Santander on MVO: "It's such an honor to receive this award"

His season ended in early September due to a right oblique strain and it wasn't long after that the Orioles were straining to score runs. They miss outfielder Anthony Santander, who today was named the 2020 Most Valuable Oriole.

The Orioles do not release results of the voting by local media that cover the team on a regular basis, but in a year with several worthy contenders, Santander is the winner. He finished the year batting .261/.315/.575 with 13 doubles, one triple, 11 homers, 24 runs and 32 RBIs along with an OPS of .890 in 37 games.

"It's such an honor to receive this award," Santander said during a Zoom interview through team interpreter Ramón Alarcón. "I'm very thankful for those that voted for me. That took me into consideration. I think it's all part of a big competition among everybody. But very thankful for this opportunity."

On Aug. 23, at the end of an 18-game hitting streak, Santander was batting .287 with a .994 OPS. But he went 7-for-38 (.184) over his last nine games, lowering those final numbers. But at the time of his injury, he led the American League in extra-base hits and ranked tied for second in doubles, third in total bases, tied for third in RBIs, sixth in slugging and tied for sixth in homers.

The 25-year-old switch-hitter from Margarita, Venezuela, became an Oriole in the Rule 5 draft in December 2016. The O's selected him from the Cleveland Indians organization after he tore it up that season in the Single-A Carolina League. Injuries made it such that his Rule 5 status carried into the 2018 season, and just last year, he began to realize his vast potential.

This season, he was among the top sluggers in the game for much of the year.

"It's definitely been a long road," Santander said. "It's been a long journey. I'm very thankful for this opportunity and very happy for this award. It is amazing to be here and to really know the results I was getting after so much work and so many sacrifices. It's been all worth it.

"I feel very happy for the teammates that I have. I'm blessed in that regard. I do believe that if we get along pretty well outside of the ballpark, we're going to get along pretty well also inside of the ballpark. I think it builds up chemistry and it builds up a good team environment. So just very blessed to have the teammates I have."

Santander has put more balls in play this year and that no doubt has been a plus for his bat. A strikeout rate of 21.2 in 2019 was reduced to 15.2 this year. Among O's with 100 plate appearances, only Hanser Alberto and José Iglesias struck out at a lesser rate.

"I think it's part of the hard work that you put it," Santander said. "Usually, power hitters tend to strike out a lot. So whenever I'm behind in the count and I have two strikes, I try to simplify my approach and not do too much with it. Take advantage of what is given to me and just go with the pitch. I think it's part of the hard work that you put in."

Even after missing games, Santander still leads this team in extra-base hits, slugging percentage and RBIs. According to Statcast, his 47 hard-hit balls (95 mph and up exit velocity) are tied for second-most on the club. Now he gets ready for an offseason where he looks to continue to round out his game.

"For the first time in my career, I'm going to stay in Florida and train and work out," he said. "Unfortunately I can't go home right away. So I'll concentrate on that. On working on body, working on my approach for the next season."

His last game was Sept. 4 and he won't play this weekend against Toronto, but Santander's oblique is healing nicely.

"I think I'm improving every day, slowly but surely," he said. "Taking it one day at a time. Definitely feels so much better now. Just continue to follow my treatments so I can be ready for the next season."