Cutch-22
November 16th, 2009 | by SL |Even the most optimistic Pirates fan knew that Andrew McCutchen was facing some stiff odds in the quest for the National League Rookie of the Year award. McCutchen finished fourth in voting for the award, which is downright wrong. It wouldn’t be so hard to swallow had it been J.A. Happ or Tommy Hanson that took the honors, but alas it was another young outfielder in Chris Coghlan that took home the prize.
Bucs fans and baseball fans that pack even an ounce of common sense can rest easy in knowing that McCutchen is destined for super-stardom. He’s a five-tool guy that made his impact felt almost immediately. Coghlan, on the other hand, can wallow in Jerome Walton territory for the rest of his career for all I care.
McCutchen had 71 less at-bats than Coghlan, but managed to trump him in home runs, RBI, and SLG. Cutch led all rookies in extra-base hits, nine of which were triples, and he stole 22 bases. Aside from Coghlan’s .321 batting average, which was good enough for sixth in the National League, there’s little statistical difference in his favor over McCutchen.
That’s not to say that Andrew McCutchen deserved to win, if I had a vote it would have gone to Happ. McCutchen garnered two first-place votes, but only seven total votes. Happ was the only player that made it on to all 32 ballots.
Maybe we should have seen it coming, but it’s still a load of horse-shit.
Tags: Andrew McCutchen, Chris Coghlan, Pittsburgh Pirates, Rookie Of The Year
