Already an all-star and gold glover, Pine Bluff, AR native Torii Hunter has been named 1 of 9 American League recipients of the Silver Slugger Award, as announced Thursday. He is the first Arkansas-born baseball player to win the award, which has been around since 1980.

Hunter, 35, had an excellent season. He appeared in only 115 games, but hit 22 homeruns, drove in 90 and hit .299, a career high. He also played 9 postseason games with the Los Angeles Angels, going 9 for 33 at the plate.

Hunter is also expected to receive some votes for the AL MVP award, announced November 23rd, but is not expected to win. Hunter is also a nominee for Defensive player of the year in the This Year in Baseball Awards.

For the 9th year in a row, Torii Hunter has been awarded a Rawlings Gold Glove, as announced on Tuesday. His is now only the 7th player in Major League Baseball History to win at least 9 Gold Gloves for outstanding defense in the outfield.

Total, Hunter made only 1 error in 977.1 innings played in 2009. His .997 fielding percentage tied for the best among center fielders this season.

Even though Hunter has collected a closet full of Gold Gloves in his 13-year Major League career, he still has a long way to go if he were to catch fellow Arkansan Brooks Robinson, who won 16 Gold Gloves in his career. Altogether, 35 Gold Gloves have been won by an Arkansas-born player between 7 players.

Cliff Lee started the first game of the 2009 World Series on Wednesday for the Philadelphia Phillies, and in doing so became the first Arkansan in 61 years, as well as the 4th in history, to make a Game 1 start.

Lee, a native of Benton, AR, joins Lon Warneke, johnny Sain and Hall of Famer Dizzy Dean as the only Arkansas-born players to start Game 1 of a World Series. Schoolboy Rowe, though born in Waco Texas, grew up in El Dorado, AR and started the 1935 World Series against Warneke.

Lee pitched excellently in his start, holding the New York Yankees to only 1 unearned run over 9 innings. In addition, he struck out 10 and walked none. Amazingly, all 4 Arkansas-born players to make a Game 1 start have pitched a complete game, going 4-0 with only 3 runs between them, good for an 0.75 ERA.

Ryan Franklin was announced as the winner of The Sporting News Reliever of the Year award on Friday. The Fort Smith native is the first Arkansas-born player to the award, which has been around since 2001, or the TSN Fireman of the Year award, which was given out for 40 years between 1960 and 2000.

Franklin had an excellent season, but struggled towards the end of his 2009 campaign. He finished the year 4-3 with a 1.92 ERA and 38 saves, 3rd best in the National League. Franklin allowed 13 runs all season, but 7 of them came in September. In addition, he went 0-1 and surrendered 2 runs in 2 playoff games.

Franklin’s season could be considered the greatest season ever for a reliever from Arkansas. He broke the single season record for saves by an Arkansas, a mark that was previously held by Ellis Kinder, who saved 27 games in 1953.

The 2009 season is over for 7 of the 9 Arkansas-born players in the Major Leagues. But for Cliff Lee and A.J. Burnett, the season continues. Both will play in the upcoming World Series, beginning Wednesday.

Lee, a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, will start Game 1 of the World Series. The Benton, AR native is participating in his first postseason after going 14-13 during the regular season. In three playoff starts, Lee is 2-0 with a 0.74 ERA.

joining the New York Yankees in the WS will be North Little Rock product A.J. Burnett. He pitched 12.1 innings in the League Championship and allowed 8 runs. Before that, Burnett pitched 6 innings on 1 run in the Division Series. He will likely pitch either Game 2 or Game 3.

Fellow Arkansans Ryan Franklin and Torii Hunter also competed in the postseason, but did not make it to the October Classic.

It took 13 days, but Brent Dlugach made his MLB debut with the Detroit Tigers Sunday night. He pinch-ran for DH Aubrey Huff in the 8th inning of the Tigers’ 7-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Dlugach then scored on Brandon Inge’s single, but did not get to field or bat.

Dlugach, a native of Fort Smith, AR, was called up to the Tigers on September 1st. He is the 149th Arkansas-born player to make it to the major leagues and the 3rd this season, joining Drew Sutton of the Cincinnati Reds and Graig Gentry of the Texas Rangers.

Dlugach, 26, spent the first 5 months of the season with the Toledo Mudhens of the International League. He hit .294 with 9 homeruns in 125 games, earning him a place on the IL Post-Season all-star team.

Los Angeles Angels outfielder and Pine Bluff, AR native Torii Hunter was honored as the 2009 Branch Rickey Award recipient, as announced on Thursday. He is the first Arkansan to when the award, which has been around since 1991.

The Branch Rickey Award is given annually to the player who makes a positive impact in their community. Hunter has made multiple contributions, especially in Pine Bluff, among other places. In addition to donating $500K to the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Hunter is providing college scholarships to students in Pine Bluff and other cities.

Hunter is also a nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, which will be announced later this year.

Fort Smith, AR native Ryan Franklin was named August’s best reliever Wednesday when he was awarded the Delivery Man of the Month award. He went 11 for 11 in save opportunities with a 0.00 ERA in 11 innings pitched.

The league leader in saves, Franklin is having what is likely the best season ever for a reliever from Arkansas. His 37 saves is a single season record among Arkansans. In addition, his 1.67 ERA is the best of any reliever with at least 50 innings pitched this season.

Needless to say, Franklin is the first Arkansas-born player to win the award, which has been around since 2005.

Van Buren, AR native Craig Gentry made his MLB debut Sunday with the Texas Rangers, going 0 for 1. He became the 148th Arkansas-born player to play in the big leagues and the second this season, joining Drew Sutton of the Cincinnati Reds.

Gentry replaced Marlon Byrd at center field in the 7th inning of the Rangers’ 0-7 loss to Baltimore. The first Oriole batter that inning flew out to center, Gentry’s first putout. His first major league at-bat came the next inning when grounded out to third.

Another September call-up from Arkansas, Brent Dlugach, has yet to make his debut for the Detroit Tigers.

Craig Gentry, an Arkansas native, was called up to the Texas Rangers’ major league roster Tuesday as part of September’s expanded rosters. He is expected to make his MLB debut some time this month, and when he does so, he will be the 3rd Arkansas-born player to debut this season.

Gentry, 25, was born in Van Buren, AR. He later went on to play at with the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith. With AA Frisco this season, he hit .303 with 8 homeruns and a league-best 49 stolen bases in 127 games. The center fielder played 10 games with Texas during spring training and went 5 for 12.

Depending on when Detroit Tigers player and fellow Arkansan Brent Dlugach debuts, Gentry will be either the 148th or 149th Arkansas-born play to make it to the majors.