Rookie of the Year Synergy Happens Once Every 3 Decades

Neftali Feliz and Buster Posey won the Rookie of the Year for 2010 and frankly the picks are spot on.

They both had great years, both look like future stars and both sparked their teams to the post season.

Voters made their selection before the post season began, so they had no idea that Feliz’s Rangers and Posey’s Giants were going to meet in the World Series. It was a nice coincidence. And it got me thinking… how often has the Rookie of the Year been awarded to players who faced off against each other in the World Series?

And we here at Sully Baseball can’t just have an idle thought like that.

The Rookie of the Year was first awarded in 1947. Jackie Robinson won it for the NL Champion Dodgers. Alvin Dark won it in 1948 for the NL Champion Braves.

Starting in 1949, both the American League and National League were naming their Rookie of the Year.

And since then, both rookies have faced off three times in the World Series.

1951

WILLIE MAYS – Giants GIL McDOUGALD – Yankees

Gil McDougald of the Yankees played against Willie Mays of the New York Giants. McDougald homered and helped the Yankees win. Mays struggled to a .182 average and no extra base hits.

1981
FERNANDO VALENZUELA – Dodgers DAVE RIGHETTI – Yankees

Dodger ace Fernando Valenzuela took his mania to the World Series against Dave Righetti and the Yankees. The two squared off in Game 3. Ron Cey hit a three run homer off of Righetti who only lasted 2 innings and got a no decision. Bob Watson and Rick Cerone homered off of Valenzuela but he settled down and went all 9 innings for the Series turning win.

2010

BUSTER POSEY – Giants NEFTALI FELIZ – Rangers

Feliz shut down San Francisco in Game 3, giving the Rangers their first World Series victory. But Posey and the Giants had the last laugh. He hit a home run in Game 4 to put the score out of reach and went 2-4 in the Game 5 clincher.

Don’t feel badly for Rookie of the Year, World Series runners up Dave Righetti and Willie Mays. They both had good Octobers this year.

Rags?
He finally got a World Series ring as a coach for the Giants this year.
And Willie?

Well he got to be part of the World Series celebration.

Stay tuned to see if the 2040 American League and National League Rookies of the Year match up.

I have a feeling the Rookie of the Year race will come down to Strasburg and Posey

When I made my award picks at the 1/3 mark, I had Jason Heyward as the NL Rookie of the Year.

And when I my made 1/2 way mark picks just this week, I had Cardinals pitcher Jamie Garcia as the rookie of the year.

And if the season ended today, he should be…

But don’t you get the feeling that Heyward and Garcia are going to be in third place at best when all is said and done?

I am guessing Stephen Strasburg and Buster Posey will be battling this one out.

Stephen Strasburg (whose presence in the All Star Game may have boosted its ratings above “Worst Ever” territory) just kept doing what he does best last night in Florida.

6 shut out innings and 7 strikeouts lowering his ERA to 2.03, giving him a 4.86 strikeout to walk ratio and a WHIP of 1.02. He’s struckout 68 batters in 48 2/3 innings.

And his ERA+ is 203.

Now I confess, I have no clue what ERA+ means, but it sounds good.

Taking stock of the first 1/2 of the season

Back on May 31st, I took a look at the approximate 1/3 point of the season… took a look at who the playoff teams were and the front runners for the post season awards and a few other observations.

It seems like the 1/3 point of the season is absurdly early to evaluate how teams will pan out… but looking over what I wrote, a lot of the same names are the same.

It is interesting that Edwin Jackson was in the running for Biggest Bust in the NL… and when the year is over he very well might be a bust. But he added a no hitter to his resume.

So let’s look at where we stand as we are about to embark in the second half of the 2010 season and compare them to the results at the 1/3 mark.

If the playoffs started today…

AL East Champion New York Yankees
Would have home field advantage over
AL Central Champion White Sox

AL West Champion Texas Rangers
Would have home field advantage over
AL Wild Card Tampa Bay Rays

(The Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers would be within 3 games of a playoff spot.)

NL East Champion Atlanta Braves
Would have home field advantage over the Winner of a
Wild Card Tie Breaker Between
Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Dodgers

NL West Champion San Diego Padres
Would have home field advantage over
NL Central Champion Cincinnati Reds

(At the 1/3 Mark, The Rays had home field over Oakland, the Twins had home field over the Yankees. The Cardinals had home field over the Braves while the Padres still had home field over the Reds)

AL MVP:
JOSH HAMILTON, Rangers
The batting and hits leader is also in the top 4 of OPS, slugging, RBI and home runs. He is a potential triple crown threat.

In the running:
MIGUEL CABRERA, Tigers. JUSTIN MORNEAU, Twins. ROBINSON CANO, Yankees. KEVIN YOUKILIS, Red Sox.

(At the 1/3 mark I had Miguel Cabrera as the MVP.)

NL MVP:
JOEY VOTTO, Reds
The top OPS and home run man in the league, he is also among the league leaders in RBI and is batting .314. Also has led the Reds to a surprising first place position. People know him now after his initial All Star snub.

