Young a distant second to Pedroia

The Rays RF falls far short in the AL rookie of the year tally. Ryan Braun wins in the NL.

By EDUARDO A. ENCINA
Published November 13, 2007

Although he led AL rookies in several key categories, Rays rightfielder Delmon Young was left off eight ballots.
	[Brian Cassella | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT Dustin Pedroia was a runaway pick for AL rookie of the year. Brewers third baseman Ryan Braun won a close vote in the NL.

ST. PETERSBURG - Rays rightfielder Delmon Young received the early spring rookie of the year hype and put together the onfield credentials worthy of the award. But the baseball writers who decide the winner thought it wasn't enough.

Young finished second for this season's AL rookie of the year, awarded annually by the Baseball Writers Association of America. It wasn't a shock that Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia, who played a key role for the eventual World Series champions, won the award.

The margin was. Pedroia received 24 of 28 first-place votes and won over Young by a decisive 132-56 vote, a difference of 76 points. Young received three of the four remaining first-place votes, but his name was left off eight of the 28 ballots.

Two BBWAA voters in each AL city rank the top three rookies on a 5-3-1 point basis. Young received 12 second-place votes and five third-place votes. Voting was based on regular-season performance and was completed before the start of the playoffs.

In the NL, Milwaukee third baseman Ryan Braun edged Colorado shortstop Troy Tulowitzki for the award by just two points.

Messages to Young and his agent, Arn Tellem, went unreturned.

While Pedroia batted .317, the highest average among AL rookies, Young topped AL rookies in RBIs (93), hits (186), total bases (263) and outfield assists (16). The 22-year-old No.1 overall pick in 2003 hit .288 with 13 homers, 65 runs and 10 stolen bases while playing in all 162 games. Only once did he go more than two games without a hit.

"Delmon is definitely as worthy to win this award as much as anybody else," Pedroia said on a conference call Monday. "The writers vote for it, but I think he's just as deserving.

"I really didn't know about the margin," added Pedroia, who knows Young well because he came up through the minor leagues with him. "All I know is that Delmon Young is an unbelievable player. He's going to be in the middle of that lineup for a long time. He's going to be kicking our butt for a long time."

And until a since-settled rift with manager Joe Maddon over not running a ball out in the season's final weekend, Young made huge strides in repairing his reputation after his 2006 bat-throwing incident at Triple-A Durham drew national attention.

Pedroia, however, played under the national spotlight with the Red Sox. He struggled early and was batting a season-low .172 on May 1. But he flourished during the pennant race, hitting .346 in August and playing the final two months of the season with a broken bone in his left hand.

He had four multihit games in the playoffs, including a three-hit, five-RBI game in Game 7 of the ALCS.

Although the regional voting balance theoretically prevents big-market bias, players with contending teams reigned. Braun, a late-May callup who had a rookie-high .324 average and 34 homers in 451 at-bats, played on a Brewers team that competed for an NL Central title until the season's final week, and Tulowitzki became an instant leader for the NL champions.

NOTES: The free-agency period opened midnight today, and Rays closer Al Reyes filed for free agency Monday, the final day to file, but the move was only provisional. The Rays still have until Thursday to execute their $2.3-million option on Reyes for next season, something they will undoubtedly do. ... The Rays will host a Thanksgiving dinner for families at the Salvation Army on Thursday.

[Last modified November 12, 2007, 23:17:17]