Examiner.com MLB Awards: American League Rookie of the Year - Elvis Andrus

November 9, 9:34 AMMLB ExaminerAlex Brown

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Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus (right) is the choice as American League Rookie
of the Year among baseball writers for Examiner.com. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

The voting was close, but our Examiner.com voting panel chose speed and defense over pitching in the selection for the American League Rookie of the Year.  Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus beat out rookie hurlers Andrew Bailey (A's) and Rick Porcello (Tigers), as well as White Sox third baseman Gordon Beckham.

Each of the top four picks received over 10 points in the voting, and each was deserving of the award in their own way.  Bailey broke the A's rookie season save record, Porcello won 14 games for the Tigers, and Beckham clubbed 14 homers in 378 at-bats for the White Sox.  However the choice was Andrus, the highly regarded prospect who opened 2009 as the second youngest player in the league. 

Speed and defense were the name of the game for Andrus in 2009.  He stole 33 bases in 39 attempts in addition to hitting 8 triples.  But perhaps most impressive was Andrus's work with the glove.  Young shortstops sometimes struggle with defense upon arrival in the major leagues, but Andrus posted an 8.3 UZR/150 (UZR is a statistic that measures how many balls a defensive player gets to).  Even his hitting showed signs of becoming a useful part of his game - he hit .267 for the year in addition to knocking in 40 runs.  If he can improve his walk totals (40 in 2009), Andrus could become a good top-of-the-order hitter.

Andrus's status as the Rangers' starting shortstop for the entire season, combined with the fact that Bailey pitched for a bad team and Porcello wasn't dominant cement his status as the Examiner.com choice for American League Rookie of the Year. 

Voting Panel
Robert Quinn (Tampa Bay Rays)
Theo Fightmaster (San Francisco Giants)
Greg Filice (Toronto Blue Jays)
Brian Pietrzak (Minnesota Twins)
John Stankevitz (Chicago White Sox)
Rand Huguely (Texas Rangers)
Josh Hood (Kansas City Royals)
Sam McPherson (Oakland A's)
Travis Lay (Colorado Rockies)
Randall Castro (Detroit Tigers) 
Claire Reclosado (SF Baseball)