For the first time in its 55-year history, the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year Award will go to a member of the New York Yankees.
The magazine announced Monday that Derek Jeter is the 2009 recipient of the award.
This October, the Yankee captain led the Bronx Bombers to their fifth World Series title since his debut with the franchise in 1996. Jeter hit .334 this season with 18 home runs and 66 RBI. He also stole 30 bases on just 35 attempts. He had stolen just 26 bases over the previous two seasons combined.
His efforts at shortstop earned him his fourth AL Gold Glove Award in six years. He also collected his fourth straight AL Silver Slugger Award to go along with the AL Hank Aaron Award. The Aaron award is given annually to the bet hitter in each league, as voted on by fans and members of the media.
Jeter is the first baseball player to receive the SI SOTY award since the entire Boston Red Sox roster was awarded it in 1004 after winning the franchise's first World Series in 86 years.
Prior to that, Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling shared the award after pitching the Arizona Diamondbacks to their only World Series title in 2001. They defeated Jeter's Yankees in seven games.
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