Everyone knows the story of "The Tortoise And The Hare". The moral of the story is it's not how you start, it's how you finish, consistancy is the key to success, slow and steady wins the race, and don't underestimate your opponent. There is no other sport where this concept is more true than baseball.
Baseball has a long, long, season and usually teams that start off like a blazing inferno, always cool off at some point. It's Newton's law to the core. What gets hot, must cool down. It is very rare when a team is hot throughout a whole season.
The same law applies with Major League players. If your in a zone, you just have to ride it and try to hold on as long as you can because eventually it's going to end. No one can explain it.
This years N.L. Rookie Of The Year race is playing out the same way. Basically it's a 2 player race to the finish, with the hare, Atlanta Braves 5-tool phenom Jason Heyward, and the tortoise, San Francisco Giants sweet-swinging, rifle-armed rookie catcher Buster Posey. The only real legit pitcher in the race is the Cardinals Jaime Garcia, who is 13-6 with a 2.35 era and a 1.291 whip. He is having an outstanding year, but the Cards are probably going to cut down his innings and he probably won't do much more in terms of stats. The Nationals Stephen Strasburg was looking like a front runner until his season was cut short with an elbow injury.
Now it's just Heyward vs Posey. A battle to the death, oh, I mean battle for the National League Rookie Of The Year!
Heyward had a huge head start over Posey. He got the starting right-field spot right out of spring. He had all the buzz at the beginning of the season, and he was playing like an All-Star. In fact, he played so well that he was voted in as a starter on the All-Star team. He has all the tools, great power, speed, plate discipline, and a great arm in the outfield. a groin injury early in the season, and a thumb injurythat kept him out of the All Star game have slowed his season down a little. He's not having near as good of a second half, but he just turned 21 years old and he will be a star for many years to come.
Meanwhile, Buster Posey was also putting up All Star numbers, only thing was, he was doing it in Fresno. Posey didn't make the opening day roster, not because of his bat, but because the position he plays. The Giants organization felt like he needed more work calling his own games and he didn't have enough experience doing that yet. But as the days went on in May, Posey was getting more experience behind the plate, and he was just on fire at the plate. By the end of May, he was hitting around .350 with an on base average of .440 and a ops around 1.000. Giants fans were desperate for a big bat in the line-up and were clammering for Posey to come up. Giants GM Brian Sabean finally complied, and on May 29th, Posey was finally brought up. He mainly started at first base and got some spot starts at catcher. On June 30th, the Giants gave the reigns to Posey completely when they traded starting catcher Bengie Molina to the Rangers. He, and the Giants, have taken off offensively ever since. His opposite-field approach, level swing, and level head have impressed all of his team mates and coaches. He already acts like a veteran and he is handling one of the best pitching staffs in the league seamlessly.
Now let's get down to the numbers...
As of today, September 6th, 2010, before their games, these are the 2 contender's stats:
Jason Heyward has played in 117 games, in 431 at bats is hitting .281 with 16 homers and 65 rbi. He has 27 doubles,4 triples, and 9 stolen bases. His on base average is .389, slugging .473, an ops of .863.
Buster Posey has played in 84 games, and in 314 at bats is hitting .328 with 11 homers, 55 rbi, 19 doubles, 2 triples, and 0 stolen bases. His on base average is .374, slugging .506, an ops of .880.
If you calculate those numbers out to 162 games, the power numbers actually favor Posey, the only stats Heyward would have Posey on would be triples and stolen bases.
Well, there's the facts, now you can decide for yourself who the Rookie Of The Year is. Please leave your comments below.
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