Bryce Harper wins Hank Aaron Award

An offseason that figures to end with an overfilled trophy case began for Bryce Harper this evening with the Nationals slugger capturing the Hank Aaron Award, honoring the National League's best offensive performer. The 23-year-old secured the hardware following a breakout season that included the majors' best on-base percentage (.460), slugging percentage (.649) and OPS (1.109).

Harper lost out on an NL batting crown to Miami's Dee Gordon on the final day of the season, finishing as runner-up with a lofty .330 average. He smacked 42 homers, tied for tops in the league, and drove in 99 runs.

"At age 22, Bryce enjoyed great success, posting numbers that put him in the company of some of our game's all-time greats," said Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred.

In his fourth season in the majors, Harper added discipline to his approach at the plate. He broke a Nationals record with 124 walks and scored a league-high 118 runs. Harper's maturity in the batter's box helped him hit 58 points higher than his career average entering the season.

Harper won the NL's Player of the Month in May and was named league Player of the Week three times during the season. His fireworks show in May included a stretch that began with a three-homer game followed by a two-homer game and ending with a walk-off shot. He smashed 13 longballs and drove in 28 runs while batting .360 over the torrid month.

At 22 years, 335 days old, Harper also became the sixth-youngest player in major league history to hit 40 home runs in a season, behind Mel Ott (1929; 20 years, 203 days) and Mathews, (1953; 21 years, 316 days), Johnny Bench (1970; 22 years, 249 days), Joe DiMaggio (1937; 22 years, 285 days) and Juan Gonzalez (1992; 22 years, 331 days).

Harper was named a Gold Glove finalist for the first time in his career on Thursday and is the favorite to win a the NL Most Valuable Player award when it is announced on Nov. 19.

Toronto's Josh Donaldson won the Hank Aaron Award for the American League.