In the running:
ALBERT PUJOLS, Cardinals. DAVID WRIGHT, Mets. ANDRE ETHIER, Dodgers. ADRIAN GONZALEZ, Padres. RAFAEL FURCAL, Dodgers.

(At the 1/3 mark I had Albert Pujols as the MVP.)

AL CY YOUNG:
DAVID PRICE, Rays
Leads the league in ERA and wins and has the Rays back on track for a trip to October.

In the running:
JON LESTER, Red Sox. CC SABATHIA, Yankees. CLIFF LEE, Mariners/Rangers. FELIX HERNANDEZ, Mariners.

(At the 1/3 mark I had Jon Lester as the Cy Young.)

NL CY YOUNG:

UBALDO JIMENEZ, Rockies

Sure his numbers are not as superhuman as they were a few months ago. But his 15-1 record, 2.20 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and .198 BAA (second in the league) are all eye popping, especially when you consider where his home park is.

In the running:

JOSH JOHNSON, Marlins. ADAM WAINWRIGHT, Cardinals. ROY HALLADAY, Phillies. TIM LINCECUM, Giants.

(At the 1/3 mark I had Ubaldo Jimenez as the Cy Young.)

AL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR:
BRENNAN BOESCH, Tigers
Has helped the Tigers to be in or around first place with a .342 average, 12 homers and an OPS of .990.

In the running:

NEFTALI FELIZ, Rangers. AUSTIN JACKSON, Tigers. MITCH TALBOT, Indians. JOHN JASO, Blue Jays.

(At the 1/3 mark I had Mitch Talbot as the AL Rookie of the Year.)

NL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR:
JAMIE GARCIA, Cardinals
He has put up solid stats including an 8-4 record, a 2.10 ERA and will give the Cardinals about 200 innings when all is said and done.

In the running:
STEPHEN STRASBURG, Nationals. BUSTER POSEY, Giants. GABY SANCHEZ, Marlins. IKE DAVIS, Mets. JASON HEYWARD, Braves.

(At the 1/3 mark I had Jason Heyward as the Rookie of the Year.)

AL MANAGER OF THE YEAR:
OZZIE GUILLEN, White Sox
The White Sox were 8 games under .500 and heading towards a lost season. Guillen stayed focused and next thing you know, the White Sox are in first at the All Star Break and has a pitching staff that can absorb the loss of Jake Peavy.

In the running:
RON WASHINGTON, Rangers. TERRY FRANCONA, Red Sox. JOE MADDON, Rays. JIM LEYLAND, Tigers. MIKE SCIOSCIA, Angels.

(At the 1/3 mark I had Joe Maddon as the Manager of the Year.)

NL MANAGER OF THE YEAR:
DUSTY BAKER, Reds
The Reds were supposed to be also rans who were going to fade in June. Instead they are in first place at the All Star Break and just need to outpace St. Louis in a two team race.

In the running:
BOBBY COX, Braves. JIM TRACY, Rockies. BUD BLACK, Padres.

(At the 1/3 mark I had Dusty Baker as the Manager of the Year.)

AL COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR

VLADIMIR GUERRERO, Rangers
Think the Angels could use his bat right around now? He’s batting .319 with 20 homers and 75 RBI for you old school baseball followers. He’s posting a .919 OPS for you new school kids. And is forming a dynamic 1-2 punch with Josh Hamilton in Arlington.

In the running:
VERNON WELLS, Blue Jays. ALEX RIOS, White Sox. TY WIGGINTON, Orioles.

(At the 1/3 mark I had Vernon Wells as the Comeback Player of the Year.)

NL COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR
TIM HUDSON, Braves
He spent most of 2009 recovering from Tommy John surgery and having people wonder if the one time ace of the A’s was done. Instead he became an All Star with a 9-4 record at the break, a 2.30 ERA and a 61/43 strikeout to walk ratio.

In the running:
SCOTT ROLEN, Reds. LIVAN HERNANDEZ, Nationals. CARLOS SILVA, Cubs. BARRY ZITO, Giants.

BIGGEST BUST IN THE AL:
MILTON BRADLEY, Mariners
When the Mariners brought in Cliff Lee to be a 1-2 punch for the pennant with King Felix, someone thought that Bradley would somehow be the center piece to the offense. He’s been nothing short of a PR disaster, had to leave the team and his OPS is 1/3 lower than it was in 2008, his lone full season of note.

In the running:
JOSH BECKETT, Red Sox. JOBA CHAMBERLAIN, Yankees. CHONE FIGGINS, Mariners.

(At the 1/3 mark I had Josh Beckett as the biggest bust in the AL)

BIGGEST BUST IN THE NL
CARLOS ZAMBRANO, Cubs
The nominal ace of the Cubs had to get his head straight as a middle reliever. Then his dugout tirade made him suspended from the club. The Cubs would deal him for a flat can of Diet 7 Up.

In the running:
AKI IWAMURA, Pirates. ARAMIS RAMIREZ, Cubs. MARK DeROSA, Giants.

So let’s start the second half up…
And I’ll check in around Labor Day. Hopefully there will be more Red Sox in these categories (except Biggest Bust.)