Ryan Braun's brawn earned him the National League Rookie of the Year award as Milwaukee's slugging third baseman edged Colorado's sparkplug shortstop Troy Tulowitzki by 2 points in balloting announced yesterday by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
Braun said he had trouble sleeping Sunday night, then woke up early at his condo in Santa Monica, Calif., and went for a jog to ease his "nervous energy."
"I had no idea what the vote would be based on," he said. "I knew that it would be a close vote."
Braun, who turns 24 Saturday, received 17 of 32 first-place votes and finished with 128 points. Tulowitzki got 15 first-place votes and 126 points. Ballots were completed by the end of the regular season.
"To show you how good Ryan was, in any other year Troy Tulowitzki would have won hands down," Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said.
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 Central Division championship until the final week.
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 slugging title.
His big offensive numbers were enough to overcome 26 errors, tied for most in the majors with Minnesota shortstop Jason Bartlett.
"Everybody has things they need to work on," Braun said on a conference call.
Tulowitzki led big-league shortstops in fielding percentage, got to many more balls than anyone at his position, and turned an unassisted triple play.
He 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 pennant. Colorado won 14 of 15 to take the wild-card spot - Tulowitzki had four hits in a one-game tiebreaker for the slot, including a key double off Trevor Hoffman.
Tulowitzki is on vacation this week and the Rockies did not make him available for comment.
Posada stays a Yankee
Jorge Posada and the Yankees agreed to a $52.4 million, four-year contract last night, keeping the All-Star catcher off the free agent market.Posada, a five-time All-Star who is 36, said Sunday he was "really close" to an agreement with the Yankees and his preference was to remain with the only major league team he'd played for. A person familiar with the talks confirmed the deal, speaking on condition of anonymity because the team didn't announce it.
The Yankees also were trying to re-sign closer Mariano Rivera before today, when free agents can start talking money with other clubs.
"Mariano already has been given an improved offer," senior vice president Hank Steinbrenner said yesteerday. Rivera, an eight-time All-Star, is in the Dominican Republic. Rivera, who turns 38 Nov. 29, said if he couldn't reach a deal with New York, he would consider following manager Joe Torre to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The closer is expected to receive a three-year contract.
Tigers stock up on Joneses
Todd Jones and the Tigers agreed to a $7 million, one-year contract. The former Red Sox reliever had 38 saves for the Tigers last season, a year after saving 37 games to help Detroit make the playoffs for the first time since 1987. "He's done a quality job for the last couple years and for us, a real big need for him to come back and fill that closer role," Tigers president Dave Dombrowski said. Re-signing Jones, who turns 40 in April, became even more important for Detroit when hard-throwing reliever Joel Zumaya had shoulder surgery, costing him at least the first half of the 2008 season . . . The Tigers also acquired outfielder Jacque Jones from the Cubs for utilityman Omar Infante. "Our scouts really like [Jones] and how he fits because he's a lefthanded hitter that can play all three spots in the outfield," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. Jones, who took over as Chicago's starting center fielder in the second half of the 2007 season, is expected to split time in left field with Marcus Thames and be an option in center behind Curtis Granderson and in right backing up Magglio Ordonez.
