Rookie of the Year: National League Award Goes to Chris Coghlan

The National League Rookie of the Year has been chosen: Florida Marlins outfielder Chris Coghlan. Coghlan won the award after receiving 17 first-place votes and 105 total points on the ballot, beating out Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher J.A. Happ, who received 8 first-place votes and 94 total points. Although Coghlan had a great year at the plate for a rookie, it's surprising that the voters chose him over Happ, who was a major reason that the Phillies won the National League Pennant.

Chris Coghlan

Coghlan started off the year in a slump. Batting only .252 at the end of July, Coghlan was not even in the Rookie of the Year conversation at mid-season, with most of the conversation centering on Happ, St. Louis outfielder Colby Rasmus, and Atlanta Braves pitcher Tommy Hanson. After August 1^st, however, Coghlan racked up a batting average above .380, bringing his average for the season up to .321 by year's end. It was definitely Coghlan's ability to hit for average and get on base that wowed the voters, as Coghlan only finished the season with 9 home runs and 8 stolen bases.

J.A. Happ

Happ started off 2009 in the Phillies' bullpen, not making his first start until May 29^th. Although he had his fair share of shaky starts, he still managed to finish the season with a record of 12-4 and a 2.93 ERA, good for 8^th in the league among starters. Although his strong pitching was a big reason why the Phillies made it back to the World Series for the second straight year, Happ was relegated to mostly bullpen work in the playoffs, and finished with a 5.68 ERA for the playoffs.

Why Coghlan Won

Although the voters are supposed to take a player's entire season into account when giving out year-end awards, it no doubt helped Coghlan that he was at his strongest late in the season, the same time that Happ was starting to falter. It was much easier for the voters to remember Coghlan's amazing August and September than his horribly May and July. In addition, Happ's mediocre job during the playoffs as a reliever was still fresh in the voters' minds.

It seems to me that Happ had the more impressive overall season and was probably the player who should've won the awards. Unfortunately for Happ, there was another player with an award-worthy year, and he fell apart when the most eyes were upon him.

Resources:

Chris Coghlan's stats

J.A. Happ's stats

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