Geovany Soto Named NL Rookie of the Year

[Jehrico]

Soto was one vote away from a unanimous choice. That vote went to Joey Votto.

 

Evan Longoria was a unanimous selection.

 

Marty Brenneman strikes Cubs fans again!

Please don't tell me that biased dolt really has a vote...

[Post Count Padder]

Geovany Soto

[Guest]

somehow Edinson Volquez received some 2nd place votes despite not being a rookie

 

And he ends up getting 4th in the ROY voting. What the ish?

[Jehrico]

somehow Edinson Volquez received some 2nd place votes despite not being a rookie

 

And he ends up getting 4th in the ROY voting. What the ish?

What is sad is those people will get to vote again next year. It wouldn't surprise me if one of those guys voted for him again next year too.

[SouthSideRyan]

I don't know what's sadder that James Loney almost wasn't even a rookie in '07, or that MLB.com apparently didn't realize this.

[Handlebar McSkullet]

WHO VOTED FOR JOEY FREAKING VOTTO???!!!!?????

 

just tell me where to walk to with my pitch fork and flame

[Bull]

Congrats to Geo.

 

Well deserved.

 

Anyone else notice Fukudome got votes?

[Clem Fandango]

I remember MLB.com did a Rookie Roundup at the end of the year with Bill Bavasi. He said Volquez would get the ROTY.

 

Baseball people are morons.

 

And even though Soto should've been a unanimous decision, Votto had slightly better offensive numbers so if he did pull some votes away from him it shouldn't have been that much of a surprise. It was Soto's defensive prowess that got him the landslide victory over Votto. If Soto was a POS defensive catcher and our pitching staff had mediocre numbers, Votto probably wins this award

[OleMissCub]

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/mancrush-1.jpg

[Jehrico]

If Soto was a POS defensive catcher and our pitching staff had mediocre numbers, Votto probably wins this award

So, you're saying if Soto wasn't Soto....

[Clem Fandango]

If Soto was a POS defensive catcher and our pitching staff had mediocre numbers, Votto probably wins this award

So, you're saying if Soto wasn't Soto....

 

Essentially... yes. Yes I am.

[BCVM22]

http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/5223/lotsofgeotx3.jpg

 

My god, it's full of stars!

 

It's like ESPN is doing their best NSBB imitation: countless utterances of simply "Geovany Soto."

[CubsWin]

Geovany Soto

Geovany Soto

[illiniguy]

Does John Manuel have a vote? If so he might have been the guy going against Soto. Since he is the only BA guy who didn't have Geo in his top 50 prospects before this year.

[erik316wttn]

Did you know Geovany Soto is a natural lefthander? The Commissioner makes him play right-handed so it's more fair to the rest of the league.

[imb]

hey cool lets start doing chuck norris jokes i mean come on is this 2006

[NCCubFan]

somehow Edinson Volquez received some 2nd place votes despite not being a rookie

 

And he ends up getting 4th in the ROY voting. What the ish?

This reminds me of several years ago on cubs.com, where a poster kept insisting that Junior Spivey was going to be NL ROY despite the fact that he no longer qualified as a rookie.

[inari]

What a way to cap off an amazing season for Geo.

[17 Seconds]

I remember MLB.com did a Rookie Roundup at the end of the year with Bill Bavasi. He said Volquez would get the ROTY.

 

Baseball people are morons.

 

And even though Soto should've been a unanimous decision, Votto had slightly better offensive numbers so if he did pull some votes away from him it shouldn't have been that much of a surprise. It was Soto's defensive prowess that got him the landslide victory over Votto. If Soto was a POS defensive catcher and our pitching staff had mediocre numbers, Votto probably wins this award

 

I'd say even if he was a crappy catcher he'd deserve it over Votto. Isn't Votto pretty bad defensively anyways?

[17 Seconds]

It seriously is a huge embarrassment for everyone involved that Volquez was 4th in votes. How does this go overlooked? It's bad enough that some of the moron voters made the mistake, but how could they not have been corrected and told that they need to change their votes? For this mistake to make it all the way to the official press releases is pretty bad.

[imb]

It seriously is a huge embarrassment for everyone involved that Volquez was 4th in votes. How does this go overlooked? It's bad enough that some of the moron voters made the mistake, but how could they not have been corrected and told that they need to change their votes? For this mistake to make it all the way to the official press releases is pretty bad.

