Lawton has won multiple awards over his career. He was selected to play in the 1994 Florida State League All-Star Game. He was also selected to play in the MLB All-Star twice, both times as a member of the American League (AL) team (2000, 2004). During the 2000 season, Lawton was named the Minnesota Twins Player of the Year. Some of Lawton's career also proved controversial. After the 2005 season, he received a ten-game suspension by MLB after testing positive to performance-enhancing drugs. Lawton did not appeal the suspension, instead acknowledging his use of the drugs. In a statement to the Associated Press, he apologized to "all those people that let down".