Baseball news over the past few weeks has mostly centered around the bidding for a Johan Santana trade, the Mitchell steroids inquiry and allegations of usage against Roger “the Rocket” Clemens, Barry Bonds,  Andy Pettitte and others as well as the baseball pundits regarding the Hall of Fame Class of 2008. 

Boston slugger David “Big Papi” Ortiz, one of Santana’s closest friends  recently indicated to the media that he “doesn’t think Boston will make a deal for the pitcher.”

Meanwhile, new Yankees boss Hank Steinbrenner, upon returning to his office after the holidays and working on a possible deal, is quoted by NY Daily News sports writer Anthony McCarron as saying;

“I think the Twins realize our offer is the best one,” Steinbrenner said Wednesday in a telephone interview. “I feel confident they’re not going to trade him before checking with us one last time and I think they think we’ve already made the best offer.”

Steinbrenner said the offer “does not include two of the three young pitchers” - Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, from a group that also includes untouchable Joba Chamberlain - “but it’s still the best one. And let’s face it, we’re the best able to handle the kind of contract (extension) Santana will be after.”

Steinbrenner would not divulge the Yanks’ offer, but multiple reports have pegged it as Hughes, outfielder Melky Cabrera, pitching prospect Jeff Marquez and another prospect. Santana, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, probably would require a huge extension with his potential new team to waive his no-trade clause. Some reports have said it could be as much as six years for $120 million.

Wow, I can still remember the joint holdouts of Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale in 1966 where they haggled with the Dodgers and ended up with 1 year deals for a total of roughly 1% of the projected of Santana’ projected pay for a single season.  Drysdale probably made more for his TV segments on the Brady Bunch.

Meanwhile, the Yanks senior vice president Steinbrenner has turned thumbs-down on re-signing steroids allegation-besieged Roger Clemens.  NY Daily News sports writer McCarron reports;

“I’m not signing Clemens,” Steinbrenner, the Yankees’ senior vice president, said in a telephone interview yesterday. He said the Yanks are not looking for rotation stopgaps - like they were last season - because they are so enamored of their young starting pitchers. And Steinbrenner feels the Yanks already have a strong mentor to the young arms in Andy Pettitte, whom Steinbrenner praised for his “veteran leadership.

“Andy is (signed) for one year and he’s only 35 and he knows how to pitch in the big games,” Steinbrenner said. “Roger does, too, but let’s face it, he’s going to be 46 (in August).

“Pettitte is just as good with the young pitchers, though Clemens was great with the young kids last year. I don’t think Roger is going to come back anyway.”

Hmmm, Clemens not signed for 2008?  How would “the Rocket” look in red pinstripes?  Perhaps mentoring young lefty ace Cole Hamels and spot starting instead of Adam Eaton and his nuclear mushroom ERA?  But, alas, I don’t think that the Phillies have $28M for a handful of starts.

And speaking of HGH and other steroids, I’m just bored to tears with all of the Mitchell investigations’ machinations regarding Clemens and the others.  Aside from tangently mentioning the HGH/steroids issue here, this blog steers clear of all such steriods discussion and conjecture and sticks to MLB purism.

Personally, I’d rather see a few certain “too tired” political leaders shot up with steroids — it might endow them with some strong backbone.

And here are some of the Hall of Fame 2008 class of candidates.  We once again find lefthanded starter Tommy John, imposing reliever Goose Gossage, outfielders Jim Rice, slugger Mark McGwire, Andre “the Hawk” Dawson, pitcher Bert Blyleven, shortstop Dave Concepcion and Dave Parker all vying for the Hall along  with first-time candidates shortstop Shawon Dunston and pitcher Jack Morris, base-stealer extraordinaire Tim Raines and dominant reliever Robb Nen.

Tuesday, January 8 is Hall of Fame selection announcement day.  As always, “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat” should be interesting.

Finally, I’m waiting for the 2008 version of Jimmy Rollins setting the stage announcement that the Phillies are once again the team to beat in the NL East.  See ya Mets, wouldn’t wanna be ya!

