Gordon Beckham Is The Sporting News AL Rookie of the Year

While the 2009 season was filled with a lot more reasons to be disappointed than pleased, not everything went wrong with the White Sox this year.  There are actually a few reasons to be optimistic about the next few years to come if Jake Peavy's performance in September is an indication of things to come.

Then there's the one they call Bacon.  I spent the first two months of the season making a case for the White Sox to call up their 2008 #1 draft pick Gordon Beckham, and in June Kenny Williams finally realized that I'm the smartest man on Earth, and did just that.



All Bacon did after joining the Sox was hit .270 with 14 homers and 63 RBI.  Pretty good numbers considering he missed the first two months of the season and had to learn an entirely new position to play.

It appears players around the league took notice of Bacon's talents too, because it was announced today that he's been named the Sporting News' AL Rookie of the Year.

White Sox third baseman Gordon Beckham was named The Sporting News' 2009 American League rookie of the year.

The honor has special significance, since a panel of 338 major league players selected the winners. Philadelphia pitcher J.A. Happ won the National League's rookie honors.

 Now this isn't the "official" rookie of the year award as the BBWAA will announce their selection after the World Series is over, but it's a good indicator of who may win those awards -- though I think Rick Porcello will win for the AL.  Still, I think this one will probably mean more to Beckham because it's the players who voted on it, not the writers.

Because if I've proved anything to all of you over the last 4 years here, it's that writers don't know shit.