Luis Aparicio Award

Luis Aparicio Award

The Luis Aparicio Award is given annually to honor the Venezuelan player who recorded the best individual performance in Major League Baseball, as voted on by sports journalists in Venezuela.

The Luis Aparicio Award was introduced on October 18, 2004, marking fifty-one years since Luis Aparicio started playing as a professional. As of today, Aparicio has the distinction of being the only Venezuelan ballplayer to have been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

The The Luis Aparicio Award ceremony is held in Maracaibo, Zulia on November 18, before a baseball game hosted by the local team, Águilas del Zulia, to coincide with the annual celebration around the Virgin of Chiquinquirá, one of the many popular representations of the Virgin Mary in Venezuela.

"For me, it's like a huge celebration (wearing number 11), trying to keep his name alive and trying to spread the word of Venezuelan shortstops. I think every kid now — the new generation of shortstops in Venezuela — has to know about Luis Aparicio and everything that he means to us in this game." - Omar Vizquel on ESPNChicago.com (Bruce Levine, 'Omar Vizquel to wear Luis Aparicio's 11', 02/08/2010, Source)

Luis Aparicio Award By Venezuelan Sports Writers \| Luis Aparicio Stats
Year	Venezuelan Player^(Quantity)	Team^(Quantity)	Position^(Quantity)
2004	Johan Santana⁽¹⁾	Minnesota Twins⁽¹⁾	Starting Pitcher⁽¹⁾
2005	Miguel Cabrera⁽¹⁾	Florida Marlins⁽¹⁾	Left Fielder⁽¹⁾
2006	Johan Santana⁽²⁾	Minnesota Twins⁽²⁾	Starting Pitcher⁽²⁾
2007	Magglio Ordonez⁽¹⁾	Detroit Tigers⁽¹⁾	Right Fielder⁽¹⁾
2008	Francisco Rodriguez⁽¹⁾	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim⁽¹⁾	Relief Pitcher⁽¹⁾
2009	Felix Hernandez⁽¹⁾	Seattle Mariners⁽¹⁾	Starting Pitcher⁽³⁾
2010	Carlos Gonzalez⁽¹⁾	Colorado Rockies⁽¹⁾	Outfielder⁽¹⁾
2011	Miguel Cabrera⁽²⁾	Detroit Tigers⁽²⁾	First Base⁽¹⁾
2012	Miguel Cabrera⁽³⁾	Detroit Tigers⁽³⁾	Third Base⁽¹⁾
2013	Not Yet Awarded^(10-2013)	--	--
Year	Venezuelan Player^(Quantity)	Team^(Quantity)	Position^(Quantity)
Luis Aparicio Award

Did you know that Johan Santana was the first pitcher to win the Luis Aparicio Award more than once and did so during both his Cy Young Award winning seasons?

You can easily access every Major League Baseball player born in Venezuela by clicking the link - sort by debut year, final year, city of birth and more.

Do you agree with the choices made by the writers? Disagree? Share your opinions with us about the Luis Aparicio Award winners on Baseball Fever.

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