Hank Aaron Award: Cron mashes way to best offensive season and into Rockies' record books

The Hank Aaron Award, named after the man who surpassed Babe Ruth’s home run record and still has more RBI and All-Star Game appearances than any other, is given to the best hitter in each league. In the second year of the award in 2000, Todd Helton was awarded the prize. It remains the only one bestowed upon a Rockies slugger.

Todd Helton Award for Best Hitter

C.J. Cron

For the first time since 2014, the Colorado Rockies did not feature a player with 30 home runs in a non-shortened season. Ironically, the power was more dispersed as nine different players slugged at least 10 homers, tied for most in a single season with 2014.

Brendan Rodgers burst onto the scene with 15 long balls and 51 RBI. Batting at the top of the lineup with a slash line of .284/.328/.470, he became the latest in a growing line of second baseman for the organization to hit as many dingers, joining Ryan McMahon (24 in 2019) and DJ LeMahieu (15 in 2018). 

McMahon recorded his second season of 20-plus home runs and 80-plus runs batted in. Despite launching more than half of his 23 dingers in the first two months, he was a threat in the middle of the lineup all year long with consistent RBI-totals through the second-half.

Even though Trevor Story had his worst production at the plate since his sophomore season in 2017, he was still in the top 5 of National League shortstops in home runs (24), runs scored (75), stolen bases (20) and OPS (.801).

Firmly entrenched at the heart of the Rockies lineup was the man who made it all work even when the offense struggled to score runs. Christopher John Cron. 

C.J. Cron was signed to a minor league deal at the start of Spring Training and given an opportunity to prove he could be an every day player after a left knee sprain derailed his 2020 season with Detroit, his fourth team in as many years.

He won the job at first base and played better defense than was expected, but it was his bat that earned him the accolades. Sure, much of his damage at the plate occurred in a single month. A lower back strain in May sapped typical counting stats like home runs and runs batted in, yet he was able to rebound in June and July to provide what would ultimately be season-long averages in those two category.

Then the dogs days of summer proved to be most prosperous for Cron, who eventually signed a two-year extension with the Rockies worth $15 million that will keep him with the club until after the 2023 season.

In a three-game series against the Miami Marlins, he recorded 13 RBI to tie Hall of Famer Larry Walker’s franchise mark from 1999. Going one step further, Cron became the first Major Leaguer since RBI became an official statistic in 1920 to log at least eight runs and 13 RBI in a three-game set.

Cron posted a slash line of .387/.463/.828 in August with 18 runs scored, 36 hits, eight doubles, 11 home runs and 34 RBI over 26 games to take home the NL Player of the Month Award. He became only the 11th player in team history to win the award, a feat that should not be taken lightly. 

Consider the names of the 10 prior Rockies who’ve been honored. It’s likely the first 10 you think of when it comes to outstanding offense: Andrés Galarraga, Dante Bichette, Ellis Burks, Larry Walker, Todd Helton, Matt Holliday, Troy Tulowitzki, Carlos González, Nolan Arenado and Charlie Blackmon. 

Now you can add Cron to that legendary list. 

For a player who’s had to change his address every season since 2017, Cron found stability on a club that has needed the same from the position since 2016.

The absence of such production at first base in previous seasons is what made his contributions so valuable during 2021. Over the last three years, Rockies first basemen were worth -3.1 WAR, according to FanGraphs. Even going back another two years to 2016 following the end of Justin Morneau’s tenure with the club, the results aren’t much better.

Cron’s 34 RBI in August were the most by any player in any month in MLB this season, not to mention the most by a player in purple for a month since Nolan Arenado drove home 36 in August 2016.

Oddly enough, filling the empty shoes of a perennial MVP candidate in the middle of Colorado’s lineup may not have seemed fair to thrust upon Cron, but he did well to stabilize the squad and is the winner of the Todd Helton Award for 2021.