NEW YORK, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- After taking the major leagues by storm and
captivating two nations, Japanese sensation Ichiro Suzuki fittingly has become only the second rookie to win a Most Valuable Player Award.
In a close election for the American League honor, the leadoff hitter who ignited the Seattle Mariners offense and won a Gold Glove for his play in right field beat Oakland Athletics slugger Jason Giambi, last year's winner, by eight points.
Suzuki received 11-of-28 first-place votes and 289 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
Giambi had eight first-place votes and 281 points.
The first Japanese position player to earn a spot on a major league roster, Suzuki joins 1975 American League winner Fred Lynn of the Boston Red Sox as the only players voted MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same season.
The eight-point differential tied for the sixth tightest election in the 70-year history of American League voting. It equaled that of the 1995 vote when Boston first baseman Mo Vaughn defeated Cleveland Indians outfielder Albert Belle.
Second baseman Brett Boone, Suzuki's teammate, had seven first-place votes and finished third with 259 points.
Second baseman Roberto Alomar of the Indians received the other two first-place votes and was fourth with 165 points followed by teammate Juan Gonzalez.
At age 28 and with seven batting titles in the Japanese League, Suzuki said he was a "little embarrassed" to win rookie honors after being presented with that award last week. However, he
should make no apologies for winning the MVP.
A seven-time batting champion in Japan, Suzuki
led the AL in batting average (.350), hits (242), stolen bases (56) and was second in runs scored (127).
Suzuki's 242 hits -- the most by any player in 71 years -- broke Shoeless Joe Jackson's AL rookie record of 233 for the Cleveland Indians in 1911. He led the majors with a .350 batting average and 56 stolen bases and ranked second in the league with 127 runs.
Put in the unenviable position of having to help offset the loss of superstar Alex Rodriguez, all Suzuki did was help lead Seattle to the most wins (116) in the history of the game. He batted a major league-best .445 with runners in scoring
position.
On the day he legally can begin negotiations with any other team as a free agent, Giambi will have to settle for being the close runnerup to Suzuki.
The 30-year-old Giambi was attempting to become the first back-to-back MVP since Frank Thomas of the Chicago White Sox in 1993 and 1994.
The first baseman enjoyed another dominant season for the wild card champions, batting .342 with 39 homers and 120 RBI. He led the AL in walks (129), on-base percentage (.477) and doubles (47) and was tied for the league lead in extra-base hits with
87.
Also a free agent, Boone picked the right time to have a career year, hitting .331 with 37 homers and a league-high 141 RBI. He helped replace the punch that Seattle lost when Rodriguez left
via free agency last December.
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