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Armed with a mid-90s fastball and a devastating circle-change, Edinson Volquez burst on the scene in 2008 as one of baseball's best young pitchers. After finishing his first season in Cincinnati with a 17-6 record and 3.21 ERA, the 25-year-old right-hander placed fourth in this year's NL Rookie of the Year voting.
Only one problem: Volquez was not a rookie.
According to this "official info" on MLB.com, "A player shall be considered a rookie unless, during a previous season or seasons, he has (a) exceeded 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the Major Leagues."
Well, that's interesting, because prior to that now-famous Volquez-for-Josh Hamilton trade, Volquez had already logged 80 innings for the Rangers from 2005-07. Remember, the 50-innings barrier refers to "a previous season or seasons."
To make sure I hadn't lost my mind, I placed a call to the MLB offices. The governing body of our nation's pastime confirmed it: Volquez definitely wasn't a rookie in 2008.
With this knowledge in hand, I contacted the folks who actually hand out this award: The Baseball Writers' Association of America. BBWAA secretary/treasurer Jack O'Connell graciously admitted the oversight: "It was a mistake. It slipped through the cracks."
Turns out three writers incorrectly filled out ballots with Volquez in second place, and BBWA didn't catch the error. Although BBWAA usually picks off flawed ballots before they are counted, O'Connell disclosed that this has happened "multiple times" in the past. BBWAA will not correct the mistake because it would not change the winner (Chicago's Geovany Soto).
"Luckily it didn't affect the outcome," O'Connell said. "Consider it the missing chad."
Even though he had absolutely nothing to do with this award or its voting, one man is going to take some unnecessary heat for this embarrassing gaffe: America's favorite whipping boy, Bud Selig.
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Comments (27) Add A Comment
I said in a comment about a TD the other day that the writers that vote on these awards are, in large part, ignorant and biased. Somebody jumped all over me for it, but this shows that I was right. Most of these guys are local newspaper hacks that don't know too much about life outside of their own cities or ESPN, and it shows when they vote.
wtnelson = Big Chief
Fort Collins , CO
Total Comments (3501)
Nuke Lalooche isn't a rookie either
JodysOldMan
Austin, TX
Total Comments (24)
I don't know much about the sports outside of my own city.
lvguy
Las Vegas , NV
Total Comments (341)
"BBWAA will not correct the mistake because it would not change the winner (Chicaco's Geovany Soto)."
I think you can spot your own mistake.
TheCrisis
Palatine , IL
Total Comments (1)
But you're not voting on national awards, unless you count all-star teams. His point was too many writers are homers. That's fine for fans, not so great for those voting on national awards.
JayGeyer
New Kensington , PA
Total Comments (128)
Like JayGeyer said, that's fine for a fan. You don't get paid to cover Major League Baseball. These guys do, but many of them do a poor job. They shouldn't be voting on awards if they don't know what they're actually voting for.
wtnelson = Big Chief
Fort Collins , CO
Total Comments (3501)
I was kidding. The only thing Vegas has is the Dodger's Triple A team, Arena Football, and some minor league hockey team.
lvguy
Las Vegas , NV
Total Comments (341)
Props for catching this.... it's amazing that the BBWA doesn't seem to have a process in place for validating eligible candidates for awards.... no credibility at all....
Sir Robin (again)
Camelot, UK
Total Comments (11174)
"Only one problem: Volquez was not a rookie."
Thank you! It's about time someone else caught this! I mentioned this in a comment in a TD about the RoY early last month. It was getting a little tiring when I heard people fellating Volquez, someone who wasn't even a damn rookie.
cubs/bears
Total Comments (1265)
Cincinnati writers are probably the most knowledgable of the writers that cover baseball. Cincinnati is a baseball town period. I'm sure that the writers that voted for Volquez were from cities where he dominated their team in the one start he had against them.
You Must Be A Moron
Seven Mile , OH
Total Comments (383)
Why would Selig take heat for a baseball writers award? Are the fans as goofy as the three lazy sports writers?
CardsFan2
Saint Louis , MO
Total Comments (1897)
Bud Selig does not take the heat for anything....he just laughs it off and continutes on with ruining the sport of baseball as he sees fit...next up preventing the tribune from rightfully selling the cubs to whomever they choose...
Maddux
Chicago , IL
Total Comments (149)
And my guess is that it wasn't Cincy writers that voted for Volquez.
wtnelson = Big Chief
Fort Collins , CO
Total Comments (3501)
Actually Las Vegas doesn't have Dodgers AAA baseball anymore, your now stuck with Blue Jays AAA baseball if you want to call it that.
Be Champions 315
Total Comments (141)
Aren't my Reds all rookies? Could have fooled me ...
vikings526
Total Comments (188)
Spam X6...........who knew S.I. was really C.S.I. in drag?
Circus Maximus
Total Comments (1252)
The only guy in America that gets dumped on more than Bud Selig is President Bush. And neither one of them deserves all the grief and disrespect that they get.
Two jobs I would never want in any lifetime --- President of the United States and Commissioner of Major League Baseball. Everybody else blogs about how they would do things better. Yeah, sure, everyone has all the answers.
redwhiteandblue
Total Comments (4)
Selig is going to get heat for this because it's a rather insane to consider a kid that logs 80 innings over 3 seasons as a callup - that 26 1/3 innings a season - is not considered a rookie in his first full season in the Bigs. Hell, a reliever on a team with a crap starting 5 can pick up 26 innings in abut 4 or 5 games. In Volquez' case, it's 6, 8, and 6 games, respectively. 20 games over 3 seasons. Then 33 games this year. How can he not be considered a rookie? Just because he was a September callup for 3 season. Ludicrous.
CplBigsocks
Cheektowaga, NY
Total Comments (35)
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