Nellie Fox Award 2023 – by G. Scott Thomas

Nellie Fox was one of the top second basemen in the American League during the 1950s. He led the Chicago White Sox to an unexpected league title in 1959, winning the Most Valuable Player Award in the process.

Fox’s most notable skill was his ability to put the bat on the ball. He hardly ever took a third strike. He struck out just 216 times in 9,232 at-bats, which translated to a contact rate of .977. (Contact rate, which is abbreviated as CT, is the share of at-bats that did not end in strikeouts.)

No postwar ballplayer in the Hall of Fame could come close to Fox’s contact rate, so it’s unsurprising that everybody in the free-swinging 21st century falls short. Yet there are a few batters who still demonstrate an ability to avoid strikeouts, a skill that is recognized by my annual Nellie Fox Award.

Luis Arraez, the amazing hitting machine who won back-to-back batting titles in the American League in 2022 and the National League this season, topped the majors in 2023 with a .941 contact rate.

Arraez won the National League’s Fox Award, while the .882 CT for left fielder Steven Kwan of the Cleveland Guardians secured the honor in the American League.

Listed below are the 15 batters who made at least 502 plate appearances and finished with the highest contact rates in each league.

Follow these links for the previously announced 2023 awards named for Ted Williams, Lou Gehrig, and Babe Ruth.

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• 1. Steven Kwan, Guardians, .882

• 2. Jose Ramirez, Guardians, .881

• 3. Alex Bregman, Astros, .860

• 4. Masataka Yoshida, Red Sox, .849

• 5. Andrew Benintendi, White Sox, .842

• 6. Kyle Tucker, Astros, .840

• 7. Marcus Semien, Rangers, .836

• 7. Gleyber Torres, Yankees, .836

• 9. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays, .834

• 10. Alex Verdugo, Red Sox, .830

• 11. Adley Rutschman, Orioles, .828

• 12. Yandy Diaz, Rays, .821

• 13. Corey Seager, Rangers, .816

• 14. Whit Merrifield, Blue Jays, .815

• 15. Bobby Witt, Royals, .811

• 1. Luis Arraez, Marlins, .941

• 2. Jeff McNeil, Mets, .889

• 2. Keibert Ruiz, Nationals, .889

• 4. Ronald Acuna Jr., Braves, .869

• 5. Nico Hoerner, Cubs, .866

• 6. Alec Bohm, Phillies, .832

• 7. Bryson Stott, Phillies, .829

• 8. Dominic Smith, Nationals, .827

• 9. Cody Bellinger, Cubs, .826

• 10. Tommy Edman, Cardinals, .825

• 11. Ozzie Albies, Braves, .820

• 11. Nolan Arenado, Cardinals, .820

• 13. Mark Canha, Mets-Brewers, .818

• 14. Mookie Betts, Dodgers, .817

• 15. TJ Friedl, Reds, .816