Cubs’ Anthony Rizzo wins Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo on Wednesday night received the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award for “inspiring” on-field performance and contributions in the community.

The announcement came during the annual Players Choice Awards show in New York, during which Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve was named MLB’s player of the year for the second consecutive season.

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Rizzo earned the Miller award in a vote of players for his work with the Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation, raising money for research and working with pediatric cancer patients and their families.

Rizzo, a cancer survivor who in 2008 as a Red Sox minor leaguer was diagnosed with Limited Stage Classical Hodgkins’ Lymphoma, also won the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award last month for his foundation’s work, giving him a sweep of baseball’s off-field humanitarian awards.

“Baseball is my passion, but to be able to reach out on a different level than that is something that I’ll never overlook,” Rizzo said after learning of the Clemente award.

The three-time All-Star hit 30 homers for the fourth consecutive season this year for the NL Central Division champions and was a Gold Glove Award finalist (Arizona’s Paul Goldschmidt won the NL Gold Glove at first).

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Email: gwittenmyer@suntimes.com