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After the upstaging, the opting-out and all of the one-upsmanship, posturing and the circuitous route travelled toward an upcoming 10 year marriage, 3rd baseman Alex Rodriguez and the Yankees finally seem to be walking the isle in easily the most mutually lucrative deal in all of organized professional sports history.

The deal; $275 million for 10 years, plus another $30 million if he cracks  Barry Bonds’ all-time home run record.  But that is just the simple take on the depth and breadth of this deal.

Vince Gennaro, noted MLB consultant, author of “Diamond Dollars: The Economics of Winning in Baseball” and former billion-dollar CEO  provides insightful glimpses behind this deal and it’s structuring.

Gennaro writes;

The true economic value of A-Rod is based on the Yankees’ revenue growth and asset appreciation that we can attribute to him. Economists call this a player’s marginal revenue product, but I’ve expanded it beyond revenue to include the marginal value of the Yankees’ assets – their ownership stake in the YES Network and the value of the franchise.

Rodriguez has two sources of value: performance and marquee. Performance value is determined by the impact of his playing performance on the Yankees’ win total and the resulting financial gains from the team being more successful because of his contribution We derive marquee value from A-Rod’s persona, image and even the more tangible value of drawing fans to watch him chase future personal milestones.

By adding his performance and marquee values for each year, we can assess the full 10-year value of A-Rod to the Yankees and prove why the $275 million salary with the potential for $30 million more in incentives negotiated by Rodriguez made a lot more sense than the $350 million his agent, Scott Boras, originally postulated.

Now, all A-Rod needs to do is to produce, both in the regular season and in the post-season; he’s not exactly been Mr. October, and avoid Bond’s alleged fix with steriods. 

To read the full piece on the dimensions of the A-Rod, Yankees deal, click here.

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Diminutive 5′ 8″ Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins, who walked the walk Big Time to back up the talk — his bold February prediction about the Phillies winning the NL East, was awarded the NL MVP award in a close contest with  Colorado Rockies leftfielder Matt Holliday.

MLB.com’s Ken Mandel provides the voting results and background;

Of the 32 ballots submitted by two writers in each league city, Rollins was listed first on 16, second on seven, third on four, fourth on four and fifth on one for a total of 353 points. Holliday’s breakdown was 11 first-place votes, 18 seconds, one third, one fourth and one sixth for 336 points.

The 17-point differential between Rollins and Holliday made the 2007 election the 20th closest overall and ninth in the NL since the current format was adopted by the BBWAA in 1938.

Rollins gives the Phillies their seventh MVP award, joining  Chuck Klein (1932), Jim Konstanty (1950), Mike Schmidt (1980, 1981, 1986) and Ryan Howard (2006). With Howard, the Phillies become the first club with back-to-back MVPs since San Francisco’s Jeff Kent and Barry Bonds in 2000 and 2001.

Everything Philadelphia accomplished in 2007 focused on Rollins, starting with his January boast that the Phillies were the “team to beat” in the NL East. That disregarded the  Mets, who captured the division the previous season and the  Braves, who won it seemingly every year before that.

Despite taking flack after Philadelphia’s 4-11 season-opening stumble, Rollins remained at the center of the Phillies’ resurgence. He batted .346 (28-for-81) with six homers, 15 RBIs and 15 runs in 18 games against those Mets and started all 162 games at shortstop, playing all but 17 innings. Batting in the leadoff spot for most of the season, he kept the offense churning.

He committed just 11 errors, enough for his first Gold Glove, though his fielding percentage was second to Colorado’s  Troy Tulowitzki.

When closer Brett Myers hurled his glove in the air following a called strike three against Washington’s Wily Mo Pena — securing a 13-4 finish that earned the Phillies their first postseason appearance since 1993 — Rollins’ MVP credentials were cemented.

Rollins became the first player in history to collect at least 200 hits, 25 homers, 15 triples and 25 steals in a season. Overall, the switch-hitter batted .296, with 38 doubles, 20 triples, 30 homers, 94 RBIs, 41 stolen bases, 212 hits and 139 runs scored.

