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Around Baseball: November 20th… Phillies Rollins Named MVP; Hunter On Verge Of Choosing Team; Mets Acquire Estrada; Indians Sign Kobayashi
By Administrator | November 20, 2007
This afternoon, Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins was named the National League MVP, edging Colorado Rockies outfielder Matt Holliday by just seventeen points: Rollins received 16 first-place votes and 353 points… Holliday had 11 first-place votes and 336 points.
Rollins became the first player in baseball history to have 200 hits, 15 triples, 25 home runs and 25 stolen bases in a season… for the season, he had 212 hits (a .296 average), with 38 doubles, 20 triples, 30 home runs, 94 RBI, 139 runs scored and 41 stolen bases…and he won the Gold Glove. His 139 runs scored and 88 extra-base hits were league records for a shortstop.
The Phillies have now won back-to-back NL MVP awards (Ryan Howard won in 2006).
The shortstop became only the fourth player in history to have at least 20 doubles, 20 triples, 20 homers, and 20 stolen bases in a season… joining Curtis Granderson in 2007, Willie Mays in 1957, and Frank “Wildfire” Schulte in 1911.
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Free agent center fielder Torii Hunter has been fielding offers fast and furious since teams have been able to start talking to him… and he is in the process of making his final decision on which team he will play for next year.
The seven-time Gold Glove center fielder hit .287 with 28 homers and 107 RBIs for Minnesota last season.
He expects to make his decision before baseball’s winter meetings begin next week (on December 3rd)… he has not identified the finalists for his services, but it is widely believed that the Chicago White Sox and Texas Rangers may be the final two teams in the running. He said he will check back with the Twins before signing a contract with another club… giving them a chance to make a final offer.
Asked what his life has been like since filing for free agency on October 29th, Hunter said: “It’s a headache. It’s definitely a headache. You think you’re going to enjoy free agency, but it’s been a headache trying to figure out what I want to do”.
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The NY Mets appeared ready to sign free agent Yorvit Torrealba to be their starting catcher for 2008 after they reached a preliminary agreement with him last week on a three-year, $14.4 million contract… but the agreement was subject to a physical, and on Saturday the Mets said they had ended their pursuit of Torrealba — leading to speculation that he may have failed his medical exam.
So today the Metropolitans moved quickly to fill their void behind the plate by acquiring Johnny Estrada from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for reliever Guillermo Mota.
Estrada batted .278, with 10 homers and 54 RBIs, for the Brewers this year… but he drew just 12 walks (in 442 at-bats) leaving him with a meager .296 on-base percentage. And his defense is a major question mark: he threw out only 11 of 84 base-stealers (13 percent), according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Mota served a 50-game suspension for steroid use at the beginning of the 2007 season… he finished the year at 2-2, with a 5.76 ERA, in 52 appearances… he struck out 47 and walked 18 in 59 1/3 innings pitched.
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This afternoon, the Cleveland Indians signed Japanese free agent pitcher Masahide Kobayashi to a two-year, $6.25 million contract, that includes a $3.25 million club option for 2010 (with a $250,000 buyout).
The 33-year-old right-hander has spent the past nine seasons with the Chiba Lotte Marines (recently managed by Bobby Valentine) and is one of three pitchers in Japanese baseball history with more than 200 saves. He relies primarily on a slider as his out pitch… he also has a fastball that has been clocked in the mid-90s and a splitter.
Last season, Kobayashi went 2-7 with a 3.61 ERA and 27 saves in 49 appearances.
Indians general manager Mark Shapiro said: “This is a guy who has extensive closing experience. I view him in the upper echelon of guys who were available on the market… If we’re as good a team as we think we’re going to be, there are going to be many opportunities to pitch in meaningful situations in the late innings. That’s what we envision for him”.
Topics: Around Baseball |
