Justin Upton wins Tiger of the Year award

Justin Upton is a Tiger no more, but he did more for the Tigers than any other player while he was here. The All-Star outfielder, traded to the Angels with a month to go in the season, was voted Tiger of the Year by members of the Detroit chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Upton became the first player ever to win the award without finishing the season with the team. BBWAA members have been voting for Tiger of the Year since 1965. He received 15 of 26 first-place votes. Nicholas Castellanos received seven first-place votes, with Michael Fulmer and Ian Kinsler receiving two each.

The fact that the Tiger of the Year was gone by year’s end is a reflection of the team’s midseason rebuilding. The last three Tiger of the Year winners were traded this year, including reigning winner Justin Verlander and 2015 Tiger of the Year J.D. Martinez.

For Upton, though, the award reflects the turnaround season he enjoyed after struggling for much of his first year in Detroit, and the effort he put in to try to keep the Tigers in contention before the flurry of midsummer trades.

Upton batted .279 with 37 doubles, 28 home runs, 94 RBIs and a .904 OPS in 125 games with the Tigers before he was traded to the Angels on Aug. 31. He ended up leading the team in all of those categories except RBIs, where he finished second to Castellanos’ 101-RBI campaign.

Moreover, Upton’s 5.2 Wins Above Replacement with Detroit was more than twice that of the next-highest finisher, Kinsler (2.1 WAR). Alex Avila, who was traded to the Cubs on July 31, was the only other Tiger to top a 2.0 WAR.

Upton won a Silver Slugger award this week and was a Gold Glove finalist. He’ll receive a trophy for his Tiger of the Year at some point next season, likely when the Angels visit Comerica Park for a four-game series May 28–31.