The 139 runs scored and 88 extra-base hits were league records for a shortstop. He also set a Major League record with 716 at-bats, and became the third shortstop in history to have at least 30 homers and 30 stolen bases in a season, after Barry Larkin in 1996 and Alex Rodriguez in 1998.

Holliday, meanwhile, captured the league’s batting and RBI titles, and led the Rockies into the postseason for the first time since 1995. The left fielder was the focal point of the team’s 15-1 run to get there, batting .442 with five homers and 17 RBIs.

Overall, he batted .340, with 50 doubles, 36 homers, 137 RBIs, 216 hits and 120 runs scored. He also led the league in hits, total bases, doubles and extra-base hits.

The statistics only told part of the story. The voters went with the player who backed up a bold prediction. On a team with Howard and Chase Utley, who himself had an MVP campaign despite missing five weeks with a broken hand, Rollins simply was the team’s most valuable.

So now, Rollins adds the most coveted NL MVP award to his other 2007 booty; Golden Glove and Silver Slugger awards.

Milwaukee Brewers slugging first baseman Prince Fielder came in a not- so-distant third in the balloting, despite his huge 50 HRs, 119 RBIS and .288 BA, with five first-place votes and 284 points.

Jimmy, thanks for some great 2007 thrills and memories.  Let’s go in 2008 — Phillies; NL East champs and beyond.  Don’t let up!

*****

Yankees closer Mariano Rivera apparently has accepted the team’s $45 million, 3-year deal pending the standard results of a physical.  The Yankees are the only club Rivera haas played for in his  year career.

AP Sports reporter Ronald Blum notes for Yahoo sports;

Rivera, who turns 38 on Nov. 29, gets an average salary more than $4 million above what any other reliever currently makes.

Rivera was coming off a three-year contract that paid him $31.5 million. He had hoped for an extension before the start of this season, but the Yankees decided not to discuss contract extensions with any of their players until after the 2007 season was over.

“Mariano is obviously someone that we can’t live without because he’s one of a kind and he’s so unique in what he does for us,” Rodriguez said during a conference call after he won the AL MVP award for the third time. “He’s such an unbelievable force in our clubhouse. In many ways he’s kind of the voice for a lot of people in there.”

“I was certainly hopeful,” Steinbrenner said. “It’s a good offer and an offer that was made because I wanted him back.”

***

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While 3rd baseman Alex Rodriguez and the Yankees are apparently dotting the “i’s” and crossing the “t’s” on a new 10-year — $275 million deal to replace the remainder of the $252 million deal which his agent  Scott Boras opted him out of during the World Series,  A-Rod was the decisive winner of the AL MVP.

AP’s Ronald Blum reports on the MVP results for Yahoo sports;

A-Rod won his third AL MVP award Monday, easily defeating  Detroit’s Magglio Ordonez after compiling an astounding season at the plate. Rodriguez received 26 first-place votes and 382 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, while Ordonez had two firsts and 258 points.

There’s not very much one can say about this one;  A-Rod’s 2007 stats speak loudly for themselves; 54 HRs, 156 RBIs, 143 runs scored, .314 batting average, 24 stolen bases.  Although rightfielder Ordonez put up some mighty 2007 numbers; 28 HRs, 139 RBIs, 117 runs scored and a .363 batting average, they didn’t compare with Rodriguez.  Enough said!  The only suspense left is about who will win the NL MVP, Colorado’s leftfielder Matt Holliday or Phillies’ shortstop Jimmy Rollins.  

*****

3rd baseman and World Series MVP Mike Lowell ended his free agency today by apparently  reaching a a three-year, $37.5 million deal with the Red Sox.

If true, Boston will be positioned to try for a repeat with all their key players from 2007.

AP Sports reporter Jimmy Golden notes for Yahoo sports;

In the three weeks since winning their second championship in four seasons, the Red Sox have re-signed their two biggest free agents, Lowell and pitcher Curt Schilling, and picked up options on Tim Wakefield and Julian Tavarez.

