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Pro Sports Chatter
Beckham, Wells make Rookie of the Year push
Posted by:
THernes on
August 4, 2009 at
5:39PM EST
Is it possible Chicago could be the home of both Rookie of the Year award winners in Major League Baseball in 2009?
As of Aug. 4, I say yes. Chicago White Sox rookie third baseman Gordon Beckham made a big splash with his performance last weekend against the New York Yankees. Beckham cranked out 7 hits in 19 at-bats in the four-game series versus the Bronx Bombers at U.S. Cellular Field, with five of the hits being doubles. On Saturday's nationally televised game on FOX, Beckham drove in four runs in a 14-4 Sox victory.While for the Cubs, rookie starting pitcher Randy Wells earned his fourth consecutive win Monday in a 4-2 victory against Cincinnati. Wells is now 8-4, and has bailed out a starting rotation in which Carlos Zambrano, Rich Harden, Ryan Dempster and Ted Lilly have spent time on the disabled list. Beckham's performance in the series against New York, which the White Sox won three of four, didn't go unnoticed by Yankees superstar shortstop Derek Jeter and left fielder Johnny Damon, who both praised Beckham for his sensational play.Going into tonight's game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Beckham is hitting .311 with 5 home runs, 36 runs batted in, 17 doubles, a .374 on-base percentage (OBP), and an .860 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) in 52 games and 183 at-bats. This after an 0-for-13 start and a batting average under .200 for the early weeks of this career. But the University of Georgia product quickly turned that around primarily due to a disciplined hitting approach that includes consistently being able to get hits to the opposite field. Beckham has been doing so well, he was recently moved from the No. 8 spot in the batting order to No. 2.His fielding at third was shaky in the early going as he was learning a new position, but that is improving on an almost daily basis as he transitions from shortstop. Of course, Beckham has competition for the award, but it's not from expected candidates David Price of Tampa Bay or Matt Wieters of Baltimore.Price's teammate Jeff Niemann has impressive stats as the rookie starter has picked up 10 wins against just 5 losses, with a 3.62 earned run average in 114.1 innings of work. Some of other Rookie of the Year candidates in the AL include:• Ricky Romero, starting pitcher, Toronto: 10-4, 3.53 ERA, 87 strikeouts in 109.2 innings. • Nolan Reimold, left fielder, Baltimore: .281, 10 HR, 29 RBI, .367 OBP, .828 OPS. • Rick Porcello, starting pitcher, Detroit: 9-7, 4.36 ERA, 55 strikeouts in 105.1 innings. • Andrew Bailey, relief pitcher, Oakland: 4-3, 14 saves, 2.21 ERA, 69 strikeouts in 61 innings. • Elvis Andrus, shortstop, Texas: .263, 4 HR, 19 RBI, 20 stolen bases, .329 OBP, .698 OPS. While Beckham was a first-round draft choice of the White Sox and expected to be an outstanding player, Wells has played the role of unsung hero very well this year for the North Siders. Wells was 38th round draft choice of the Cubs in 2002. Prior to this season, he just made a few appearances for the Cubs and Toronto Blue Jays last season before his callup on May 10 of this year. He's made up quickly for lost time, posting the eight wins with an outstanding 2.73 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 16 starts and 102.1 innings. He doesn't have dominant stuff, but has only walked 23 and has yielded less than a hit per inning.Wells could easily have about 12 wins if not for the bullpen blowing several leads for him right after he was called up. Wells, and rookie teammate Jake Fox have kept the Cubs right around first place even though the team has suffered numerous injuries, bullpen inconsistencies and a disappointing year from Milton Bradley. In fact, if Fox gets more at-bats down the stretch, he could join the Rookie of the Year race. Fox, the 27-year-old rookie, is hitting .308 with 8 homers and 27 runs batted in despite having only 107 at-bats. His on-base percentage is .347 and he has an OPS of .955. Problem is, Fox does not have one spot to play in the lineup. He can play third base, catcher, left or right field and has spot started at all of those positions.Other rookies that should at least get some Rookie of the Year consideration are: • J.A. Happ, starting pitcher, Philadelphia: 7-2, 2.97 ERA, 76 strikeouts in 106 innings.• Casey McGehee, second base/third base, Milwaukee: .323, 9 HR, 34 RBI, .373 OBP, .910 OPS • Andrew McCutchen, center fielder, Pittsburgh: .296, 7 HR, 32 RBI, 9 stolen bases, .352 OBP, .850 OPS • Colby Rasmus, center field/right field, St. Louis, .252, 11 HR, 35 RBI, .307 OBP, .732 OPS • Gerardo Parra, left field/center field, Arizona, .281, 5 HR, 41 RBI, .321 OBP, .748 OPS • Dexter Fowler, center fielder, Colorado, .254, 4 HR, 28 RBI, 24 stolen bases, .357 OBP, .746 OPS • Travis Ishikawa, first baseman, San Francisco, .273, 7 HR, 30 RBI, .325 OBP, .725 OPS - Tom |
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• Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs-2 • Chicago White Sox, Jake Peavy • Chicago White Sox, Gordon Beckham, Chicago Cubs, Randy Wells • Chicago Bears • Chicago White Sox, Alex Rios • Chicago Cubs, Carlos Zambrano • Cubs • Chicago White Sox • Chicago White Sox, Jim Thome • National Football League • Live Blog • College Football • Chicago Bears, Brian Urlacher
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