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MARVIN MILLER
MAN OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
CURTIS
GRANDERSON
Curtis Granderson, already a three-time recipient of the Marvin Miller Man of the Year award, including last year, is a positive and energetic presence in the clubhouse and the community. Granderson brings a warm, engaging attitude and commitment to hard work that inspires his teammates as well as in the lives he touches through his Grand Kids Foundation. Granderson’s foundation encourages positive youth development via education, physical fitness and nutrition - providing tools and resources for educational and societal advancement.
CC SABATHIA
Working through his PitCCh In Foundation alongside his mother Margie and his wife Amber, CC Sabathia has become the same type of inspirational leader in the community as he’s been in the clubhouse over his 19-year career. Established in 2008, the PitCCh In Foundation has provided Sabathia, his family and a dedicated team of professional staff and volunteers a platform to instill young people with a belief in their abilities. In his final big-league season, Sabathia made it a priority to visit Boys and Girls Clubs in each of the cities he visited when
playing on the road.
MIKE TROUT
Since 2016, Mike Trout has been an ambassador for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County, using his platform to educate the community about the value of the organization's one-to-one mentoring programs. His role is to enhance recruitment efforts through social media advocacy, marketing and fundraising. Trout has also made monetary and equipment donations to his hometown Millville Thunderbolt Club, which supports Millville (NJ) High School athletic programs.
2019 Players Choice Awards Marvin Miller
Man of the Year Finalists
Curtis Granderson, CC Sabathia, and Mike Trout are top vote recipients
NEW YORK, Oct. 18 – CC Sabathia, Curtis Granderson and Mike Trout were selected by their fellow players as finalists for the 2019 Marvin Miller Man of the Year in appreciation of their inspirational leadership on the field and in the community.
Marvin Miller, for whom the award is named, served as the Major League Baseball Players Association’s first full-time executive director, from 1966 through 1982, and guided its emergence as one of the country’s strongest and most cohesive labor unions.
In balloting for the Marvin Miller Award, players are asked to vote for the player they “most respect based on his leadership on the field and in the community.” Recent winners include Anthony Rizzo (2017), Granderson (2009, 2016, 2018), Adam Jones (2015), Clayton Kershaw (2014) and Mariano Rivera (2013).
The Players Choice Awards are held in high regard by players because the winners are selected in balloting among players. In addition to the Marvin Miller Man of the Year and the Player of the Year awards, whose winners are selected in voting across both leagues, players in each league choose their outstanding players, pitchers and rookies as well as comeback players.
The winners of the Marvin Miller Man of the Year and Player of the Year awards each receive
a $50,000 grant from the Major League Baseball Players Trust to direct to charities of their choice. Winners of the eight league-wide awards receive grants of $20,000 each.
All told, the 2019 Players Choice Award winners will designate charities to receive grants totaling $260,000 from the Major League Baseball Players Trust. Since 1992, the Players Trust has recognized the outstanding on-and off-field performances of Players Choice Awards winners by contributing more than $5 million to charities around the world.
Through their collective charity, players pool resources to support efforts that provide hope, sustainability and lasting change around the world. Players direct grants to the wide range of causes they support – from disaster relief to health and human services to growing baseball in the United States and abroad.
Players Choice Awards voting was conducted in mid-September by the accounting firm KPMG. Winners will be announced next week.
About the Major League Baseball Players Trust
Through the Players Trust, Major Leaguers contribute their time, money and celebrity to call attention to important causes. Each year the Players Trust distributes more than $1.5 million in annual grants and programs. For additional information, please visit www.PlayersTrust.org, @MLBPlayersTrust.