter still airs them in the form ...
, known alternatively as the Best Baseball Player ESPY Award, has been presented annually since
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
to the
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...
(MLB) player adjudged to be the best in a given
calendar year
Generally speaking, a calendar year begins on the New Year's Day of the given calendar system and ends on the day before the following New Year's Day, and thus consists of a whole number of days. A year can also be measured by starting on any ...
, typically most significantly in the
MLB season in progress during the holding of the
ESPY Awards ceremony.
Between 1993 and
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
, the award voting panel comprised variously
fans;
sportswriter
Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...
s and
broadcasters, sports
executives, and retired
sportsperson
An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance.
Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-de ...
s, termed collectively ''experts''; and retired
sportsperson
An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance.
Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-de ...
s, but balloting thereafter has been exclusively by fans over the
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a ''internetworking, network of networks'' that consists ...
from amongst choices selected by the ESPN Select Nominating Committee. The award wasn't awarded in
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...
due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
.
List of winners
Through the
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanistan ...
iteration of the ESPY Awards, ceremonies were conducted in February of each year to honor achievements over the previous calendar year; awards presented thereafter are conferred in July and reflect performance from the June previous.
[Because of the rescheduling of the ESPY Awards ceremony, the award presented in ]2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains independence from Indonesia and ...
was given in consideration of performance betwixt February 2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanistan ...
and June 2002.
Player was a member of the winning team in the
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 World Series, 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The ...
.
Player was a member of the losing team in the World Series.
*
Major League Baseball MVPâ€
World Series MVP
The Willie Mays World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award is given to the Major League Baseball (MLB) player deemed to have the most impact on his team's performance in the World Series, which is the final round of the MLB postseason. The awa ...
See also
*
''Players Choice Awards'' Player of the Year (in MLB; for all positions) (there are also Outstanding Player and Outstanding Pitcher awards in each league)
*
''Baseball America'' Major League Player of the Year (in MLB; for all positions)
*
The Sporting News Player of the Year Award
''Sporting News'' Player of the Year Award refers to a set of awards given to the player of the year in various sports as adjudged by ''Sporting News
The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Hold ...
(in MLB; for all positions) (''Sporting News'' also has a Pitcher of the Year award for each league)
*
''The Sporting News'' Most Valuable Player Award (in each league) (''discontinued in 1946'')
*''
Baseball Digest
''Baseball Digest'' is a baseball magazine resource, published in Orlando, Florida by Grandstand Publishing, LLC. It is the longest-running baseball magazine in the United States.
History and profile
It was created by Herbert F. Simons, a sp ...
'' Player of the Year (in MLB; for position players) (from 1969 to 1993, included all positions; in 1994, a separate Pitcher of the Year award was added)
*MLB
GIBBY / This Year in Baseball Awards (in MLB; Hitter of the Year, Starting Pitcher of the Year, Closer of the Year, Setup Man of the Year)
*
Most Valuable Player Award
In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
(in each league; for all positions) (MLB also has the
Cy Young Award
The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Ha ...
for a pitcher in each league)
*
Baseball awards#U.S. major leagues: Awards by organizations other than MLB
*
List of MLB awards
Major League Baseball presents a variety of annual awards and trophies to recognize both its teams and its players. Three team trophies are awarded annually: one each to the National League and American League champions, and one of the champion of ...
Notes
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Best Major League Baseball Player Espy Award
ESPY Awards
Major League Baseball trophies and awards
Baseball most valuable player awards
Most valuable player awards
Awards established in 1993