Ortiz named TYIB Hitter of the Year

12/15/2005

BOSTON -- Backed by the strength of his latest magical season, David Ortiz continues to pile up accolades and awards. The latest came Thursday, when the Boston masher was selected in an online vote as the top hitter of the year in MLB.com's "This Year in Baseball Awards."
It is the second year in a row Ortiz has nabbed the TYIB as baseball's best hitter.
After finishing second in a tight AL MVP race to Yankees superstar Alex Rodriguez, Ortiz (64,481 votes) had the support of the fans in the TYIB contest, beating out NL MVP Albert Pujols (57,187).
"I cannot imagine a player having a bigger impact on a team than David Ortiz had on ours in 2005," Red Sox president/CEO Larry Lucchino said.
Ortiz has become as feared a hitter as there is in baseball. For the third straight season, Ortiz put up career numbers -- 119 runs, 180 hits, 47 homers, 148 RBIs, 363 total bases, 102 walks and a 1.001 OPS -- across the board.
Even as a designated hitter, his value to his team -- and his negative impact on the opposition -- is blatantly obvious.
"Anybody can go out there and make a play, but not everybody can come and hit a homer to tie a game or win a game or get a big hit in a big situation," said Ortiz during the 2005 season. "That's the toughest part of this game."
MLB.com started the "This Year in Baseball Awards" back in 2002 to give fans the opportunity to express their opinions on the top players, managers and moments from each season. The voting for this year's award began on Oct. 31 and concluded Dec. 9 at midnight ET, and the results were announced live on MLB.com at 1 p.m. ET on Thursday. Awards are presented to winners during pregame, on-field ceremonies early the following season.
As has been the case the entire three years Ortiz has been in Boston, so many of his hits in 2005 wound up being game-breakers.
Ortiz certainly didn't hurt his cause in the voting with the way he finished. Ortiz was at his best in September, hitting .320 with 11 homers and 29 RBIs.

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His 47 homers marked the second-highest total in the prestigious history of the Red Sox, trailing only Jimmie Foxx, who smashed 50 in 1938.
Ortiz's power display was especially impressive when you consider that 19 of those 47 homers either tied the game or put the Red Sox ahead.

Source: http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/