White Sox: All-time major award winners
By Phil Watson
2020: Jose Abreu, American League MVP
In the shortened 2020 season, Jose Abreu became the first Chicago White Sox player to be named American League MVP in more than 25 years while leading the South Siders to their first postseason appearance since 2008.
Even with the playoff format of 2020 that said “bring us your tired, your poor and your sub-.500 teams yearning to play in October,” the White Sox would have been a wild-card entry regardless. Chicago finished 35-25, tied with the Cleveland Indians for second place in the AL Central one game behind the Minnesota Twins.
Abreu helped power the White Sox surge back into postseason play, leading the American League in RBI for the second straight season with 60, while also topping the AL with 76 hits, 148 total bases and a .617 slugging percentage.
He played in all 60 games, hitting .317/.370/.617 in 262 plate appearances, finishing with 15 doubles and 19 home runs while striking out 59 times and drawing 18 walks. His OPS+ of 166 was the second-best of his career while the slugging percentage was a career-high.