Dustin Pedroia was a clear-cut choice as American League rookie of the year, with Ryan Braun just edging Troy Tulowitzki for recognition as the National League's best first-year player.
Boston's Dustin Pedroia was named AL rookie of the year.
(Winslow Townson/Associated Press)
Pedroia, 24, rebounded from a poor start to the season to solidify his place as the Boston Red Sox second baseman. He hit .317 with eight home runs and 50 runs batted in, with 39 doubles.
The five-foot-nine infielder made just six errors in 139 games.
"Everyone doubted me at every level I've been to, you know, saying I'm too small, I'm not fast enough, my arm's not strong enough," Pedroia said. "There's a lot of people that have stuck by me and, you know, knew deep down in that there's something about me that makes me a winning baseball player."
The Woodland, Calif., native beat out Tampa Bay Devil Rays outfielder Delmon Young, who finished with 56 points. Kansas City Royals pitcher Brian Bannister finished third, with 36 points.
Pedroia became the sixth Red Sox player to win the AL award and first since Nomar Garciaparra in 1997. Boston teammates Daisuke Matsuzaka (12 points) and Hideki Okajima (3) also received votes.
Braun wins with brawn
Milwaukee slugger and third baseman Braun topped the NL voting with 128 points, just two more than Colorado shortstop Tulowitzki. Braun received 17 of the 32 first-place votes, with the rest going to Tulowitzki.
Ryan Braun's power numbers earned him the NL rookie of the year award.
(Morry Gash/Associated Press)
"I had no idea what the vote would be based on," Braun said. "I knew that it would be a close vote."
Braun amassed 34 home runs and 97 RBIs for the Brewers despite missing nearly two months of the season. Called up from Triple-A in late May, Braun hit .324 with a .634 slugging percentage, winning the award despite making 26 errors at the corner.
Braun, who turns 24 this Saturday, became the second Brewers player to win rookie honours. Pat Listach won in 1992 when Milwaukee was in the American League.
Tulowitzki hit 24 home runs for the Rockies — an NL rookie record for a shortstop — to go along with 99 RBIs and a .291 batting average. He was even more impressive in the field, leading the majors in fielding percentage and turning an unassisted triple play.
The AL Cy Young winner will be announced on Tuesday.
With files from the Associated PressRelated
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