Rookies Of The Year 2001

[Skipper Steve]

Here are the top vote getters in Rookie of the Year balloting, along with the total number of points received. A players gets 5 points for a first-place vote, 3 points for second place and 1 for third.

National League
Albert Pujols, StL: 160 points
Roy Oswalt, Hou: 82
Jimmy Rollins, Phi: 44
Bud Smith, StL: 1
Adam Dunn, Cin: 1

American League
Ichiro Suzuki, Sea: 138 points
C.C. Sabathia, Cle: 73
Alfonso Soriano, NY: 35
David Eckstein, Ana: 6

No shocks on who won - - would have have ranked the runners up any different?

[Skipper Steve]

Interesting snips from a RONALD BLUM (The Associated Press) feature:

Ichiro Suzuki has a lot more confidence than the average rookie. Then again, he's not the average rookie.

The 28-year-old Seattle outfielder became the second straight Japanese player to win the American League Rookie of the Year award and wasn't surprised by Monday's vote.

``I was a little embarrassed to be called a rookie here in the United States,'' he said through a translator. ``I was so relieved today when I heard this announcement I won the Rookie of the Year award because I felt this was an award I should have won without any doubt.''

Suzuki, who came to the major leagues after nine seasons in the Japanese Pacific League, received 27 of 28 first-place votes from a panel of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

``If I won this award, I had wanted to win unanimously,'' he said.

Suzuki, who gets a $75,000 bonus for winning, had 138 points, easily beating Cleveland pitcher C.C. Sabathia, who had 75 points after going 17-5 with a 4.39 ERA.

Sabathia got one first-place vote, from Chris Assenheimer of the Chronicle-Telegram in Elyria, Ohio.

``I just felt that Sabathia better met the criteria of what a rookie is in the truest sense of the word,'' said Assenheimer, who was surprised he was the only voter not to have Suzuki No. 1 on his ballot. ``That's nothing against Ichiro.''

Sabathia disagreed with that view and thought Suzuki was the top rookie.

``The award is for first-year players in the big leagues, and he's definitely deserving of it,'' he said. ``There's not an argument about that at all.''

Any thoughts on all this?