Lowell, a 33-year-old third baseman who made $9 million this season, was seeking four guaranteed years and might have gotten it elsewhere.

Lowell hit 21 homers this season while reaching career highs with a .324 average and 120 RBIs.  Lowell moved into the fifth spot in Boston’s powerful lineup behind David Ortiz and  Manny Ramirez.

Lowell batted .400 (6-for-15) during Boston’s four-game Series sweep of the Colorado Rockies, with four RBIs, three walks and a team-high six runs to earn MVP honors.

*****

Veteran lefthander and former free agent Tom Glavine, winner of 303 career games officially bolted the New York Mets to sign a one year, $8 million deal with the Atlanta Braves for what would appear to be the final season of his career.

Glavine spent the first 16 seasons of his 21 year career in Atlanta before jumping to the Mets where he spent the 5 years between 2003-2007 and where his ERA skyrocketed to 4.45 in 2007 in a 13-8 season for the Mets who blew a big NL East division lead to the Phillies over the final weeks of the season.  Glavine got no-decisions in 2 decisive Mets’ losses to the Phils in the last month of the season.

AP Sports Writer Paul Newberry provides background for Yahoo sports;

Atlanta believes the crafty left-hander, who will turn 42 before next season, can help them get back to the playoffs after a two-year hiatus.

“Starting pitching has been our Achilles’ heel. We just didn’t have the depth we had in past years, and we wanted to address that,” new general manager Frank Wren said. “Tommy was our No. 1 target.”

This was an easy one to hit.

After turning down a $13 million option with the Mets for 2008, taking a $3 million buyout, he turned his attention toward the Braves. He gave Atlanta a hometown discount, agreeing to an $8 million, one-year deal that was the lowest he was willing to play for and wasn’t available to anyone else.

The Braves jumped on it quickly, wrapping up the negotiations in less than a week. No one else — not even the Mets — were ever in the mix.

“Sentiment goes a long way,” Braves manager Bobby Cox said, “but we all think Tommy can still win at the major league level. That’s the bottom line.”

Proving you can go home again, Glavine and the Braves got over the bitterness that accompanied their negotiations after the 2002 season.

During his 16-year tenure, Glavine had five 20-win seasons, captured Cy Young Awards in 1991 and ‘98, and helped the Braves win the first 11 of their unprecedented 14 straight division titles. He was MVP of their only World Series championship during the run, pitching eight scoreless [1 hit] innings in the deciding game of a 1995 victory over  Cleveland.

“No place I ever went to as a visiting player was ever as remotely strange as coming here as a visiting player,” Glavine said.

Which is probably why his wife teared up when he tried on his Braves cap and jersey in the training room before the news conference.

And that’s probably why [GM Frank] Wren couldn’t stop smiling when Glavine buttoned up his No. 47 jersey with “Braves” written across the front and modeled the red-and-blue hat with an “A” above the bill.

“Looks good, doesn’t it?” Wren said.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s David O’Brien adds;

Washington and Philadelphia were among a handful of teams that expressed interest in Glavine, though the pitcher told his agent, Gregg Clifton, to let teams know that he wanted to first give the Braves an opportunity to get a deal done before he considered any other offers.

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Major League Baseball announced Thursday that Cleveland’s Eric Wedge and Arizona’s Bob Melvin were selected as their respective league’s managers of the year and that San Diego Padres ace Jake Peavy won the NL Cy Young award.

Being former catchers, possessing identical lifetime .233 batting averages and nearly identical lifetime managerial records, Wedge and Melvin both guided their teams to successful 2007 seasons. 

AP baseball writer Ben Walker writes about the trend toward former catchers becoming managers as well as background and voting results for Yahoo sports;

“There’s been quite the trend,” Wedge said on a conference call. “The catcher has to be aware and knowledgeable of every aspect.”

“It’s a leadership position. That position demands a great amount of passion for your teammates and the game of baseball,” he said.

