Fernandez Beats Puig For NL Rookie Of The Year

21-year-old rookie pitcher, Jose Fernandez took home the NL Rookie of the year award earlier this afternoon with a commanding win over Yasiel Puig, and Cardinal’s pitcher Shelby Miller. The Cuban born right hander becomes the fourth Marlin ever to win the NL rookie of the year award, joining Dontrelle Willis (2003), Hanley Ramirez (2006), and Chris Coghlan(2009). Dodger outfielder and 22 year old Cuban phenom Puig finished second in the voting, with 4 first place votes, and 25 second place votes, which gave him 95 overall. Fernandez garnered 142 votes, by collecting first place votes on 26 of the 30 ballots. Miller finished third with 9 third place votes, and 12 votes total. Rounding out the top five were Puig’s teammate Hyun-jin Ryu who finished fourth with ten votes, and Atlanta starter Julio Teheran who finished in fifth with seven votes.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Fernandez had probably one of the best seasons for a 21-year-old pitcher in MLB history. The right hander finished 12-6, and posted a 2.19 ERA, and an NL best 5.8 hits per nine. Fernandez whiffed 187, and posted a 0.97 WHIP.

Puig burst onto the scene in early June with the Dodgers mired in last place in the NL West. Puig proceeded to spark the club to a historic 42-8 run that vaulted them into first place, as Puig put together one of the most impressive rookie campaigns in Dodger history. Puig’s great season helped lead the Dodgers to the NL West championship and the club’s tenth NLCS appearance. Puig posted a slash line of .319/.391/.534 with 19 home runs, and 42 runs knocked in and 11 stolen bases in 104 games and 432 plate appearances.

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Unfortunately Puig’s brilliant season was not enough to overcome Fernandez’s dominant year. I’m not as upset by this as you all probably think. I think Puig deserved to win, but so did Fernandez. I had picked Fernandez to win anyways, and I wasn’t surprised when the results were announced. Sometimes you just have to tip your cap to an opponent who just had a great season. I do feel that the vote should have been a bit closer though. Puig received just four first place votes. Although he was second on nearly every ballot. Did the controversies that have surrounded Puig affect the voting? Maybe. I do think that if that is the case, then that’s bogus because the voting should be based on what each player does on the field and nothing more. These awards are individual awards based on individual results, not team based results. Which means the voting should accurately reflect this. Scandals and controversies have no place in these awards. Regardless, Fernandez had a terrific season and we tip our cap, wish him well, and move on. Check out the rest of the results for the NL side below.

NL Rookie of The Year results

Jose Fernandez  Mia       26     4    0   142

Yasiel Puig LAD                 4     25   0     95

Shelby Miller STL                         1  9    12

Hyun-jin Ryu LAD                             10  10

Julio Teheran  ATL                               7   7

Jedd Gyorko  SD                                   2  2

Nolan Arenado COL                            1  1

Evan Gattis  ATL                                   1  1