Luke Scott Named 2010 Most Valuable Oriole

The Orioles today announced that Luke Scott has been voted winner of the 2010 Louis M. Hatter Most Valuable Oriole Award by members of the local media who cover the team on a regular basis. He will be recognized for his accomplishments in an on-field ceremony prior to tonight's game against the Detroit Tigers. Entering tonight's game Scott, 32, was 6th in the American League in slugging percentage (.538) and on-base plus slugging (.904) and was 14th in the league in home runs with a career-high and team-leading 27. He also leads the Orioles in slugging percentage and ranks second on the club in RBI (71). Scott has hit at least 20 home runs in each of his three seasons with the Orioles, tallying 75 homers over the span. The total ranks sixth-most in franchise history for home runs hit in a player's first three seasons with Baltimore. Over his last 105 games since May 8, Scott has batted .309 (112-363) with 24 home runs and 63 RBI to raise his average from .177 to .285. He had an 11-game hitting streak from June 27-July 26, over which he batted .462 (18-39) and earned his third career AL Player of the Week honor for the week ending July 25. The designated hitter also ranked 10th in the American League with a 1.024 OPS in May. Scott was acquired by the Orioles in a five-player trade with the Houston Astros for Miguel Tejada on December 12, 2007. He was a ninth round selection by the Cleveland Indians out of Oklahoma State University in the 2001 First Year Player Draft and spent two seasons in the Indians organization before being traded to the Astros prior to the 2004 season. The Most Valuable Oriole Award is named in honor of the late Lou Hatter, a former sportswriter for the Baltimore Sun who covered the Orioles for 27 years. Balloting for the Most Valuable Oriole Award is conducted with voting on a 5-3-1 basis. Nick Markakis and Ty Wigginton also received first place votes. Jeremy Guthrie finished second and Markakis third in the voting. Adam Jones was the only other player to receive votes on the ballot. Earlier this week, Buck Showalter was named Favorite New Oriole for 2010 by members of the Oriole Advocates, the non-profit organization that assists the Orioles in numerous public and community relations functions and is dedicated to promoting the game of baseball at both the amateur and professional levels.