SBNation 2007 MLB Awards: Rookie of the Year

by Randy Booth on Nov 5, 2007 10:30 AM EST in SBNation Awards

Major League Baseball has their annual awards and so does SportsBlogs Nation. At the end of the season, every SBNation blogger casted a vote for every category. I voted and so did Allen.

The results are tallied and today we present the American League Rookie of the Year award. The winner is everyone's favorite scrappy player, Boston Red Sox Dustin Pedroia:

Here is how the voting broke down:

American League	1st	2nd	3rd	Points
Dustin Pedroia	15	4	-	87
Jeremy Guthrie	1	6	2	25
Brian Bannister	2	2	4	20
Daisuke Matsuzaka	-	3	5	14
Reggie Willits	1	1	1	9
Delmon Young	-	1	3	6
Hideki Okajima	-	1	1	4
Rafael Perez	-	1	1	4
Travis Buck	-	-	1	1
Rafael Perez	-	-	1	1

Glad to see Pedroia winning the award. I know both myself and Allen voted for him for first place. However, I'm kind of shocked that Hideki Okajima placed so low. Yeah, he is a reliever but he was really dominant this year. He was one of the best set-up men in all of baseball.

National League Rookie of the Year results are out, also. The winner in the NL is the slugging third baseman for the Brewers Ryan Braun. It wasn't as clear cut a victory for Braun as it was for Pedroia, but he still got the votes necessary. Here's how it broke down:

National League	1st	2nd	3rd	Points
Ryan Braun	13	6	2	85
Troy Tulowitzki	7	9	3	65
Hunter Pence	-	4	9	21
Kevin Kouzmanoff	1	-	-	5
James Loney	-	1	1	4
Micah Owings	-	1	1	4
Chris Young	-	-	2	2
Yovani Gallardo	-	-	2	2
Tim Lincecum	-	-	1	1

It'll be interesting to see how Braun hits next year. There's a good crop of young players in the NL that all could have won previous NL Rookie of the Year awards.

Agree or disagree with the voting? What do you have to say?

0 recs | Comment 14 comments

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Comments

Re: SBNation 2007 MLB Awards: Rookie of the Year

I think Tulo was NL RoY.
Delmon Young didn't get as much support as I thought he would.
The low placing of Rafael Perez is surprising as Oki's is.
A first-place vote for Kouzmanoff? Eh...no. Similarly, I'm not sure what medication one needs to be on to see Reggie Willits as deserving of a first-place vote over either DP or Guthrie.
Owings got an "inning-bonus" over Gallardo and Lincecum. Maybe the hitting had something to do with it too.

by Allen Chace on Nov 5, 2007 10:39 AM EST 0 recs

Re: SBNation 2007 MLB Awards: Rookie of the Year

Willits had a higher OBP than Pedroia (.391 to .380), stole 27 bases (CS 8), and played all three outfield positions. Overall he was 11th in the league in OBP, despite hitting only .293; a sign of Youkilisian patience and batting talent. I can see why people might vote for him.

That said, he hit 0 home runs. He played in LF and RF for much of the year, positions where one would expect more slugging. Pedroia's production is quite valuable for a second baseman.

by 0157H7 on Nov 5, 2007 4:20 PM EST up 0 recs

Re: SBNation 2007 MLB Awards: Rookie of the Year

I just don't see where he was, overall, more impressive to anyone vs. Guthrie and DP. If Willits weren't a bit overextended in CF, he'd look better.

by Allen Chace on Nov 5, 2007 4:33 PM EST up 0 recs

It will be interesting

to see what becomes of these rookies in 08. I see Guthrie and Bannister falling off, Pedroia consolidating, and Young improving further.

Bottom 9th B:1 S:0 O:0 With Bill Mueller batting, Dave Roberts steals (1) 2nd base.

by britsoxfan on Nov 5, 2007 10:59 AM EST 0 recs

Re: It will be interesting

I think the worst thing we may say about Guthrie in the future is that he's "useful". On the flipside, he struck out many more than Bannister and walked about the same in about ten more innings. BABIP of .272 is still a bit on the lucky side. 200 IP of 4.15-4.5 ERA-ball with right around 50 BBs isn't a disaster.

Bannister's fall could be significant (like, near 5.00 ERA significant) He benefited from a lucky-.262 BABIP last season, and isn't terrific at striking hitters out.

Pedroia could experience at least a mild sophomore slump.

Delmon Young, I think, will be much better.

My guess is Reggie Willits quite simply won't see as much PT as he did this season, though I don't think he's a terrible bet to keep up his level of success.

by Allen Chace on Nov 5, 2007 5:16 PM EST up 0 recs

Re: It will be interesting

Yup, Bannister is probably due for the biggest fall. Nice analysis.

Bottom 9th B:1 S:0 O:0 With Bill Mueller batting, Dave Roberts steals (1) 2nd base.

by britsoxfan on Nov 6, 2007 3:53 AM EST up 0 recs

Re: SBNation 2007 MLB Awards: Rookie of the Year

lol @ willits getting a 1st place vote.

by Matzushocka on Nov 5, 2007 11:07 AM EST 0 recs

Re: SBNation 2007 MLB Awards: Rookie of the Year

No insights, just stoked that Lil' Pedro got it. Hopefully it turns out that way for the real deal, too.

Jon Sagara
DPfRoY!

by Jon Sagara on Nov 5, 2007 12:14 PM EST 0 recs

Re: SBNation 2007 MLB Awards: Rookie of the Year

I'm shocked that Chris B. Young didn't receive more votes.

"You know you're having a bad day when the fifth inning rolls around and they drag the warning track." - Mike Flanagan, Baltimore Orioles pitcher, 1992.

by SoxDevil on Nov 5, 2007 1:20 PM EST 0 recs

Re: SBNation 2007 MLB Awards: Rookie of the Year

Scrappy was head and shoulders above the rest of the AL rookies this year. As for the NL, I could have seen either Braun or Tulo getting it, though Tulo would have been my choice, in part because Braun is the worst fielding player I've ever seen keep his position for a year. He really needs to move to the outfield or DH in the AL.

I also think Chris Young should have been third.