JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Minnesota Twins 3B Danny Valencia finished 3rd in voting for the A.L. Rookie of the Year award, the Baseball Writers’ Association of American reported today (11/15/2010).
Valencia, who led all A.L. rookies with a .311 batting average after being called-up from AAA in early June, received one 2nd-place vote and nine 3rd-place votes to finish a distant 3rd behind Texas Rangers RP Neftali Perez and Detroit Tigers LF Austin Jackson. (See vote totals below.)
It was the strongest Rookie of the Year finish by a Jewish player since Milwaukee Brewers LF Ryan Braun won the N.L. award in 2007.
Valencia, 26, finished the 2010 season with 7 HRs, 18 doubles, 1 triple, 2 stolen bases, and 40 RBIs in 299 at-bats. As Jewish Baseball News reader Jack W points out, Valencia hit .394 with runners in scoring position, 2nd best in the A.L. among those with at least 50 plate appearances in that situation. In early September, Jewish Baseball News called him a top-5 contender for the Rookie award.
For information on the 2010 N.L. Rookie of the Year award, visit Jewish Baseball News here.
| American League | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neftali Feliz, Texas Rangers | 20 | 7 | 1 | 122 |
| Austin Jackson, Detroit Tigers | 8 | 19 | 1 | 98 |
| Danny Valencia, Minnesota Twins | 1 | 9 | 12 | |
| Wade Davis, Tampa Bay Rays | 11 | 11 | ||
| John Jaso, Tampa Bay Rays | 1 | 3 | ||
| Brennan Boesch, Detroit Tigers | 3 | 3 | ||
| Brian Matusz, Baltimore Orioles | 3 | 3 |
###
