Milwaukee BBWAA Chapter Team Awards
PRESS RELEASE
The Milwaukee Brewers announced their postseason award winners today as voted by members of the Milwaukee Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA). A total of seven ballots were cast for each award, assigning five points for first place, three for second and one for third.
Catcher Jonathan Lucroy earned Brewers Most Valuable Player with all seven first-place votes (35 points). Lucroy was followed by center fielder Carlos Gomez, who received all of the second-place votes (21 points). Also receiving consideration was pitcher Francisco Rodriguez (3 points), pitcher Wily Peralta (2 points), right fielder Ryan Braun (1 point) and third baseman Aramis Ramirez (1 point).
Lucroy, a first-time All-Star selection this season, batted .301 with 13 HR and 69 RBI in 153 games. He led the team in games played (153), at-bats (585), batting average (.301), hits (176), extra-base hits (68), doubles (53), walks (66), on-base percentage (.373) and OPS (.837). With his franchise-record-tying 53 doubles, he became the first primary catcher to lead his league in that category. His 46 doubles as a catcher set a Major League record.
Jonathan Lucroy (28 points) also earned the Good Guy Award for the second straight season. He received five first-place votes. The other first-place votes went to pitcher Kyle Lohse (13 points). A total of seven players received votes.
Wily Peralta was voted Brewers Most Valuable Pitcher as he received six first-place votes (33 points). He was followed by Francisco Rodriguez (17 points). The other first-place vote went to Mike Fiers (5 points). Also receiving votes were Kyle Lohse (7 points), Will Smith (2 points) and Zach Duke (1 point).
Peralta went 17–11 with a 3.53 ERA in 32 starts. He led the team in wins (17), innings pitched (198.2), quality starts (22) and strikeouts (154). His 17 wins tied for fifth in the National League. Peralta had a pair of career-high five-game winning streaks this season, coming from June 5–26 and July 13 to August 7.
Pitcher Zach Duke (17 points) earned Brewers Top Newcomer ahead of Francisco Rodriguez (15 points). Duke received just one first-place vote, but was named on every ballot. Rodriguez received three first-place votes. The remaining first-place votes went to pitchers Matt Garza (14 points), Will Smith (9 points) and Jeremy Jeffress (6 points).
Duke went 5–1 with a 2.45 ERA in 74 relief appearances. He recorded 74 strikeouts in just 58.2 innings pitched. Duke was the only non-roster pitcher to make the Opening Day roster. From April 12 to May 10, he made 14 consecutive scoreless appearances (13.1ip). From June 22 to July 30, he had 16 consecutive scoreless appearances (14.2ip).
Zach Duke also earned Brewers Unsung Hero honors with four first-place votes (25 points). Also receiving first-place votes were pitchers Mike Fiers (17 points) and Will Smith (11 points) and second baseman Scooter Gennett (6 points). Also named on ballots were pitchers Jeremy Jeffress (3 points) and Yovani Gallardo (1 point).
