Fans Can Help Major Leaguers Shine a Light on Community Service During Marvin Miller Man of the Year Voting

Fans to help select 2016 Marvin Miller Man of the Year

NEW YORK, September 13, 2016 /3BL Media/ – Online balloting at www.MLBPlayers.com opened today so fans can select the six finalists for the 2016 Marvin Miller Man of the Year award, which goes to the player whose on-field performance and contributions to his community most inspire others to higher levels of achievement. 

The online voting, in which fans choose a finalist in each division, will continue through midnight, September 18. The finalists will appear on the ballot Tuesday, September 20, when all Major Leaguers vote to select the Players Choice Awards in balloting conducted in clubhouses across the country under the supervision of accounting firm KPMG.

In addition to the Marvin Miller Man of the Year, players will select an overall Player of the Year, as well as the outstanding players, pitchers, rookies and comeback players in their respective leagues. For the second year in a row, the Players will also vote for the Always Game award, which, presented by Majestic, recognizes the Player who – game in and game out – constantly exhibits grit, tenacity, perseverance and hustle; all for the benefit of his teammates and fans.
In 2015 balloting, Adam Jones was recognized by his fellow players as the Marvin Miller Man of the Year.

Past Marvin Miller Man of the Year winners, named for the legendary MLBPA union leader, also include Clayton Kershaw, Mariano Rivera, Chipper Jones, Michael Young, Brandon Inge, Curtis Granderson, Torii Hunter, Albert Pujols, Jim Thome, John Smoltz, Mike Sweeney, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Eric Davis and Paul Molitor.

The 2016 Players Choice Awards winners will receive grants totaling $335,000 from the Players Trust to distribute to charities of their choosing, including $2,500 to all 30 Marvin Miller Man of the Year award nominees. Since the first Players Choice Awards presentations in 1992, the Players Trust has contributed more than $4 million to charities around the world personally selected by the award recipients.

The following players were nominated by their teammates for the 2016 Marvin Miller Man of the Year award:

Arizona Diamondbacks – AJ Pollack; Atlanta Braves – Matt Wisler; Baltimore Orioles – Manny Machado; Boston Red Sox – Brock Holt; Chicago Cubs - Anthony Rizzo; Chicago White Sox – David Robertson; Cincinnati Reds – Michael Lorenzen; Cleveland Indians – Mike Napoli; Colorado Rockies – Carlos Gonzalez; Detroit Tigers – Justin Verlander; Houston Astros – Lance McCullers; Kansas City Royals – Eric Hosmer; Los Angeles Angels – Albert Pujols; Los Angeles Dodgers – Justin Turner; Miami Marlins – Mike Dunn; Milwaukee Brewers – Ryan Braun; Minnesota Twins – Kyle Gibson; New York Mets – Curtis Granderson; New York Yankees – Rob Refsnyder; Oakland Athletics – Stephen Vogt; Philadelphia Phillies – Ryan Howard; Pittsburgh Pirates – Josh Harrison ; San Diego Padres – Jon Jay; San Francisco Giants – Jake Peavy; Seattle Mariners – Nelson Cruz; St. Louis Cardinals – Adam Wainwright; Tampa Bay Rays – Chris Archer; Texas Rangers – Ian Desmond; Toronto Blue Jays – Devon Travis; Washington Nationals – Ryan Zimmerman

About MLBPA 
The Major League Baseball Players Association (www.MLBPLAYERS.com) is the collective bargaining representative for all professional baseball players of the thirty Major League Baseball teams and serves as the exclusive group licensing agent for commercial and licensing activities involving active Major League baseball players. On behalf of its members, it operates the Players Choice licensing program and the Players Choice Awards, which benefit the needy through the Major League Baseball Players Trust (www.PlayersTrust.org), a charitable foundation established and run entirely by Major League baseball players.  Follow: @MLB_Players; @MLBPAClubhouse; @MLBPlayersTrust