Sport-Blog.com

The year-end awards for the 2005 Major League Baseball season continue to roll in.  Today, the Rookie of the Year winners for both the American League and the National League were announced.  Pitcher Huston Street of the Oakland Athletics won the AL award with a total of 15 first-place votes, while first baseman Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies earned the NL honors with 19 first-place votes.  

Street, who is just 22 years old, got his chance to become the A's regular closer after Octavio Dotel was sidelined with an elbow injury on May 20.  He made 67 appearances on the season and pitched 78.1 innings in those games.  He gave up 53 hits while striking out 72 and walking just 26.  He finished with a 5-1 record and an incredible ERA of just 1.72.  The most important statistic of all, however, was the number of saves he recorded.  Street converted 23 of 27 save opportunities and set a team record for the number of saves by a rookie.  The previous A's record was set by Rollie Fingers back in 1969 when he had 12 saves.

Street was a key player late in the season as the A's made a chase for the pennant.  Although the team fell short, they got a good look at what kind of potential Street has as their closer of the future.  In addition to being a great pitcher, Street also became a fan favorite during the course of the season, and is likely to be a fixture in the Oakland organization for many years to come.

Street beat out Robinson Cano of the New York Yankees and Jonny Gomes of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for the award.

Ryan Howard got his chance to play for the Phillies when regular first baseman Jim Thome was injured in early July.  Howard, who is 25 years old, played in 88 games this season.  During that time, he had 90 hits, including 22 home runs, and 63 RBI in 312 at-bats.  Howard had a batting average of .288 and a slugging percentage of .567.  Like Street, Howard was an important part of a Phillies team that made a run at the playoffs late in the year.  Although the team fell a game short of making it to the postseason, Howard took advantage of the spotlight to showcase his talents.  The organization is so impressed with their young up-and-coming star that they are reportedly looking to trade Thome to make Howard their everyday first baseman.

Howard beat out Willie Taveras of the Houston Astros and Jeff Francoeur of the Atlanta Braves for the award.  In fact, some analysts believe Taveras deserved the award more than Howard since Taveras played in 152 games and appeared in the World Series with Houston.  But obviously, the voters did not agree with this assessment, as Howard received a total of 109 points to Taveras' 78 ponts.

Both of these top rookies have the talent necessary to become franchise-type players for their respective organizations, and the fans in those cities will be able to watch some great baseball for many years to come.