Adam Jones named 2011 Most Valuable Oriole

The Orioles today announced that Adam Jones has been voted winner of the 2011 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 season finale against the Boston Red Sox. Entering tonight's game Jones, 26, had set new career-highs in home runs (25), RBI (83), doubles (26) and games played (150) this season. He is tied for the team lead with 14 outfield assists and leads all ML centerfielders in assists. Jones's 400 total chances were the most by an American League outfielder. Jones had a season-high nine-game hitting streak from August 12-21, over which he batted .455 and also hit safely in eight straight from July 30-August 6 (.364). He collected an RBI in seven straight games from June 18-25. Jones' best offensive month came in May, when he batted .343 with a .390 on-base percentage and .534 slugging percentage. He hit safely in 21 of 26 games with an at-bat in that month, including 11 multi-hit games over the span. Acquired by the Orioles on February 8, 2008 from the Seattle Mariners along with George Sherrill, Chris Tillman and two others in exchange for Erik Bedard, Jones was originally selected by the Mariners in the first round (37th overall selection) of the 2003 First Year Player Draft out of Morse High School in San Diego. 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. J.J. Hardy and Matt Wieters also received first place votes. Hardy finished second and Wieters third in the voting. Mark Reynolds, Jim Johnson, Robert Andino and Nick Markakis also received votes. Last week, Hardy was named Favorite New Oriole for 2011 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.