News
Fans can reward Hanson, Braves on TYIB
Rookie, Vazquez, Cox, Wren represent Atlanta on ballot
By Mark Bowman / MLB.com
11/25/09 5:00 PM EST
ATLANTA -- Tommy Hanson wasn't named the National League's Rookie of the Year. But via MLB.com's This Year in Baseball Awards, many fans have shown that they feel the Braves right-hander was the top rookie in the Majors this past season.Now that the Cy Young, Most Valuable Player and other postseason honors have been announced, fans can choose the top performers and performances via the online balloting for this season's TYIB Awards.
The four Braves nominated for these awards include Hanson (top rookie), Javier Vazquez (top starting pitcher), Bobby Cox (top manager) and Frank Wren (top executive).
The ballot boxes will close at 7:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 11. In 2008, a record 12 million votes were cast for the TYIB Awards, and that figure could be surpassed this time around as fans weigh in on the year's top hitter, pitcher, moments and more. The results of the voting will be revealed during the week of Dec. 14-18.
According to the latest balloting results, Hanson sits in second place, trailing Phillies left-hander J.A. Happ.
Recognized as the game's top right-handed prospect entering this year, Hanson spent the first two months of the season in the Minors and then proceeded to go 11-4 with a 2.89 ERA in the 21 starts he made for Atlanta.
Hanson led all Major League rookies in ERA (2.89), strikeouts-per-nine innings (8.18), WHIP (1.18) and opponent's batting average (.225). The 23-year-old right-hander's 116 strikeouts and 11 wins ranked second among NL rookies to Happ, who compiled his 119 strikeouts and 12 victories over 38 1/3 more innings.
Vazquez, who finished fourth in this year's NL Cy Young Award balloting, proved to be one of the game's top hurlers this season. Among all NL pitchers, he ranked second in strikeouts (238), strikeouts-per-walk ratio (5.87) and complete games (three); third in WHIP (1.03); fourth in strikeouts per nine innings (9.77); fifth in batting average allowed (.226) and sixth in ERA (2.87).
Cox, who has announced that he'll end his storied managerial career at the end of the 2010 season, saw his eternal optimism pay dividends in September when his club enjoyed a 16-3 stretch that enabled it to remain in the postseason picture until the final week of the regular season.
Wren provided the Braves hope when he successfully reconstructed the starting rotation during the last offseason. When it was apparent that Wren needed to upgrade his offense, he was able to do so with the in-season acquisitions of Nate McLouth and Adam LaRoche.
Mark Bowman is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
