ARLINGTON, Texas • Forgive Jose Bautista if he found an ingredient of cruelty in accepting an award at a World Series game. He wouldn't call it "rubbing it in," but clearly he would have preferred to be elsewhere.
"I try to help my team win games," Bautista said. "The reason we want to win games is to make it to the playoffs and to try to win the World Series. I definitely wish I was one of those guys that is getting dressed right now and be able to step on the field here in a little bit."
Instead, the Toronto Blue Jays outfielder and his National League counterpart, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp, were dressed in coat and ties, receiving the Hank Aaron Award on Monday before Game 5 of the World Series at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.
The Hank Aaron Award was created in 1999 to recognize the best hitter in each league. The honorees are chosen through a combination of fan votes and a selection committee of Hall of Fame players. Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols has received the award twice, in 2003 and 2009.
The Blue Jays didn't come close to extending their season, finishing with an 81-81 record and finishing 16 games behind the Yankees in the American League East. The Dodgers also were outside looking in at the postseason, concluding the schedule at 82-79, 11½ back in the NL West.
The Aaron award helped ease the pain for both players.
"It's a great honor," said Kemp, like Aaron, an African-American. "Mr. Hank Aaron was somebody who paved the way for guys like me, and he's definitely been a great part of baseball on and off the field. He's just a true hero to a lot of people around the world.
"To follow in his footsteps and to receive this award is great, and I'm very blessed to be here. My family is here, and this is a pretty big day for us."
The recognition is a repeat for Bautisa. He batted .302 with a .447 on-base percentage and a league-leading .608 slugging average. He led the AL in home runs (43) for the second consecutive season, led the league in walks (132) and intentional walks (24), and collected 103 RBIs.
He became the first player since Babe Ruth in 1930 to collect 40 or more homers, 130 or more walks and steal nine or more bases. Bautista also quashed theories he might be a one-trick pony.
The 31-year-old Dominican Republic native had a stunning, breakout in 2010, winning his first Hank Aaron Award. He led the AL with 54 homers and had 124 RBIs last year. Before 2010, he had six seasons in the major leagues, with five different uniforms, and had never collected more than 16 homers or 63 RBIs.
His transformation from a spray hitter to slugging pull hitter actually began in 2009. Playing regularly for the first time in Toronto, he had 10 homers and 21 RBIs over the final 30 games of the season. Thus, Bautista has 107 homers in his last 340 games. But he dismissed a question about certification.
"More satisfying to me was just to be able to get on the field and be out there with my teammates and contribute on a daily basis to try to help the team win games," Bautista said. "It's not really my goal to prove anybody wrong, or to come out and show the critics wrong.
"To me the most important thing is helping my team win games, and I'm glad that I was able to do that this year."
Collecting his first Aaron award, the 27-year-old Kemp paced the NL with 39 homers and 126 RBIs. The righthand-hitting center fielder contended for a Triple Crown, finishing third in batting with a .324 mark. New York infielder Jose Reyes led the NL with a .337 average.
The last NL player to earn a Triple Crown - lead the circuit in homers, RBIs and batting average - was Cardinals outfielder Joe Medwick in 1937. "Muscles" combined league-leading totals of 31 homers, 154 RBIs and .374 average that season.
Like Bautista, Kemp wanted to be on the field in Arlington instead of at a news conference.
"Your goal is to make it to the playoffs and to get a chance to make it to the World Series," Kemp said. "Unfortunately our team wasn't as good as some of these other teams that made the playoffs this year. But you want to showcase your talents. It was just one of those years that didn't happen. There's always next year."
