Brantley Named Indians 2014 Hank Aaron Award Nominee

today, on September 29, one day after the 2014 regular season ended, it was announced that for the first time in his career, Michael Brantley is this year's Cleveland Indians nominee for the 16th annual Hank Aaron Award!

photo cropped off Indians.com

the Hank Aaron Award is given to the top offensive player in each league as voted on by fans and, for the 5th year in a row, a special panel of Hall of Fame players. the panel is led by Hank Aaron himself, comprised of a group of Hall of Famers that Aaron selected to help determine the winners. those HOF players include Roberto Alomar, Johnny Bench, Paul Molitor, Eddie Murray, Frank Thomas, and Robin Yount. fans can vote until October 5 at 11:59 pm eastern standard time, and the winners will be presented with their award by Aaron during this year's World Series.

this award started in 1999 to honor the 25th anniversary of Hank Aaron breaking Babe Ruth's all-time home run record. says Aaron, "it is a privilege to have the award that recognizes the most outstanding offensive performer in each league named after me." Commissioner Bud Selig adds, "our game today is fortunate to have so many dynamic players emulating the remarkable example of Hank Aaron."

previous winners of the award are:
Manny Ramirez (with the Indians) and Sammy Sosa (1999)
Carlos Delgado and Todd Helton (2000)
Alex Rodriguez and Barry Bonds (2001 and 2002)
Alex Rodriguez and Albert Pujols (2003)
Manny Ramirez and Barry Bonds (2004)
David Ortiz and Andruw Jones (2005)
Derek Jeter and Ryan Howard (2006)
Alex Rodriguez and Prince Fielder (2007)
Kevin Youkilis and Aramis Ramirez (2008)
Derek Jeter and Albert Pujols (2009)
Jose Bautista and Joey Votto (2010)
Jose Bautista and Matt Kemp (2011)
Miguel Cabrera and Buster Posey (2012)
Miguel Cabrera and Paul Goldschmidt (2013)

Michael's made a hell of a case for the award with all the numbers he put up this season: .327 BA, .385 OBP, .506 SLG, .890 OPS, 200 H, 45 2B, 2 3B, 20 HR, 97 RBI, 94 R, 52 BB, 23 SB, and 56 K. you can vote for Michael up to 10 times a day per web browser. VOTE FOR MICHAEL HERE.

when asked about Michael, Indians General Manager Chris Antonetti had this to say: "he's a complete player, and, we think, is deserving of MVP consideration with the year he had. he was a huge part of our success and we think he's one of the best players in the American League."

congrats on the nomination, Michael, and good luck! =D