2012 has not been a bad year for Adam Eaton:
- Starting center fielder for the PCL All-Star game
- Named to the PCL Post-Season All-Star team
- PCL Rookie of the Year
- And now, named as the leagues Most Valuable Player, based on voting by the 16 managers and reporters.
He is the 76th player awarded the honor - the PCL has been around for longer than your probably think, having been founded in 1903. The first MVP, however, wasn't given out until 1927, when Lefty O'Doul was honored. Others to receive it include Hall of Famers Joe DiMaggio and Tony Perez, as well as Sandy Alomar, Tino Martinez, Tim Salmon and Paul Konerko. However, it should perhaps also be noted that the only Diamondback to receive the award prior to Eaton, was Andy Green, who didn't exactly set the major leagues on fire during his 140 games there.
Eaton is hitting .379 with the Aces this season, which is the best batting average in the PCL, by 28 points over team-mate Ryan Wheeler. Including his two-week stint in Double-A Mobile at the start of the year, he is hitting .373, the best batting average among all minor leaguers with 300+ plate-appearances this season. Maybe we'll be seeing him at Chase by the time the team comes back to Arizona...