I was talking to a friend last night and it was mentioned how much Robinson Cano had matured as a baseball player. I instantly began to remember Cano as a twenty-two year old rookie second baseman, who had great talent, but swung at any pitch that came within eight feet of home plate and made silly rookie mistakes in the field.But still and all, he was very talented. I remembered that when the season was almost over he was looked like one of the two likely candidates for American League Rookie of the Year, which was considered to be a two-horse race with Tampa Bay Devil Rays outfielder Jonny Gomes. Of course, Oakland A's closer Huston Street, came out of nowhere and ended up winning the award. Tthe major comparison though was between Gomes and Cano. Gomes, who played in thirty one less games then Cano, hit twenty one home runs, compared to Cano's fourteen, and had an On Base Percentage of .372, while Cano's was .320. On the other hand, Cano's .297 Batting Average beat out Gomes' .282 and Cano drove in more runs. When it came to fielding, neither were very good. Gomes was a Designated Hitter in almost half of his games, while Cano made seventeen errors and seemed a bit lazy. Meanwhile, Huston Street had twenty three saves and a 1.72 ERA. The voting was:
1. Huston Street
2. Robinson Cano
3. Jonny Gomes
Also, Nick Swisher tied for sixth in the voting.
Since winning the award, Huston Street has had a few good years, but only surpassed his 2005 save total twice, and has not had an ERA below 2.88 since. Though he is now only twenty seven and is still the closer for the Colorado Rockies.
Jonny Gomes has never been the same since, He has not hit above .270 since, or played in 150 games or more. He is now thirty and is a utility outfielder for the Reds.
Meanwhile, Cano has hit over .300 four times, is a two time All Star, a Gold Glover in 2010, and a two time Silver Slugger. He also came in third for the American League MVP in 2010 and looks poised to win the award one of these years.
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