Rookie Class

The top rookie honors have been announced by Major League Baseball. In the American League, Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia was named Rookie of the Year. And in the National League, it was Brewers' third baseman Ryan Braun.

For Pedroia, it really wasn't much of a surprise. While there was some competition (Delmon Young, Brian Bannister, Hideki Okajima, etc...), Pedroia was always considered the front runner for the award. He won by a small landslide, topping Young by 76 points. Pedroia's .317 batting average, good for 10th in the league, is the highest ever for a rookie second baseman - and he also played with a broken left hand since the beginning of September.

For Braun, it wasn't quite as easy. Rockies' shortstop Troy Tulowitzki gave Braun a real run for his money, as Braun won the award by only two points. Either would have made a fine choice for the NL Rookie of the Year, but in the end, Braun's incredible run, which included 34 homeruns since his May 25 debut, was proved victorious. Perhaps it shows that the writers/voters are bigger fans of offense rather than defense, as Braun clearly had more braun than "Tulo", who was the better defender by far.