Votto places second in NL ROY voting

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Votto places second in NL ROY voting
Reds slugger nets one first-place vote; Volquez, Bruce finish in top five
By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com

CINCINNATI -- Based purely on their offensive numbers, Reds first baseman Joey Votto and Cubs catcher Geovany Soto were about as evenly matched as they could be.
When it came down to who has the higher profile, there is no contest -- it's Soto all the way. Therefore, it was of little surprise that Soto won the National League Rookie of the Year Award in landslide fashion.

In results released on Monday, Soto received 31 first-place votes on the 32 ballots cast with one second-place vote for 158 points in a 5-3-1 scoring system. Votto was given one first-place vote, 21 for second place and eight for third place and had 76 points.

"I want to congratulate Geovany for winning," Votto said from Florida. "As good of a season as he had, I don't mind coming in second place after a solid season."

Two other Reds also received mention. Despite the fact he was not classified as a rookie, pitcher Edinson Volquez picked up three second-place votes and finished in fourth place overall. Rookie right fielder Jay Bruce came in fifth with seven-third place votes.

In the NL rookie triple crown race this season, Votto and Soto occupied the top two spots in each category. Votto led with a .297 batting average and 24 home runs while Soto was second with a .285 average and 23 home runs. Soto's 86 RBIs were just ahead of Votto's 84.

Votto, 25, also led NL rookies in hits (156), total bases (266), multihit games (42), on-base percentage (.356) and slugging percentage (.506). His 24 homers were the most by a Reds rookie since Frank Robinson established the NL rookie record with 38 homers in 1956.

The last Reds Rookie of the Year was pitcher Scott Williamson in 1999.

Besides having a tremendous season in his own right, Soto's contributions were made for a contender. The Cubs won the NL Central, and Soto was the first rookie catcher to start an All-Star Game after being elected by fans. The Chicago pitching staff had the league's third-best ERA and Soto also caught a no-hitter for Carlos Zambrano.

2008 NL Rookie of the Year Voting
Player, Club 1st 2nd 3rd Points
Geovany Soto, chi
Joey Votto, CIN
Jair Jurrjens, ATL
Edinson Volquez, CIN*
Jay Bruce, CIN
Kosuke Fukudome, CHC
* Volquez received votes despite being ineligible as a rookie.

"That speaks for itself," Votto said of Soto's year. "His numbers weren't too dissimilar to mine. I thought it was a slam dunk."

Soto played for Reds manager Dusty Baker in parts of the 2005 and '06 seasons when Baker was in Chicago.

"I figured Geo would come out with most of the votes," Baker said on Monday, while returning home from a hunting trip. "Joey had a good year. It's no slight on Joey. He's just scratching the surface of what he can do. I would have loved for Joey to get it, but Geo was deserving at the same time."

Votto came on very strong at the end by batting .309 (29-for-94) with nine homers to win the NL Rookie of the Month award in September. It was not enough. The Reds did not contend most of the season and finished in fifth place.

After some rest, Votto began offseason workouts last week.

"I want to be ready to compete next year and help this club take a step in the right direction," Votto said. "Whether it's a .500 record, or getting into the playoffs, I don't know which one, but it has to be in the right direction."

http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/news/art ... p&c_id=cin


3 Reds made the list and Volquez wasn't even a real candidate. I guess that shows how well he impressed other teams this past season.