My interest in baseball has been mostly casual this year, but as a Yankee fan I can't help but notice the contributions by a few newcomers. Small, Chacon, and Wang (moreso before he got hurt) have made huge contributions to the pitching staff, and Robbie Cano has not played like a rookie.
Is there anyone else on any team having a better rookie season than Aaron Small (9-0)?
Originally posted by too-old-nowMy interest in baseball has been mostly casual this year, but as a Yankee fan I can't help but notice the contributions by a few newcomers. Small, Chacon, and Wang (moreso before he got hurt) have made huge contributions to the pitching staff, and Robbie Cano has not played like a rookie.
Is there anyone else on any team having a better rookie season than Aaron Small (9-0)?
Actually Small has well over 200 innings dating as far back as 1994 so he doesn't qualify. Chacon has also pitched for a few years with the Rockies before being traded to the Yanks so he doesn't qualify either.
Wang has been good, but not as good as Scott Kazmir, Joe Blanton, Gustavo Chacin, or Huston Street plus he doesn't have as many innings as the other rookie starters that have made an impression.
Cano has been the best rookie hitter in the AL, but the field is extremelt slim after him. That's not to take anything away from what he has done because he's been very good (and vital to his team as well).
I'd give it to Chacin or Blanton. It's really a tossup right now. On the other hand, if you asked me who I'd rather have out of the four rookie pitchers I mentioned, I'd have to take Street (who has been phenomenal as a closer) followed by Kazmir. I wonder how many Mets fans are going to rue that Zambrano-Kazmir trade for the next 20 years?
Actually, the best rookie hitter in the AL is Joe Mauer. With the knee issues last year, he actually spent enough time on the DL (and not enough time on the active roster) to stay a rookie another year.
Mauer's not going to win because no one who has a vote outside of Minnesota knows he's still a rookie. Gomez and Shelton are playing on dead teams with no media push, and haven't played as much as the other guys here. Iguchi's fallen off since the first half.
Like every other individual award, how the team finishes is a big factor. Cano will like have the advantage of playing a big spotlight game at the end of the season, and a hit at the right time would get him a lot of extra votes. (Iguchi can only help his team not blow it.)
I think it's probably going to Blanton (plus of being in a race). Really, though, the only way to stay sane about baseball awards is just to be happy when they give it to a really deserving person (even if you don't agree that they're the MOST deserving person), and this year's award is like going to do that - it's gonna be tough to screw it up and give it to someone completely undeserving.
Any of these guys would be fine and easy selections if they were in the NL; either Zach Duke or Ryan Howard are going to take that one, and you're dealing with guys who have only played part of the season.
I'm surprised this didn't already get a mention here. Yesterday, Tony Gwynn Jr collected his first big league hit, a double. 24 years ago to the day, his father collected HIS first hit, also a double. from ESPN.com's game story: Tony Gwynn Jr.
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