Could Jacoby be Rookie of the Year?
Yes, Jacoby Ellsbury was up with Boston during the year last year, and during September call ups. But he is also still a rookie this year. The exact rule for being considered a rookie is defined by the baseball writers association, who does the actual voting for Rookie of the Year.
Rookie Status: The BBWAA dictates that a rookie shall have not have pitched 50 innings or had 150 at-bats in the majors before a particular season in order to be considered a rookie. He must also not have more than 45 days of service time outside the month of September.
Note that post season does not count. Ellsbury, during the regular season, had 116 at bats, well short of the 150 maximum. He also was on the team for far less than the 45 days maximum (September time with expanded rosters doesn’t count).
So, let’s assume that the Sox do in fact trade Coco Crisp. This is clearly at least a strong possibility given the fact that they threw some extra money at Bobby Kielty, who would be stuck in AAA if both Coco and Jacoby were on the team. This means that Jacoby Ellsbury would get 500ish at bats, which should be plenty. Bill James projects his numbers to be:
- 463 at bats
- 78 runs (probably more since he’ll likely lead off)
- 5 home runs
- 42 steals
- 46 RBI
If he puts up numbers that are within this range, he is a lock for Rookie of the Year. The last 3 position players to win Rookie of the Year were all infielders, so the power numbers weren’t necessarily there anyway. They were:
Dustin Pedroia - 520 at bats, 86 runs, 8 HRs, 7 steals, 50 RBI
Bobby Crosby - 545 at bats, 70 runs, 22 HRs, 7 steals, 64 RBI
Angel Berroa - 567 at bats, 92 runs, 17 HRs, 21 steals, 73 RBI
Projected numbers fall right in line with what will be needed to take ROY. And given that this will happen while leading off for one of the top offense’s in the league, I am confident that Jacoby should be the early favorite to win.
Stumble it!