NEW YORK -- Fans voting on-line this week will help select the Major League Baseball player whose on-field performance and contributions to his community inspire others to higher levels of achievement. Fan-voting for the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award will be conducted on www.MLBPLAYERS.com, the official website of Major League baseball players, through Sunday, September 11.

The Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award is bestowed annually by Major League players, along with nine other PLAYERS CHOICE AWARDS, to honor the players they believe are the best in the game. Players on each of the thirty Major League teams have nominated one teammate as a candidate for the 2005 Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award.

Fans now may visit MLBPLAYERS.com to select their favorite among the nominees. Six finalists chosen by the fans will appear on the PLAYERS CHOICE AWARDS ballot when all Major Leaguers vote (September 13-14) to select the winner.

Jim Thome of the Philadelphia Phillies received the 2004 Man of the Year Award for his on-field leadership and commitment to charitable causes, including CapCure for Prostate Cancer Awareness, United Way, United Cerebral Palsy and the National Conference for Community and Justice. Past winners of the award named for the legendary baseball union leader have included John Smoltz, Eric Davis, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Paul Molitor.

The 2005 PLAYERS CHOICE AWARDS also honor the outstanding player, rookie, pitcher, and comeback player in each league, as well as the overall Outstanding Player of the Year. Each PLAYERS CHOICE AWARD winner will designate the charity of his choice to receive a grant from the Major League Baseball Players Trust.

The following players were nominated by their teammates for the 2005 Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award: (Visit www.MLBPLAYERS.com to learn more about their community involvement.)

Arizona: Tony Clark; Atlanta: Andruw Jones; Baltimore: Brian Roberts; Boston: Tim Wakefield; Chicago Cubs: Kerry Wood; Chicago White Sox: Aaron Rowland; Cincinnati: Sean Casey; Cleveland: C.C. Sabathia; Colorado: Todd Helton; Detroit: Mike Maroth; Florida: Jeff Conine; Houston: Andy Pettitte; Kansas City: Mike Sweeney; Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: Darin Erstad; Los Angeles Dodgers: Milton Bradley; Milwaukee: Ben Sheets; Minnesota: Jacque Jones; NY Mets: Tom Glavine; NY Yankees: Derek Jeter; Oakland: Barry Zito; Philadelphia: Bobby Abreu; Pittsburgh: Jack Wilson; St. Louis: Albert Pujols; San Diego: Dave Roberts; San Francisco: Mike Matheney; Seattle: Jamie Moyer; Tampa Bay: Toby Hall; Texas: Michael Young; Toronto: Roy Halladay; Washington Nationals: Brad Wilkerson.

The Major League Baseball Players Association (www.MLBPLAYERS.com) is the collective bargaining representative for all professional baseball players of the thirty Major League Baseball teams and serves as the exclusive group licensing agent for commercial and licensing activities involving active Major League baseball players. On behalf of its members, it operates the Players Choice licensing program and Players Choice Awards, which benefit the needy through the Major League Baseball Players Trust, a charitable foundation established and run entirely by Major League baseball players.