Young Named Miller Man of the Year

Texas rangers utility infielder Micheal Young has been named the 2011 Marvin Miller Man of the Year.

"The award is presented to the player whose on-field and off-field performance most inspires others to higher levels of achievement by displaying as much passion to give back to others as he shows between the lines on the baseball diamond," the Rangers said in a news release.

Young and his wife Christina Barbosa recently founded the Michael Young Family Foundation to support all aspects of children's health. The Foundation held its first event, a celebrity bowling tournament, on September 11 benefiting Wipe Out Kids’ Cancer (WOKC), an organization with which Michael has had a long and active involvement.

More here on Young's philanthropy from the Rangers:

Young hosts WOKC youngsters for Rangers home games each season and serves as the honorary chair of the organization’s annual golf tournament. In 2006, he began the Young Heroes Scholarship Program to provide college scholarships for young adults that have overcome their battles with cancer.  Over 90 scholarships have been awarded to date. Michael created the Michael Young Family Hispanic Scholarship Program in 2010 to award three Hispanic students each year with college scholarships.  He has also been actively involved by donating funds and time to Goodwill of Tarrant County, Trinity River Mission in Dallas, Christ Haven for Children, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Vernon Wells Perfect 10, MLBPA Buses for Baseball and Action Team programs, and the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation.

With this win, Young is just one of three MLB players to win the award twice.  He last won the award in 2008. The only other two-time winners since the award’s inception in 1997 are John Smoltz (2002, 2003) and Jim Thome (2001, 2004).

"The winner is selected by major league players as part of the Players Choice Awards, and is awarded to one individual every season. Players on each of the 30 major league teams nominated one teammate as a candidate for the 2011 Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award, and that list was whittled down to six players by an online vote of fans," the Rangers said.

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Young has also been nominated for Major League Baseball’s Roberto Clemente Award in each of the last three seasons. Young was also previously selected as the recipient of the 2003 Harold McKinney Good Guy Award by the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Young is the only Texas Rangers player to ever win the Miller award.  You shouldn't need another reason to keep Michael Young on your roster ... but if you did, his off the field endeavors are as good as any.

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