Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN -- The Minnesota Twins announced Tuesday that third baseman/outfielder Michael Cuddyer has been named the 2001 Sherry Robertson Award winner as the Twins' Minor League Player of the Year.

Cuddyer, 22, batted .301 (153-509) with 36 doubles, three triples, 30 home runs and 87 RBIs in 141 games for the Class AA New Britain Rock Cats, helping lead them to an Eastern League co-championship this past season. He also scored 95 runs and drew 75 walks. Cuddyer finished second in the Eastern League in on base percentage (.395) and extra-base hits (69), third in home runs and runs scored, and fourth in doubles and slugging (.560). He was the Twins' Minor League Player of the Week, August 19-25, and was chosen as the Twins' Minor League Player of the Month for June.

Cuddyer was selected to play in the Eastern League All-Star Game, earning the game's MVP honors and was also named to the Eastern League post-season All-Star Team. His contract was selected by the Twins on September 18, and he made his major-league debut on September 23, doubling off Cleveland's Chuck Finley for his first big league hit. He hit .222 (4-18) for the Twins in 8 games following his September call-up.

The 6-foot 2-inch, 202 pound, righthanded hitter was the Twins' first round (9th overall) pick in the June, 1997 free agent draft out of Great Bridge High School in Virginia, where he won Virginia's Player of the Year and Gatorade Player of the Year honors and earned a selection to USA Today's All-Star team in 1997.

The Sherry Robertson Award, named in honor of the Twins' first farm director, was established in 1970 to recognize the Twins top minor league performer each season. Past winners include Butch Wynegar (1974), Kent Hrbek (1981), Gene Larkin (1986), Paul Sorrento (1989), Denny Neagle (1990), Marty Cordova (1992), LaTroy Hawkins (1993 and '94), Javier Valentin (1995), Todd Walker (1996), David Ortiz (1997), Doug Mientkiewicz (1998), Michael Restovich (1999) and John Barnes (2000).