Detroit Tigers’ Al Alburquerque named Rookie of the Year – MLB News
Last year’s signing of Al Alburquerque turned out to be very beneficial for the Detroit Tigers when he performed tremendously in 2011 Major League Baseball season and earned great acknowledgement from many.
His consistent and powerful performances have proved wonderful for him and now he has been named as the Rookie of the Year by the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association. Achieving this honour itself is a great accomplishment while it will boost Albuquerque’s
confidence when he will pitch next season. His performances include a 6-1 record with 1.87 ERA in 43.1 innings pitched, while he led all American League relievers with a .142 batting average and 13.92 strike-outs per nine innings.
Al Alburquerque made his Major League debut this year when the Detroit Tigers signed him from the Minor League in November 2010. His arrival in the Tigers’ roster made a huge impact then as general manager Dave Dombrowski rated him as the very best among
his class of youngsters.
He said, “We are pleased to add a quality arm to the organization like Alberto Alburquerque; He has pitched well in winter ball in the Dominican Republic at home. And based upon our reports, we feel he will compete for a spot in our bullpen.”
After playing a whole season with the Tigers, Albuquerque’s performance remained satisfactory for his coaches and especially his manager Dombrowski, who later stated at the end of the season regarding Alburquerque and two other players’ performances.
He said, “You've got Valverde. You've got Benoit. Alburquerque was a little bit of an unusual situation at the end of the year, but he'll be healthy, so that's three guys that have established themselves from the right side.”
Though, Albuquerque came to give little support to Tigers’ starter Justin Verlander but on the whole his performance also gave huge stability to the other pitchers. He adjusted well with the Tigers since he joined them in the training session early in the
year. Some baseball experts are also speculating that he will be a great challenge for the Tigers’ opponents next season and will emerge as a new superstar.
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