Aside from the free agent signings and blockbuster trades, the most exciting thing to happen every year during the baseball offseason is the announcements of individual awards voted on by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. On Monday, the winners of the American League and National League Rookie of the Year awards were revealed. In my opinion, both winners absolutely deserved the awards, although the National League winner might be slightly controversial in some peoples’ minds.
The National League winner was right-handed pitcher, Jose Fernandez, of the Miami Marlins who finished in last place in the National League East. He finished the year with a 12-6 record, but easily could have had more wins if he received more run support from his offense. His earned run average was an incredible 2.19 and he struck out 187 batters throughout the season. Fernandez earned 26 out of a possible 30 first place votes from a panel of BBWAA members.
Finishing in second place was Los Angeles Dodgers’ outfielder Yasiel Puig. Puig received four first place votes from the panel, but a SportsNation poll on ESPN.com reflected a different point of view. Although Puig lost out to Fernandez in the vote that mattered, 53% of fans in the poll said that Puig was their National League rookie of the year. Who can blame them? Puig put together an exceptional season and helped a struggling Dodgers team make an incredible run to the postseason.
Contrary to Fernandez winning the award from a last place team, the American League winner came from a team that earned a spot in the postseason.
Tampa Bay Rays’ right fielder, Wil Myers, earned some new hardware for his mantel by receiving 23 first place votes from the panel. Myers was called up from the minor leagues on June 18th and he didn’t look back.
He finished the year with a .293 batting average, 13 home runs, and 53 runs batted in against a tough array of major league pitching.
It seemed that every time I watching a Rays highlight during the year, Myers was either driving in a key run, extending an inning, or making a veteran-like play in the outfield.
In my mind, the only other player you could make a case for was the Detroit Tigers’ shortstop, Jose Iglesias. He finished the ballot in second place by receiving five first place votes.
Rays’ pitcher Chris Archer and Daniel Straily from the Oakland Athletics also received one first place vote. Straily was an early favorite for the award in many peoples’ minds, and he didn’t disappoint this season. He finished the year with solid rookie numbers, including 10 wins and 124 strikeouts.
When the announcements were made Monday evening, I definitely thought that justice was served and the deserving players ended up with the hardware. Myers helped his team reach the players in an extremely tough American League East division, and Fernandez will definitely serve as a bright spot for the Miami Marlins to build a team around. 2013 was a great year for rookie performances and we can only hope that the 2014 season will bring much of the same from the league’s young talent.