He received 22 of the 28 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers Association of America and 358 points. Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers was second with 262 points and five first-place votes. Toronto’s Jose Bautista received the other first-place vote and finished fourth. New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano was third.
The 29-year-old Hamilton added another chapter to his well-chronicled rise from the depths of substance-abuse issues by leading the AL in batting (.359), slugging percentage (.633) and on-base plus slugging (1.042). He is the first Rangers player to win the award since Alex Rodriguez in 2003. Other previous Texas winners are Juan Gonzalez (twice), Ivan Rodriguez and Jeff Burroughs.
Hamilton missed 24 games in September with bruised ribs after slamming into an outfield wall but, at the time of the injury, the Rangers had an eight-game division lead.
