Nov 12, 2007 2:28 pm US/Mountain
Rockies' Tulowitzki Loses NL ROY By 2 Points
Vote Closest Since 1980
DENVER (CBS4/AP) ―
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Rockies' shortstop Troy Tulowitzki turns a double play in Game 3 of the NLCS Sunday night, Oct. 14, 2007 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. (Ken Papaleo/Rocky Mountain News)
Ken Papleo/Rocky Mountain News
Milwaukee's Ryan Braun has been voted NL Rookie of the Year, beating Colorado Rockies' shortstop Troy Tulowitzki by two points in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America announced Monday.
Braun had 128 points to Tulowitzki's 126.
Called up from Triple-A in late May, Braun hit .324 with 34 home runs and 97 RBIs. The Brewers led the majors in homers this season and stayed in contention for the NL Central championship until the final week.
Braun got 17 of the 32 first-place votes and finished with 128 points. Tulowitzki received 15 first-place votes and had 126 points.
Braun's .634 slugging percentage led NL players and was the highest by a rookie in major league history. He did not have enough plate appearances, however, to qualify for the title.
His big offensive numbers were enough to overcome 26 errors, tied for most in the majors with Minnesota shortstop Jason Bartlett.
Tulowitzki led big league shortstops in fielding percentage, got to many more balls than anyone at his position and turned an unassisted triple play.
Tulowitzki also set an NL rookie record for home runs by a shortstop (24), and batted .291 with 99 RBIs as the Rockies surged to the NL pennant.
There was a tie for the NL award in 1976 between San Diego's Butch Metzger and Cincinnati's Pat Zachry -- though the voting format was different then. Last year, Florida shortstop Hanley Ramirez beat out Washington third baseman Ryan Zimmerman by four points.
"Ryan Braun came to the major leagues and had as much offensive impact as I have seen in my 12 years as a general manager," Milwaukee's Doug Melvin said. "To show you how good Ryan was, in any other year Troy Tulowitzki would have won hands down."
Braun, who turns 24 this Saturday, became the second Brewers player to win Rookie of the Year. Pat Listach won in 1992 when Milwaukee was in the American League.
The two-point differential was the closest in the NL since the current system was adopted in 1980. The previous closest was in 2006 when Florida Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez won over Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, 105-101.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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