What “Happ”ened?
Marlins Coghlan beats out Phillies Happ for ROY
By DAN STAMM
Updated 2:44 PM EST, Mon, Nov 16, 2009
Phillies pitcher J.A. Happ fell short in his bid to be the National League Jackie Robinson Award winner, a.k.a. Rookie of the Year, Monday.
He was beaten out by Florida Marlins outfielder Chris Coghlan in a close race. Coghlan received 17 first-place votes and 105 total points while Happ, despite being named on all 32 ballots and picking up 10 first-place votes, fell short with 94 points.
Happ looked like the favorite and was clearly deserving of the award after going 12-4 in 35 appearances (23 starts) while striking out 119 and walking only 56 in 166 innings. His 2.93 ERA was good for eighth best in the NL.
But, the southpaw was likely hindered by his late-season performance. He was slowed by injuries down the stretch only tossing 16.1 innings in four starts after hurting himself on Sept. 2.
His stats also took a hit because he only became a starter in May after pitching out of the bullpen to start the season.
He still put up a great rookie campaign. Most impressively he tied for the league lead with two shutouts and was tied for third with three complete games.
Fellow rooks Tommy Hanson, Andrew McCutchen and Casey McGehee rounded up the top-5 vote getters.
Oakland closer Andrew Bailey edged out Elvis Andrus for the AL ROY award.
The ROY Award was renamed after Robinson 40 years after the legendary Dodgers second baseman won the first ROY award in 1947 the same year he broke the color barrier.
First Published: Nov 16, 2009 2:10 PM EST
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