 

seriously, i have no idea why it's not a bigger deal.

 

i was watching a trailblazers' game the other day and the announcers couldn't decide if greg oden was a rookie or not. i mean, these are simple things, people.

[Clem Fandango]

I remember MLB.com did a Rookie Roundup at the end of the year with Bill Bavasi. He said Volquez would get the ROTY.

 

Baseball people are morons.

 

And even though Soto should've been a unanimous decision, Votto had slightly better offensive numbers so if he did pull some votes away from him it shouldn't have been that much of a surprise. It was Soto's defensive prowess that got him the landslide victory over Votto. If Soto was a POS defensive catcher and our pitching staff had mediocre numbers, Votto probably wins this award

 

I'd say even if he was a crappy catcher he'd deserve it over Votto. Isn't Votto pretty bad defensively anyways?

 

Looking at the numbers, he was in the bottom half of the NL first basemen, but he seems to be average defensively. Looks like he was slightly worse than Lee this year.

 

Lee:

.993FP 8.76RF .866ZR

 

Votto:

.991FP 8.72RF .880ZR

 

Obviously Lee had a down year defensively, but I figured if there was any person we should compare him to it should be our own 1B.

 

Although I won't argue with your logic that even if he were a bad catcher he'd still probably win it. Offensive production out of that position is much more valuable, and he pretty much equaled out Votto's output. Although if folks were seriously peeved at Votto's inclusion in the first place voting, they shouldn't be surprised since his offensive numbers were slightly better

[17 Seconds]

On Volquez's erroneous Rookie of the Year bid

 

Armed with a mid-90s fastball and a devastating circle-change, Edinson Volquez burst on the scene in 2008 as one of baseball's best young pitchers. After finishing his first season in Cincinnati with a 17-6 record and 3.21 ERA, the 25-year-old right-hander placed fourth in this year's NL Rookie of the Year voting.

 

Only one problem: Volquez was not a rookie.

 

According to this "official info" on MLB.com, "A player shall be considered a rookie unless, during a previous season or seasons, he has (a) exceeded 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the Major Leagues."

 

Well, that's interesting, because prior to that now-famous Volquez-for-Josh Hamilton trade, Volquez had already logged 80 innings for the Rangers from 2005-07. Remember, the 50-innings barrier refers to "a previous season or seasons."

 

To make sure I hadn't lost my mind, I placed a call to the MLB offices. The governing body of our nation's pastime confirmed it: Volquez definitely wasn't a rookie in 2008.

 

With this knowledge in hand, I contacted the folks who actually hand out this award: The Baseball Writers' Association of America. BBWAA secretary/treasurer Jack O'Connell graciously admitted the oversight: "It was a mistake. It slipped through the cracks."

 

Turns out three writers incorrectly filled out ballots with Volquez in second place, and BBWA didn't catch the error. Although BBWAA usually picks off flawed ballots before they are counted, O'Connell disclosed that this has happened "multiple times" in the past. BBWAA will not correct the mistake because it would not change the winner (Chicago's Geovany Soto).

 

"Luckily it didn't affect the outcome," O'Connell said. "Consider it the missing chad."

 

Even though he had absolutely nothing to do with this award or its voting, one man is going to take some unnecessary heat for this embarrassing gaffe: America's favorite whipping boy, Bud Selig.

 

http://www.fannation.com/si_blogs/for_the_record/posts/22221

[Guest]

It seriously is a huge embarrassment for everyone involved that Volquez was 4th in votes. How does this go overlooked? It's bad enough that some of the moron voters made the mistake, but how could they not have been corrected and told that they need to change their votes? For this mistake to make it all the way to the official press releases is pretty bad.

 

And Loney came in 7th place.

 

I mean, there were question on whether Loney was a rookie or not in 2007.

[SouthSideRyan]

It seriously is a huge embarrassment for everyone involved that Volquez was 4th in votes. How does this go overlooked? It's bad enough that some of the moron voters made the mistake, but how could they not have been corrected and told that they need to change their votes? For this mistake to make it all the way to the official press releases is pretty bad.

 

And Loney came in 7th place.

 

I mean, there were question on whether Loney was a rookie or not in 2007.

 

MLB has since removed Loney from the standings. BTF speculates that it was a programming error on their side.