Trout, Harper head rookie class
Fabulous freshmen outfielders form mutual admiration society
NEW YORK— Mike Trout and Bryce Harper were teammates on the Scottsdale Scorpions last fall. The outfielders arrived in the majors on the same April day this year, both played in the All-Star Game and they won rookie of the year awards a half-hour apart Monday, the vanguard of baseball’s next generation.
The 21-year-old Trout was a unanimous pick as the youngest AL rookie winner, and the 20-year-old Harper edged Arizona pitcher Wade Miley 112 points to 105 to be- come the second-youngest winner of the NL honour. “It’s pretty neat,” said Trout. For the first time, players learned the voting results when they were announced on television.
“My heart was beating a little bit,” Harper said.
Trout, who turned 21 on Aug. 7, received all 28 first-place votes from the AL panel of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. The Los Angeles Angels centre fielder was the eighth unanimous AL pick and the first since Tampa Bay’s Evan Longoria in 2008. There could be more to come, too. Trout is among five finalists for AL MVP and is considered the chief challenger to Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera for that award, which will be announced Thursday. “It would just top it off,” he said. Trout hit .326, second-best in the league to Cabrera’s .330, with 30 homers and 83 RBIs, and he led the majors with 129 runs and 49 steals. Trout earned the maximum 140 points. Oakland outfielder Yoenis Cespedes (63) was second, followed by Texas pitcher Yu Darvish (46). Detroit second baseman Lou Whitaker had been the youngest AL winner in 1978, but he was three months, five days older than Trout on the day he took home the award. Harper, the Washington Nationals outfielder, got 16 of 32 first-place votes from the NL panel. Miley was second with 12 first-place votes, followed by Cincinnati’s Todd Frazier with three firsts and 45 points. Harper batted .270 with 22 home runs and 59 RBIs as Washington brought post-season play to the U.S. capital for the first time since 1933. At 20 years, 27 days on Monday, he was 24 days older than New York Mets pitcher Dwight Gooden when he won the NL award in 1984. And the admiration of Harper and Trout is mutual, especially after their time together with Scottsdale in the Arizona Fall League, for the game’s premier prospects.
“He’s one of the best players in baseball, if not the best right now,” Harper said. “He’s pretty impressive every day he plays.”
For now, each has a rookie award. In the future, they may earn MVPs on the same day.
“We play the game the right way,” Trout said. “We’re always running out balls. He’s always hustling, trying to make that big play.”