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It is time for the annual baseball awards, and while there will be much bellyaching regarding the future of some awards this season, there is no debate about who is winning this season's SBN Awards for baseball. The SBN Awards voting has already been tallied, and the winners will be announced this week alongside the actual awards. Today, we start off with the Rookie of the Year award!
This year, the Rookie of the Year was a particularly obvious voting for both leagues, one more so than the other. In one league, one rookie player towered over the rest and was so dominant that he may very well win the MVP award for his league as well. On the other side, another highly-touted rookie got off to a great start and had enough to take the award even after a slow second half. Who were these winners? Take a look at the final tallies!
| Player | Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bryce Harper | Washington Nationals | 26 | 9 | 157 | |
| Wade Miley | Arizona Diamondbacks | 8 | 21 | 5 | 108 |
| Todd Frazier | Cincinnati Reds | 1 | 4 | 9 | 26 |
| Norichika Aoki | Milwaukee Brewers | 14 | 14 | ||
| Zack Cozart | Cincinnati Reds | 1 | 2 | 5 | |
| Andrelton Simmons | Atlanta Braves | 1 | 1 | ||
| Anthony Rizzo | Chicago Cubs | 1 | 1 | ||
| Lucas Harrell | Houston Astros | 1 | 1 | ||
| Mike Fiers | Milwaukee Brewers | 1 | 1 | ||
| Yasmani Grandal | San Diego Padres | 1 | 1 |
The results of the National League ballot should be a small surprise at best, as it was expected that Harper, if he made the majors this season, would be the leading candidate for Rookie of the Year. What was surprising is that Wade Miley, a relative unknown who was competing for a fifth starter job with the Diamondbacks, ended up being not only the second place finisher, but an extremely close second place finish. Miley had a terrific year, but Harper was good at the plate and on the field, including surprising a number of people by showing great range in center field. It is going to be a bright next few seasons for the Nationals with Harper helping to anchor the lineup.
| Player | Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Trout | Los Angeles Angels | 26 | 130 | ||
| Yu Darvish | Texas Rangers | 16 | 7 | 55 | |
| Yoenis Cespedes | Oakland Athletics | 9 | 10 | 37 | |
| Jarrod Parker | Oakland Athletics | 1 | 6 | 9 | |
| Jesus Montero | Seattle Mariners | 1 | 1 | ||
| Matt Moore | Tampa Bay Rays | 1 | 1 | ||
| Wei-Yin Chen | Baltimore Orioles | 1 | 1 |
The American League voting comes as no surprise, as Mike Trout was the sole candidate worthy of the award. It was not for a lack of other good rookies, as Yu Darvish and Yoenis Cespedes would have been great candidates in any other season. But with the absurd, historically great season that Trout just had, it is not surprising to see him pull out an overwhelming victory.
Congratulations to Bryce Harper and Mike Trout, your 2012 SBN Rookie of the Year Award winners!