Voters screwup gives non-rookie Edinson Volquez NL Rookie of the Year votes

November 11, 2:40 PMMLB ExaminerTony DeMarco

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the MLB Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Talk about a rookie mistake. Here is a classic for you:

Cincinnati Reds right-hander Edinson Volquez finished fourth in the NL Rookie of the Year Award balloting announced on Monday. But there's one catch -- he wasn't a rookie.

In fact, Volquez pitched for the Texas Rangers in 2005, 2006 and 2007 -- albeit only for a grand total of 80 innings.

How could this happen? This time, you really can blame it on the media. Specifically, three clueless members of the Baseball Writers Association of America, which has been handing out a Rookie of the Year award since 1947.

For now, the guilty shall remain nameless. All we know is that they are among 32 voters -- two from each of the 16 NL cities.

"The only thing we could do in the future is list the rookies on a ballot,'' BBWAA president David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said in an e-mail. "Otherwise, it's up to the writers to know.''

Coincidentally, all three of the misguided voters gave Volquez a second-place vote in the balloting, won by catcher Geovany Soto of the Chicago Cubs, followed by Volquez's Reds teammate Joey Votto and Braves right-hander Jair Jurrjens.

Rookie eligibility can be a bit confusing for players who have spent parts of seasons in the majors, but there is no defense for this, of course. In the official MLB daily statistics that are distributed in press boxes around the majors, there are separate pages listing the rookie leaders in every category. And one look in the rule book, under qualifications, you will find the following paragraph:

"Qualifications for a rookie: Not more than 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the major leagues during a previous season or seasons, nor more than 45 days on a major-league roster during the 25-player roster limit."

Seems clear enough, doesn't it? Volquez didn't reach the 50-inning mark in any of those three previous big-league stays, but 80 is more than 50 by my math.

An embarrassing moment for the BBWAA, no doubt.

 Other MLB awards stories: Rookies of the Year, NL Cy Young, Managers of the Year