Cuban pitcher Jose Fernandez, accompanied by his mother and grandmother, received just minutes ago the Rookie of the Year Award in the National League; another great joy in a historic season for Cuban baseball players.
Fernandez, who was born in Villa Clara, is the third Cuban to win the coveted award. Toni Oliva did it in 1964 in his debut with the Minnesota Twins, in the American League. Twenty-two years later, in 1986, Jose Canseco won the prize playing for the Oakland Athletics in the same circuit.
This is the fourth time a player from the Marlins franchise wins this type of award . The first who broke the ice was the also pitcher Dontrelle Willis in 2003, Dominican Hanley Ramirez took it in 2006, and three seasons later it was the turn of outfielder Chris Coghlan.
The injuries suffered by Henderson Alvarez and Nathan Eovaldi, during spring training, gave a space to young Cuban prospect in the starting rotation of Miami; until then he was assigned to play in Double-A with Jacksonville. In his debut he struck out eight Mets players in just five innings … foreboding of what was to happen … I’m sure very few bet on it.
His presence in the All-Star Game was an unequivocal sign that the boy’s talent was being felt every time he went to the mound. The second half of the season was sensational. He amassed seven wins with a single loss. He did not allowed more than five hits and none team was able to score more than two runs, including unearned ones, in any of his starts.
Globally his statistics simply impress. Let’s look at some of his most relevant stats, considering that for him the season ended three weeks earlier due to he reached the limit of innings the Marlins agreed (170) for his debuting year.
However pitching for one of the worst teams in MLB, in 28 starts he won 12 games and lost 6. He even repeatedly left the box without decision despite allowing at most two runs, but he had not the offensive support of his teammates.
His ERA (2.19) was the second lowest in both circuits, only surpassed by the Dodgers star Clayton Kershaw (1.83). Since 1909, no pitcher at 20 or less (at season start) reached such effectiveness.
Opponents’ average was an anemic .182. Since 1969 only the Dominican Pedro Martinez (.167 in 2013) had better stats. It was also the lowest average for a rookie since 1900, tied with Japanese Hideo Nomo (1995).
His WHIP (allowed hits and granted BB by innings of action) was the second best in the NL (0.98), being one of the four pitchers in the season who managed to have this indicator under one. This WHIP, in unison, established the franchise record for the Marlins.
Fernandez totaled 187 strikeouts in 172.2 innings, for a magnificent 9.75 per nine innings of action. Among pitchers who worked more than 100 innings, this was the fifth highest average.
Among rookie pitchers of NL, he had the second highest number of quality starts with 20, occupying the same position in the percentage of them (0.71). He was only surpassed by South Korean Hyun-Jin Riu (Dodgers, 22, 0.73).
Before receiving this award, Jose Fernandez had already obtained other prizes. In a players preliminary vote he was elected as rookie of the year in the NL. He was also included in the Rookie All Star Team selected by the prestigious magazine Baseball America, sharing honors with three other Cubans Yasiel Puig (rf), Nolan Arenado (3B) and Jose Iglesias (ss). Finally, he was chosen as the season best pitcher in the ESPN Latin All Star.
The Rookie of the Year distinction was first granted in 1940. Since 1947, the Baseball Writers Association of American (BBWAA) decided to recognize a player for each league. At its inception the award bore the name of former White Sox owner Louis Cominskey, until in 1987 it was changed to honor the first black baseball player to break the color barrier in the United States, Jackie Robinson, who in fact had obtained this prize in that mythical 1947.
From OnCuba we congratulate this new Cuban baseball idol. Furthermore, we do not want to fail mentioning Cienfuegos´ outfielder Yasiel Puig (Dodgers) and Havana’s shortstop Jose Iglesias, who were among the finalists for the award.
Author
Daniel A. Fernández
