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09/14/2005 5:26 PM ET
Players honor each other
By EMILY M. HUDDELL / MLBPLAYERS.com
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Albert Pujols watches as Mark Grudzielanek votes for the Players Choice Awards. (Elsa/Getty Images)
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Players across the country are casting their votes this week for the 2005 Players Choice Awards.
Balloting was conducted at ballparks Tuesday and Wednesday by the accounting firm of KPMG for each league's outstanding player, pitcher, rookie and comeback player.
Additionally, players were asked to select an overall outstanding player and to choose from the six finalists for the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award, which goes to the player in either league whose on-field performance and contributions to his community inspire others to higher levels of achievement.
"People respect what their peers think," Nationals catcher Brian Schneider said. "It means more to the guys to get selected by your peers and the people you play against."
Schneider, who submitted his ballot Tuesday at Shea Stadium, said players pay close attention to the awards given out by fellow players.
"We're voting for our fellow friends and guys we play against, and it's our votes that matter," Schneider said. "They don't get lost in the shuffle."
Though the majority of Players Choice Award recipients are selected exclusively by the players themselves, there is one exception: the six finalists for the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award were chosen last week by fans through online voting on MLBPLAYERS.com, MLB.com and the club Web sites.
This year the fans tabbed Todd Helton, Derek Jeter, Andruw Jones, Albert Pujols, Mike Sweeney, and Barry Zito as the finalists from their respective divisions.
Schneider noted that he based his decision for the Marvin Miller Award on hands-on community involvement.
"Sometimes it's not so much about how much money they give away; it's about the things they do off the field," Schneider said. "I look for someone who donates his time off the field for charities and people in need."
The Players Choice Award winners will be announced after the season. Each winner will designate a charity to receive a grant from the Players Trust, a not-for-profit foundation created and administered by the players, in an amount ranging from $20,000 to $50,000.
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