He won't be winning it alone, though, not in his mind anyway.
"I really played this whole season for my grandfather. He has been sick this whole season," said the 22-year-old Hoes, who was the Orioles' third-round pick out of Mitchellville, Md., in 2008. "He passed away in August, and I played the whole season for him."
Charles E. Hoes, a retired bio-lab technician born in Germantown, died Aug. 16 at age 78 from
"My dad called me and said, 'No, turn around and go home, the funeral is gonna be in the next two weeks,'" Hoes recalled.
Hoes said his grandfather really loved and understood baseball and would call to give him advice, even when the man was struggling to survive as the debilitating disease robbed him of his vitality.
"It really took over his body really fast. One minute he was walking around and then the next time I saw him he is in a wheelchair and the next time I saw him he was on bed rest," Hoes said. "It was definitely very tough, when you see somebody who was just so strong his whole life. He was pretty much that figure that you looked up to as the strong man. I never saw my grandfather cry or anything like that, but once he was one the bed rest, it was definitely hard to handle."
Hoes' grandfather last saw him play in 2011 when he was with Double-A Bowie. This year, Charles Hoes had been bedridden since March while his grandson had the best year of his young career, hitting a combined .287 with a .374 on-base percentage, five homers and 20 steals at Bowie and Norfolk. For most of his time in Triple-A he was the youngest position player in the
"I knew [my grandfather] wouldn't have had an opportunity to see me play this year unless I played [on TV] in the big leagues, so I played this whole season trying to get up here so he'd have an opportunity to see me play," said Hoes, who was called up Sept. 11. "Luckily, I got up here, but it was a couple weeks after he had passed away. But this has definitely meant a lot, me being called up, and I if do win that award it will be for him."
Hoes has yet to make his debut for the Orioles. When he does, he will be the first Maryland-born position player to play for the team since Cal Ripken Jr.
Left-hander Randy Wolf, who started Saturday's extra-inning victory in Boston, is dealing with left elbow discomfort and will have a
Orioles manager
The 36-year-old Wolf, whom the Orioles signed Aug. 31 after he was waived by the
Around the horn
Infielder
Baltimore Sun reporter Eduardo A. Encina contributed to this article.