Named after the great Maine and Waikiki outfielder, the Mitchell Award rewards the player who is the top hitter in the league.

This year's award goes to....

Prince Fielder, Rowdy

Prince Fielder was the unanimous selection for the Mitchell Award in 2012. Fielder was an easy choice, leading the league in OBP (.417), Slugging (.646), Runs (132), RBI (134), Home Runs (53) and Extra Base Hits (91). He finished 5th in Batting Average (.314), 9th in Hits (187) and 2nd in Walks (127). The win is the first Mitchell Award for the Rowdy/Carolina franchise.

Fielder was first selected in the 2004 draft by Vancouver in the 3rd round of the Supplemental Draft. Vancouver couldn't keep him and Westwood ended up drafting him in the 2005 draft, again in the Supplemental Round - this time round 6. Once again, Fielder was let go and re-drafted by Vancouver in 2006. This time he would stick. He was taken in the 3rd round (40 overall). Fielder spent the year in the minors. In 2007, he made the opening roster for Vancouver, but was traded midway through the season to South Boston for pitcher Chris Carpenter. South Boston moved to Blue Ridge the following season. Prince would have his breakout season in 2008 with the Bombers, hitting .282 with 44 homers and 123 RBIs. He struggled a bit in 2009 and was traded in 2010 to Carolina for Carlos Zambrano and 3 first round picks. Unfortunately for the Mudcats, Fielder struggled in the North Carolina heat. Finally, in 2012, after moving to Rowdy, the club's patience paid off and Fielder had his best season and won the Mitchell.

Hoboken's Jose Bautista (.404 OBP/.569 SLG, 50 HR, 121 RBI) came in second in the Award's race after coming in third last season. Marietta's Mike Napoli came in third and Amityville's Matt Kemp ended up in fourth. Last season's Mitchell winner, Joey Votto, came in fifth.

Points are scored as follows: 10 points for a first place vote, 7 for second, 5 for third, 3 for fourth, 2 for fifth and 1 for sixth.

The all-time winners of the Mitchell Award: