FanPost

Bailey ROY, Elvis second

Per Jamey's e-mail and also linked here, A's reliever Andrew Bailey was voted the AL Rookie of the Year and Elvis Andrus was second.


From the mlb.com article: OAKLAND -- Andrew Bailey's rise from Minor League obscurity to Major League limelight is a story that won't soon be forgotten. It turned historic on Monday when Bailey was named the winner of the American League Rookie of the Year Award. complete awards coverage The right-handed reliever beat out Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus, A's teammate Brett Anderson, infielder Gordon Beckham of the White Sox, catcher Matt Wieters of the Orioles and righty starters Rick Porcello of the Tigers and Jeff Niemann of the Rays, who were among the other candidates for the award. With a season strikingly similar to that a year earlier by fellow A's reliever Brad Ziegler, who took the baseball world by storm in 2008, Bailey's rags-to-riches story was among the feel-good highlights of 2009 -- and not just for A's fans. So compelling was Bailey's ascent -- from struggling Double-A starter to Arizona Fall League phenom to Spring Training sensation to All-Star big league closer -- that even President Barack Obama took notice. Sweeping through the AL clubhouse this July before the Midsummer Classic at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, President Obama stopped at the locker of Bailey, the only first-year player named to either team, and smiled. "Hey," President Obama said. "You're the rookie, right?" Bailey, 25, was blown away. "Come on," he said. "The president of the United States knows who I am? That's ridiculous." You could say the same about Bailey's stats. Moved from the starting rotation to the bullpen at midseason 2008 while with the Midland RockHounds of the Texas League, Bailey didn't just make a successful transition to relief work. He made the transition look like a breeze. Like he was born for relief work. "This is, I think, what Andrew was kind of meant to do," said A's pitching coach Curt Young. "His makeup, his demeanor, his stuff ... he's meant for this." Bailey, who dominated during the second half of the 2008 season at Midland, followed suit in the prestigious Arizona Fall League and did the same in his first trip to big league Spring Training to make the A's roster, posted an Oakland rookie-record 26 saves (in 30 chances) and a 6-3 record with a 1.84 ERA, a 0.88 WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) and 91 strikeouts against 24 walks in 83 1/3 innings over 68 appearances. "Andrew," said A's catcher Kurt Suzuki, "was amazing."