ROYs for 2018

Shohei Ohtani and Ronald Acuna Junior are baseball's Rookies of the Year for 2018.
There was controversy attached to the choice of the two-way threat. Were 82 games as a DH, 22 pinch hit appearances and 10 games pitched enough to outflank the everyday dependability of the Yankees Miguel Andujar? And while the qualifications are different than for MVP, how do you factor Ohtani playing for a non-contender as opposed to Andujar quickly becoming a key cog for a playoff team? The most talked about newcomer in the majors drew headlines -- but also missed well over a month with elbow problems that will require Tommy John surgery and a halt in his pitching career until 2020. Ohatani earned 25 first place votes -- I'll admit being surprised he finished that far ahead of the Yankee 3rd baseman.
Acuna was a runaway winner in the National League -- landing 27 of the 30 first place votes. It's a clear cut choice -- Acuna brought speed, power and enthusiasm to as the young Braves surprised the experts by blossoming into a division champ. The Venezula product hit just under .300 with a most impressive .363 on base percentage; add on 26 homers, 26 doubles and 16 steals and you've got the whole package.
(My image of Ohtani is from the May 29th Angels/Yankees game; I snapped Acuna in the Bronx when the Braves visited on July 2nd.)

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