Tampa Bay Rays’ Jeremy Hellickson wins 2011 AL Rookie of the Year – MLB News
The Tampa Bay Rays’ starter Jeremy Hellickson won the American League Rookie of the Year Award without any tough competition by the New York Yankees’ Ivan Nova, Los Angeles Angels’ Mark Trumbo, Kansas City Royals’ Eric Hosmer and Seattle Mariners’ Dustin
Ackley.
24-year-old right-hander clinched 17 of 28 first place votes to leave behind the strongest candidate Mark Trumbo far behind. Hellickson had a 13-10 record with a 2.95 ERA, eighth lowest in the American League. Hellickson did not let the players come near
to him in the points table. With such a low ERA, he became the second starter in 20 years after Justin Verlander, who made 3.63, seventh lowest in 2006 to win the AL Rookie of the Year Award.
In the closing stages of regular season, Hellickson was the major part to help the Rays defeat the Boston Red Sox to enter into the post-season. The Rays lost to the Texas Rangers in five games of the American League Division Series, in which Hellickson
threw only in a single game and allowed four runs over four innings.
"It's something I really wanted to win," Hellickson said by conference call from his home in Iowa. He said there were "three or four guys" equally deserving of the award.
Mark Trumbo got only five first place votes and 63 points to stay well behind Hellickson. Eric Hosmer got the third position with his accumulative 38 points that also include four first place votes. The New York Yankees’ promising pitcher, who was the only
hope for the Bronx Bombers behind Carsten Charles Sabathia and was 16-4 with a 3.70 ERA, received only one first place vote and 30 points. The only remaining first place vote was cast to Seattle Mariners’ Dustin Ackley.
Hellickson also put the opponents under real trouble, which is evident from the .287 on-base percentages against him and it is the second lowest for any Major League rookie qualifier. The Mariners’ Michael Pineda has the best .279 on-base percentage. Over
the previous 27 years, Hellickson is also the first rookie player to hold the opponents as low as these on-base percentages after the Texas Rangers’ Mike Mason posted .285 in 1984.
With an MLB record 46 saves by a rookie, the Atlanta Braves’ Craig Kimbrel snatched the National League Rookie of the Year Award.
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