Wedge and Melvin crossed paths years ago. A month after Colorado took Wedge from Boston in the November 1992 expansion draft, the Red Sox wanted a second-string catcher and signed Melvin as a free agent.

Wedge received 19 of the 28 first-place votes and got 116 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. He finished ahead of a pair of former catchers, the Angels’ Mike Scioscia (62 points) and ex-Yankees manager Joe Torre (61). Terry Francona of the World Series champion Red Sox got 13.

Melvin was chosen on 19 of the 30 first-place ballots and got 119 points. Philadelphia’s Charlie Manuel (76), Colorado’s Clint Hurdle (58), himself a former catcher, and the Cubs’ Lou Piniella (25) followed.

Melvin was honored for his steady hand in leading a team that sometimes started six rookies to a 90-72 mark. Back in the playoffs for the first time since 2002, Arizona swept Chicago in the first round before getting swept by Colorado in the NLCS.

“At the beginning, we were cautiously optimistic. We liked the young group,” Melvin said on a conference call.

The 39-year-old Wedge played 39 games for Boston and Colorado in the early 1990s. He’s done a lot better with the Indians since starting out 68-94 in 2003.

Wedge became the first Cleveland manager to win the AL award, chosen by a wide margin after the Indians and Boston tied for the best record in baseball. Melvin was the first Arizona manager to get the NL prize, picked after leading his young team to the top mark in the league.

Cleveland, under Wedge, won the AL Central Division championship with a 96-66 record, took the New York Yankees by 3 games to 1 in the AL division series and went up 3 games to 1 on the Boston Red Sox before losing the ALCS as Boston pounded them in games 5 through 7. 

Arizona, under Melvin, took the NL Central Division, swept the Chicago Cubs in the NL division series only to be swept themselves in the NLCS by the Colorado Rockies who advanced to the World Series due to a late season tare winning 21 of 22, including 7 straight in NL post-season play.

                   

San Diego’s Jake Peavy was designated as the NL Cy Young award winner  unanimously, being “named first on all 32 of the ballots that were distributed to voting members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.”

MLB.com’s Corey Brock provides stats, background and Peavy’s comments;

“I just feel like that’s the way I’ve got to pitch,” Peavy said this season about being aggressive. “I can’t go out there and pitch to contact. Be aggressive. … That’s the type of pitcher I am. I go as hard as I can for as long as I can and see where the cards fall.”

Peavy led the league in just about every pertinent category in 2007 — victories (19), ERA (2.54), strikeouts (240) and strikeouts per nine innings (9.67). Peavy also started the All-Star Game in July in San Francisco.

Peavy becomes the fourth Padres pitcher to win the Cy Young Award, and the first since Mark Davis won the award in 1989.  Randy Jones (1976) and Gaylord Perry (1978) also captured the award.

The 2007 season certainly represented quite a turnaround for Peavy, who was troubled in 2006 by shoulder tendinitis. He lost 14 games that season, posted a 4.07 ERA and never found a level of comfort when pitching.

But a change in his offseason workout routine allowed Peavy to head to Spring Training with a healthy shoulder. He backed off workouts for his shoulder once the season began and spent a fair amount of time in the trainers room.

Peavy spent part of his conference call on Thursday praising the work of the team training staff.

“Those guys are the backbone of what any player on the San Diego Padres does,” Peavy said. “Those guys see me every day. In-season, we modified the amount of work I did, especially my arm routine and shoulder. I feel very fortunate and blessed to be healthy.”

Peavy bolted to a fast start in 2007, with six scoreless innings in the season opener in April against the Giants. There were few hiccups along the way, as Peavy won nine of his final 12 starts of the regular season with one loss and one no-decision.

“I don’t really feel like I did anything different than in ‘04 and ‘05 other than have better luck and win games,” Peavy said. “Obviously, health plays a factor in everything. It starts in the winter with working out.”

Peavy certainly proved that his success wasn’t just a result of his surroundings at roomy PETCO Park either. In fact, Peavy performed better on the road, posting a 10-1 record with a 2.57 ERA in 15 starts.

