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SBN Awards: Rookie of the Year

The 2012 SBN Awards are being revealed this week, and the baseball blogs of SB Nation will begin with the Rookie of the Year awards. Who will take the SBN Rookie of the Year award in the AL and NL?

Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels had an amazing rookie season that was deserving of award recognition.
Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels had an amazing rookie season that was deserving of award recognition.
Jeff Gross

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!