Danny Valencia entering rookie of year discussion, as Twins look to avoid sweep

DETROIT -- I wrote about Danny Valencia's Rookie of the Year chances for early editions last night. By night's end, Valencia was kicking himself for his late-inning at-bats and two errors, just as Carl Pavano was taking the blame for not protecting a five-run first-inning lead.

It might be too late for Valencia to win the rookie award. Rangers closer Neftali Feliz and Tigers center fielder Austin Jackson have been making big impacts on their teams for a full season.

But there’s no disputing the difference Valencia has made for the Twins in 77 games, especially over the past three months.

Valencia had his first career multi-homer game Saturday with a first-inning grand slam and a bases-empty shot in the fifth. Unfortunately, he also had his first multi-error game.

"It came down to defense," Valencia said, noting that he should have gotten at least one out on the ground ball hit to him in the 13th inning.

Jackson continued stating his case, going 4-for-6 with two RBI, to raise his average to .299. An exceptional defensive center fielder, Jackson has batted leadoff for the Tigers all year, stealing 26 bases and scoring 101 runs.

Meanwhile, Feliz improved to 38-for-41 in save opportunities and lowered his ERA to 2.85 as the Rangers defeated Oakland 4-3, clinching the American League West title.

If there weren’t other qualified candidates, Valencia might have a chance to join the list of Twins who've won rookie of the year honors: Tony Oliva (1964), Rod Carew (1967), John Castino (1979), Chuck Knoblauch (1991) and Marty Cordova (1995). (***Note, Castino was co-rookie of the year with Alfredo Griffin. Butch Wynegar was named rookie of the year in 1976 by The Sporting News.)

Most position players who’ve won the award have logged at least 100 games, though there are exceptions. Ryan Howard played 88 games for the Phillies when he won in 2005, batting .288 with 22 homers and 63 RBI.

Bob Horner played 89 games for the Braves when he won in 1978, batting .266 with 23 homers and 63 RBI. He edged Ozzie Smith, who played 159 games for the Padres, batting .258.

Valencia still has eight regular season games to pad his numbers. He’s now batting .327 with seven home runs and 40 RBI. The Twins have been desperate for third base help since Corey Koskie left as a free agent after the 2004 season. In Valencia, 26, they could have a solution for years to come.



(startribune.com)