Peavy — who allowed one or fewer runs in 18 of his 35 starts in 2007 — is just the fourth player in Major League history to win two ERA titles before the age of 27.

“And when you’re able to do that and throw the ball where you want to … it’s a pretty tough combination.”

Peavy was paid the ultimate compliment by Padres general manager Kevin Towers, who was asked in September what he thought of his team’s chances were in a big game with Peavy on the mound.

“If it’s a deciding game,” Towers said, “there’s nobody in baseball I’d rather have on the mound than Jake Peavy.”

As for 2008, Peavy said he is going to go about his preparation much the same way that he did last offseason and that, in his mind, he still considers himself an unfinished product.

“I’m going to try and mimic everything I did, day in and day out. I’ve got a long ways to go to be who I want to be,” he said.

The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Tom Krasovic reports that a club option in Peavy’s contract would raise his pay for 2009 to $11 million as a result of his winning the Cy Young award.  He further reports that;

Padres CEO Sandy Alderson and Peavy’s agent said the sides have explored terms for a multiyear extension and plan to revisit talks. The deal would run through 2011 and perhaps longer.

Agent Barry Axelrod and Padres General Manager Kevin Towers have discussed dollars and years, and Towers has spoken to Peavy about what it would take to retain him past 2009.

“The Padres have interest in exploring every possibility of keeping Jake here,” Axelrod said yesterday. “I’m an optimist. I’m always an optimist. I think we’ve got a pretty good grip on what we believe Jake’s value to be.”

The Padres, a midrevenue club, control Peavy’s contractual rights through 2009. “It’s not the end of the world if we don’t reach an agreement,” Towers said. “We felt it was at least worth exploring.”

 Axelrod considers Peavy superior to pitchers such as the Cubs’ Carlos Zambrano and the Giants’ Barry Zito, who this year received a five-year, $91.5 million guarantee and a seven-year, $126 million guarantee, respectively.

Don’t expect the Padres to guarantee Peavy the $18.3 million rate Zambrano got from the Cubs, and don’t expect Peavy to insist on it.

               

Finally, in the latest twist in the A-Rod, Scott Boras, Yankees soap opera, 3rd baseman Alex Rodriguez has done an about-face from the opt-out stance which agent Boras publically announced in up-staging the world series.

It now appears that A-Rod is now proclaiming that he wants to remain a Yankee, has upstaged Boras and is now speaking directly with Hank Steinbrenner who has taken over the Yankee ownership helm from father George.

Yahoo sports’ Tim Brown reports;

By Wednesday night, not only were Rodriguez and the Yankees back on speaking terms, but sources said they were close to a deal that would pay Rodriguez a base salary of $275 million over 10 years. The deal will include performance incentives that could increase the value.

AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum adds;

The amount of the guaranteed money was revealed by a person familiar with the negotiations who spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity because the deal hasn’t been finalized. A-Rod met Wednesday in Tampa, Fla., with the Steinbrenner brothers but the parameters of the deal were set in place last weekend.

“Yeah, I could say that,” Yankees senior vice president Hank Steinbrenner said. “The meeting was a final get-together. He wanted to make sure myself and my brother knew that he was sincere and serious.”

The Yankees still must draft the agreement with Rodriguez’s agent, Scott Boras.

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The New York Yankees signed their free agent five-time All Star catcher  Jorge Posada for four years, the Chicago Cubs dealt centerfielder Jacque Jones to Detroit for a utility infielder and Milwaukee’s 3rd baseman Ryan Braun and Boston’s 2nd baseman Dustin Pedroia won Rookie of the Year honors — all on Monday as the post-season awards began and the trading  and free agency season heated up.

The Yanks and Posada came to agreement on a $52.4 million, four-year deal.  Posada, a 13 year switch-hitting veteran, led the team in batting average at .338 for 2007 and clubbed 20 homers and 90 RBIs.  His 2007 average, slugging percentage (.543) and on-base percentage (.426) were all career highs. Defensively, Posada has been a standout throughout his career posting a .992 lifetime fielding percentage.  As with any free agency deal, Posada must pass a physical to finalize the deal.
***********

The Cubs dealt Jacque Jones to Detroit in exchange for utility infielder  Omar Infante.

