Okay, let’s pause for a minute Red Sox Nation.
Why am I saying this? Well, after Andrew Benintendi’s two-home run, six-RBI showing Saturday afternoon, apparently the AL Rookie of the Year race, which the 23-year-old was favored to win at the beginning of the season, is a “race” again.
I’m not joking, see for yourself:
Benintendi for Rookie Of the Year ??????????
— Cal Bailey (@_jbailey15_) August 13, 2017
This Benintendi guy. Rookie of the Year, yes? Yes.
— Alex Marinelli (@AMarinelli_99) August 12, 2017
ANDREW BENINTENDI MVP, ROOKIE OF THE YEAR.!! I love him so much
— Meghan Marie (@itsMeghanL) August 12, 2017
Devers and Benintendi about to win co AL rookie of the year
— Conor McCarthy (@Conor_McCarthy9) August 12, 2017
Two factors have led to this, as I would say, confusion. One, the left fielder is hitting .484 with four home runs and 11 runs batted in thus far in August. He also have five thefts and 10 runs scored.
The man who Red Sox fans are quick to dethrone from the front-runner status, the New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge, is hitting .161 with five home runs and 12 runs batted in post All-Star break.
So, here is a quick look at the updated numbers for both rookies:
| Stat | Benintendi | Judge |
| BA | .280 | .289 |
| HR | 16 | 35 |
| RBI | 65 | 78 |
| OBP | .359 | .419 |
| R | 59 | 87 |
| H | 111 | 114 |
| SB | 14 | 6 |
Okay, so it’s blatantly obvious. What I’m getting at is regardless of how hot Benny, as he is referred to by the Fenway faithful, is, the race is still out of hand.
Besides stolen bases, which is essentially meaningless, the one advantage I would give Benintendi is the success of the Red Sox, who sit in first place in the AL East.
However, if you’re a fan of WAR (wins above replacement), you’ll see Judge pulls in at No. 8 in the MLB at 5.3. You’ll have to do some scrolling down to find Benintendi, whose WAR is 1.9.
Judge would have to essentially hit .200 the rest of the way for this to even be close.
2 Responses
Judge hasn’t done anything since All-star break.If Andrew keeps it up and Judge continues downward spiral there should be a discussion.Its Rookie of the Year not Rookie of 3 Months
You’re dismissing your own point. Look at Benintendi’s monthly splits.