Reds’ Frazier wins MLB Players Association Players Choice Award for NL’s top rookie – MLB News
Cincinnati Reds’ third baseman Todd Frazier has netted Major League Baseball Players Association Players Choice Award as National League’s outstanding rookie. Faced with competitive rivals like Washington Nationals’ Bryce Harper and Arizona Diamondbacks’ Wade Miley, Frazier won the most votes balloted by league’s players.
Frazier collected the award himself in a ceremony held at the Secaucus, N. J. Studios. From the American League, it was Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout who won the league’s outstanding rookie award.
For Frazier, it was – beyond any shadow of doubt, an extraordinary moment which was to be celebrated accordingly.
"It means a lot. It's the ultimate award, I think, because the players vote," Frazier said. "They understand the game. They understand how hard it is to play, the grind. It's very meaningful to me and I'm happy to receive it."
Frazier’s excellence lay in his versatility and adeptness. While he was assigned different roles throughout the season, his flexibility was most noteworthy.
The fact that he was called only in mid-April made him a somewhat of a late entrant in the season. However, he adjusted quickly and surprisingly proficiently.
In 128 games that Todd Frazier appeared in this year, he held .273 batting average with .498 slugging percentage, hitting a total of 19 home-runs and 67 RBIs.
But what came as the most prominent highlight of his induction in the team was the performance in conspicuous absence of All-Star first baseman Joey Votto. Where Votto was out of the line-up for no less than 47 games, Frazier batted .305; smashing eight homers and 32 RBIs.
The Reds’ players showed remarkable resilience and adaptability throughout the year despite occasional absence of the players due to respective injuries. Frazier’s role, it goes without saying, was most striking – ultimately winning him the Major League Baseball Players Association Players Choice Award as National League’s outstanding rookie.
In the years to come, he does not only seem to be having a mark of his own as infielder/outfielder, but also capable of replacing any player if need arises.
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