Andrew Bailey become the eighth Athletics player to win
the AL Rookie of the Year award. (AP Photo/Steve Nesius)
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The Oakland A's had cause for celebration on Monday, as rookie relief pitcher Andrew Bailey was named the American League Rookie of the Year by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
Bailey received 13 first-place votes out of a possible 28 to beat out Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus and Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Rick Porcello.
The A's closer was the only AL rookie to notch more than two saves, as he finished the season with 26 saves, a 6-3 record and a 1.84 ERA.
Holding opposing hitters to a .167 batting average, Bailey was Oakland's lone All-Star representative this year. The A's finished with a 75-87 record, for a last-place finish in the AL West.
For A's fans, Bailey's award is a bright spot in an otherwise downcast 2009. Who knows where the team would have been without Bailey? The rookie was Oakland's third option to close games in 2009, as projected closer Joey Devine went down in spring training with an injury, while second choice Brad Ziegler was ineffective in the role.
The A's have now had an AL-high eight players win the Rookie of the Year award, a total matched only by the New York Yankees. Perhaps it's no coincidence that the A's franchise also has won the second-most World Series championship in American League history (nine).
Bailey also becomes the third Athletics rookie this decade to win the award, joining shortstop Bobby Crosby (2004) and reliever Huston Street (2005).
While Bailey won the BBWA award for Rookie of the Year, Examiner.com writers voted Andrus the top rookie in the AL for 2009 -- although the vote was very close as Andrus edged both Bailey and Porcello by a single point in the Examiner.com balloting.
Comments
Do you have any idea what you're writing about? Yes, Bailey's year was tremendous. But Ziegler didn't lose the closer job because he was ineffective. At the time Bailey took over, Ziegler was 4-for-5 in save opportunities and had a 1.74 ERA. But Ziegler got sick and tried to pitch for 2 weeks with the illness (in non-save situations), and Bailey took over the closer's role when the A's finally decided to rest Ziegler to get him healthy.
Ziegler's lifetime ineffectiveness against lefties is what doomed him, actually -- not the flu. Lefties hit .310 off him over his career, and Ziegler's walked 31 lefties in his career, too -- while striking out only 25 lefties. He's basically inept against left-handed hitters, and he is best suited for spot duty against righties. This is why Devine was also given the edge over Ziegler. So yes, Ziegler is an ineffective closer because left-handed hitters rake his mediocre junk.
Bailey had no such issues, which is why he was deemed more suitable for the closer position no matter how good Ziegler's stats looked on paper -- he was a liability late in games because he can't get lefties out.
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