Member of Dodgers' 2020 Championship Team Wins Big Award

Maren Angus-Coombs | 3 Hours Ago

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Former Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Edwin Rios has been named the recipient of the Louisville Bats' Mary E. Barney MVP Award for the 2024 season.

In his first year with the Cincinnati Reds organization, Rios has been a key player in the middle of the Triple-A Louisville Bats' lineup. Through 95 games, he’s hitting .280 (96-for-343) with 21 home runs, 64 runs batted in, 62 runs scored, and 27 doubles, while drawing 54 walks and slugging .542. 

The Louisville Bats have named Edwin Rios their MVP for the 2024 season.

In 95 games, Rios has hit .280 with 21 homers, 64 RBI’s, 27 doubles, and 54 walks. Rios has a .542 SLG percentage. @LouisvilleBats

— Dusty Baker (@DustyBakerTV) September 19, 2024

He made his debut with the Reds in July, appearing in five games and going 1-for-9. His 21 home runs not only lead the Bats but also tie him for eighth in the International League.

Rios' standout moment of the season came during a series against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp in early September. Across six games from Sept. 3-8, he posted a scorching .440 average (11-for-25) with five home runs, 12 RBIs, six runs scored, three doubles, and eight extra-base hits, adding four walks to the mix.

The magic really happened on Sept. 5, when Rios stepped up in the bottom of the ninth in a tie game, needing a triple to hit for the cycle. He delivered even bigger, launching a walk-off home run to left-center, securing a 6-5 victory for the Bats and capping a 4-for-5 night that included two homers. 

For the first time tonight, the lead is ours!

Edwin Rios delivers with a go-ahead RBI double in the 11th! pic.twitter.com/gvpDy30nEe

— Louisville Bats (@LouisvilleBats) June 6, 2024

The very next evening at Louisville Slugger Field, Rios pulled off another incredible moment. 

Again in the bottom of the ninth of a tie game, he crushed the first pitch he saw for another walk-off homer to nearly the same spot in left-center, sealing a 4-3 win and sparking another wild celebration at home plate.

Rios made a name for himself during the Dodgers' 2020 postseason run, which was shortened due to COVID-19. He played a key role in the National League Championship Series against the Atlanta Braves, hitting two crucial home runs. The Dodgers went on to win the series in seven games and captured their first World Series title since 1988, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays.

However, Rios couldn’t maintain that momentum after the Dodgers decided not to tender him a contract following the 2022 season. Since then, he's struggled to regain his form, managing just a .081 batting average over the past two seasons while playing for both the Chicago Cubs and the Cincinnati Reds.

Rios turned his career around from struggling to hit for contact to being a stable bat in the lineup. He joins a list of former Reds including Joey Votto, Zack Cozart, Devin Mesoraco, and Jason Bourgeois to win the award.