Trout and Harper Wins Rookies of the Year

This is the First of Many Awards for These Two

Last night, it was announced the Mike Trout, outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels, and Bryce Harper, outfielder for the Washington Nationals, were each named Rookie of the Year in their respective divisions.

The news was no surprise in Trout's case, who absolutely took the league by storm, having one of the best seasons by any player let alone rookies. Trout batted .326, with 30 homers and 83 RBI's, while also scoring 129 runs and stealing 49 bases. With those numbers Trout unanimously won this year's ROY award, and was the first to do so since Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria did it in 2008. Oakland Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes and Texas Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish, finished second and third respectively in the voting in the American League.

Harper, on the other hand, had a good season, but he didn't even come close to the season that Trout had. This comes a surprise to many, including myself, do to the hype that surrounded Harper when he entered the league. Widely regarded as the "Chosen One" or the "LeBron James of Baseball," Harper hit .270 with 22 homers and 59 RBI's, scoring 98 runs and stealing 18 bases. However, Harper did accomplish one thing that Trout did not, and that is, help his team reach the playoffs. Harper slightly edged out Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Wade Miley by just six points, and Cincinnati Reds infielder Todd Frazier finished third.

One Last Thing: Regardless of who had the better year, both of these guys should be proud of the way that they entered the league. Both were invited to the All-Star Game as rookie, Trout is up for the MVP in the American League, and Harper already has one year of playoff experience under his belt. The good news is that Trout is only 21 years old and Harper is 20 years old. These guys have a lot of baseball ahead of them, and it should be fun to watch them grow into dominating players.