The Tigers’ press release detailing the trade explained;

Jones saw action in 135 games with the Cubs in 2007, batting .285 (129×453) with 33 doubles, five home runs and 66 RBI. He hit .332 (79×238) in 66 games following the all-star break for the Cubs this past season.

“We are excited to add a quality major league outfielder like Jacque Jones to the Tigers organization,” Tigers President, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager David Dombrowski said. “He is a proven lefthanded hitter at the major league level that fits our club well in left field.”

A veteran of nine seasons in the majors with the Minnesota Twins (1999-2005) and Cubs (2006-07), he has compiled a .280 batting average (1255×4478) in 1,260 games. Jones has collected 164 home runs and 623 RBI during his career.

Cubs general manager Jim Hendry expressed satisfaction with acquiring Infante stating;

“We’re happy to get Infante. He gives us another guy who is versatile and can play everywhere on the infield and all three outfield spots. … It’s good for both clubs…. We tried to wrap it up as soon as we could. We both have other issues to address.”

Infante batted .271 in 66 games in a utlity role for the Tigers during the 2007 season, including six doubles, two home runs and 17 RBI.
***********

Milwaukee’s 3rd baseman Ryan Braun narrowly beat out runner-up  Rockies’ shortstop Troy Tulowitzki for NL Rookie of the Year honors while Boston’s Pedroia outdistanced his closest rival, Tampa Bay’s outfielder  Delmon Young by a wide margin garnering 24 of 28 first place votes.

AP Baseball Writer Ben Walker provides background on both winners for Yahoo sports;

The little Boston second baseman with the big swing…. generously listed at 5-foot-9 became a fan favorite at Fenway Park with his all-out style. Plus, few knew he played with a broken left hand down the stretch.

“Everyone doubted me at every level I’ve been to, saying I’m too small, I’m not fast enough, my arm’s not strong enough,” Pedroia said. “There’s a lot of people that have stuck by me and knew deep down in, that there’s something about me that makes me a winning baseball player.”

Pedroia hit .317 with eight home runs and 50 RBIs.

Braun’s brawn earned him the NL award. The slugging third baseman from Milwaukee finished two points ahead of Tulowitzki, Colorado’s sparkplug shortstop.

Braun received 17 of 32 first-place votes and finished with 128 points. Tulowitzki got 15 first-place votes and 126 points. Ballots were completed by the end of the regular season, before Pedroia and Tulowitzki met in the World Series.

“To show you how good Ryan was, in any other year Troy Tulowitzki would have won hands down,” Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said.

Called up from Triple-A in late May, Braun hit .324 with 34 home runs and 97 RBIs. The Brewers led the majors in homers this season and stayed in contention for the NL Central championship until the final week.

Braun’s .634 slugging percentage led NL players and was the highest by a rookie in major league history. He did not have enough plate appearances, however, to qualify for the title.

His big offensive numbers were enough to overcome 26 errors, tied for most in the majors with Minnesota shortstop Jason Bartlett.

“Everybody has things they need to work on,” Braun said on a conference call.

The Phillies will surely vouch for Braun’s huge bat.  In 3 games against the Phils last season, Braun was 6 for 14 with 3 of those hits being homers.

Regarding Tulowitzki, AP’s Walker wrote;

He also set an NL rookie record for home runs by a shortstop (24) and batted .291 with 99 RBIs as the Rockies surged to the NL pennant. Colorado won 14 of 15 to take the wild-card spot — Tulowitzki had four hits in a one-game tiebreaker for the slot, including a key double off Trevor Hoffman.

MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy added these stats on Tulowitzki;

Tulowitzki… proved a superior defender. His .987 fielding percentage and 5.39 zone rating led Major League shortstops, and Tulowitzki committed only 11 errors in 155 games.

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