I thought it might be a lot closer than it was, but in the end, there was a virtual landslide of votes for Jean Segura. He is therefore anointed as winner of the 2016 AZ SnakePit Most Valuable Player award, ending the streak of three consecutive titles won by Paul Goldschmidt. As we noted in November, it was the best performance in franchise history by a player who was only with Arizona for one season, and led the 2016 Diamondbacks in both bWAR and fWAR. There really isn’t much more to add, which hasn’t already been said. But here are a selection of nuggets about Segura’s year (thanks to the D-backs media department!), and some video highlights
- Set career highs in most offensive categories, including games (153), at-bats (637), runs (102), hits (203), doubles (41), home runs (20), RBI (64), walks (39), average (.319), on-base pct. (.368), slugging pct. (.499) and OPS (.867).
- Was the second player in team history with 200+ hits in a single season (203), joining Luis Gonzalez (206 in 1999).
- Became the third NL player since 2006 with 200+ hits the year following a trade, joining Dee Gordon and Juan Pierre.
- Was the 14th player in Major League history with 200+ hits, 20+ homers and 30+ stolen bases and the first since Jacoby Ellsbury in 2011 (212 hits, 32 HR, 39 SB).
- Named a finalist for a Players Choice Award as NL Comeback Player of the Year
- Ranked among the club’s single-season leaders in at-bats (1st), singles (1st, 135), 3+ hit games (1st), hits (2nd), multi-hit games (T-3rd), average (4th), stolen bases (5th) and doubles (T-10).
- Led the NL in hits and 3+ hit games (24), was tied for second in singles and multi-hit games (57), ranked fifth in average and tied for fifth in stolen bases.
- Among NL leadoff hitters, ranked first in hits (198), tied for first in triples (7), second in total bases (310), tied for second in homers (20), third in RBI (63) and fifth in average (.319).
- Was the first D-back with 30+ hits in 6 different months in a season and the first NL player to do so since Hanley Ramirez and Jimmy Rollins in 2007.
- Was the fourth D-back (fifth time) with 30+ stolen bases in a single season, joining Tony Womack (72 in 1999; 45 in 2000), Eric Byrnes (50 in 2007) and A.J. Pollock (29 in 2015). Paul Goldschmidt would later become the sixth.
- Joined Goldschmidt as the sixth set of teammates in Major League history to each have 20+ homers and 30+ stolen bases in the same season, and first since the Blue Jays’ Jose Cruz and Raul Mondesi in 2001.
- He was the 10th in D-backs history (16th time) to score 100+ runs in a single season, and was the first player with 200+ hits and 100+ runs since Ryan Braun in 2009.
- Logged 8 leadoff homers, 1 shy of Chris Young’s club record in 2007…ranked second in the NL behind Charlie Blackmon (10).
- His 20 home runs out of the leadoff spot were second-most in franchise history (Young, 21 in 2007).
- Recorded 4 multi-homer games, 1 shy of the Major League record by a leadoff hitter.
- Hit .333 (161-for-484) vs. right-handed pitching, the fifth-best mark in the Majors.
- Batted .325 (107-for-329) @ Chase Field, the fourth-highest home average in the NL.
- Tallied 93 hits during the second half, the highest total in franchise history…his 110 hits during the first half were tied for fourth-most in club history.
- Hit .353 (48-for-136) with 13 doubles, 1 triple and 8 homers during the first inning.
- Became the eighth player all-time to hit a leadoff homer and later hit an inside-the-park homer in the same game on April 7 vs. Cubs (source: SABR & STATS LLC).
- His 37 hits in April were tied for the second most in club history (also: Orlando Hudson in 2007), behind Paul Goldschmidt’s 40 in 2014.
- Reached base safely in a career-high 20-straight games from April 21-May 23.
- Matched the franchise record with 8 runs in the series vs. Rockies from June 24-26 (also: Gonzalez, Aug. 3-6, 2002 @ Mets).
- Matched a career high with 3 stolen bases on Aug. 19 @ Padres. Also recorded 5 hits, making him the second player in team history and the 13th in NL history to record 5+ hits and 3+ stolen bases in a single game (also: Craig Counsell on Aug, 7, 2005 vs. Rockies).
- Hit leadoff home runs and had multiple homers in back-to-back games from Sept. 13-14. He was the first player in club history to hit leadoff homers in consecutive games and the third to have multiple home runs in back-to-back games, joining Reggie Sanders (April 20-21, 2001) and Tony Clark (Sept. 16-17, 2005).
- Is 1 of 5 leadoff hitters since 1913 to hit 2+ homers in back-to-back games, joining Mookie Betts (May 31-June 1, 2016), Alfonso Soriano (May 16-17, 2008), Brian Giles (Aug 11-12, 2007) and Lou Brock (April 15-16, 1967).
- With 3 hits with 2 homers on Sept. 13, and 5 hits with 2 homers Sept. 14, joined Alfonso Soriano (May 6-7, 2007) and Tony Lazzeri (May 23-24, 1936) as the only second basemen to record 3+ hits and 2+ homers in consecutive games [source: Elias Sports Bureau].
The sheer enthusiasm for the game which Segura rediscovered this year in Arizona, was both infectious and obvious. While the reasons for his departure do make sense, he's still going to be missed in 2017, and his production at second base will be very difficult for anyone to replace. Of all the one-season wonders in Diamondbacks' history, few will have been as fondly remembered as the Jean Genie, and his victory in this category is richly deserved. So long, Segura, and thanks for all the hits.