A season's worth of walk-off highlights has paid off in the end for Andre Ethier.
The fans have voted Ethier as the recipient of the 2009 Major League Baseball Clutch Performer of the Year. The award honors the person who performed the best with the game on the line.
There was never any doubt.
He led the majors in walk-off hits with six, including four home runs. The four home runs tied a record set by Jimmy Foxx of the Red Sox in 1940 and Roy Sievers of the Washington Senators in 1957.
To say the least, it's obviously a huge accomplishment to tie a record that hasn't been touched for over 50 years. Equally as impressive is the list of names he beat for this award: Albert Pujols, Mariano Rivera, Prince Fielder, Joe Mauer, and Tim Lincecum. Wow.
The month of June was big for Ethier, as he got three of his six walk-offs. He beat the Phillies in consecutive days on June 5 and 6 with a double and homer, respectively. On June 29, a two-run homer beat the Rockies.
In the postseason, he continued to swing a big bat. He ended with a .355 average, three doubles, a triple, three homers, and six RBIs. He did most of his damage in the Division Series against the Cardinals, going 6-for-12.
On the season, he set career highs pretty much across the board: 162 hits, 92 runs, 31 homers, 106 RBIs, 72 walks, and 160 games played.
It's good to see the people who voted for this award give Ethier the credit he deserves. Going up against such powerful names, it's probable that he is the least popular of them all. But, he also had the type of season that will soon change all of that. To the people who voted, I salute you for a job well done.
Combined with Matt Kemp, both players will continue to be the nucleus of the Dodgers' offensive attack for years to come, so Dodger fans should feel very comfortable about that. With both players still under 30-years-old, the best is yet to come.
Congrats, Andre, for quite the memorable season!
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