Seattle Mariners 2016 Player of the Year: Robinson Cano
By Matt Veasey
The Seattle Mariners finished in second place in the American League West Division, and their veteran second baseman was the club’s Player of the Year.
The Seattle Mariners finished in second place in the American League West Division for the 2016 season with a record of 86-76, a ten game improvement over their 2015 campaign.
Nelson Cruz bashed 43 home runs as the DH to pace the club’s offense, while third baseman Kyle Seager banged 30 homers, knocked in 99 runs, and was a Gold Glove Award finalist.
On the mound Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma continued to lead the rotation, while first Steve Cishek and by the end rookie Edwin Diaz shined out of the bullpen.
Cano is the Mariners Player of the Year
But the Seattle Mariners 2016 Player of the Year was the club’s veteran second baseman Robinson Cano.
Cano was in his third season with the Mariners in 2016 after the former New York Yankees star signed a 10-year free agent contract back in December 2013.
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In 715 plate appearances over 161 games, Cano hit for a .298/.350/.533 slash line with 39 home runs, 103 RBI, 107 runs scored, and 33 doubles.
A two-time AL Gold Glove Award winner, Cano was a finalist for the honors once again this season, but was beaten out by Detroit Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler.
Cano was also an American League All-Star for the second time in a Mariners uniform, the 7th time in his career that he took part in the Mid-Summer Classic.
Turning 34 years of age just last month, Cano will be paid $24 million per season for each of the next seven years. That will take him through his age 40 season.
Last week, Jake Mailhot at SB Nation’s “Lookout Landing” featured Cano, highlighting one of the big reasons that he was able to succeed this past season, his ability to beat defensive shifts.
"“Not only is there an almost 50 point difference in BABIP when facing a shift, he’s doing more damage with those hits. Out of the four players above, he’s the only one who is hitting the ball to the opposite field more often when facing a shift. Robbie is an incredible hitter who has enough bat control to execute his plan at the plate more often than not.”"
As Nathaniel Reeves at Outside Pitch noted, “The 34-year-old ranked second among individuals at second base with 6.0 WAR, trailing only MVP candidate Jose Altuve.”
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Robinson Cano has been incredibly durable, staying healthy over the full season in each year of the past decade. He missed the month of July back in 2006, and has missed nothing of note since.
Moving forward he is sure to remain a driving force as the club tries to push to an AL West Division crown. But for now, Robinson Cano was the 2016 Seattle Mariners Player of the Year.