Pyle of List

Growing up, I was an avid baseball card collector (back before there were 79 different Upper Deck sets every year and cards had little pieces of a players DNA on them) and I can always remember holding onto a certain players card because they had just won Rookie of the Year and that meant they were gonna be a big star, right? Actually, not so much. But some ROYs do go on to be great players. This is the the starting 9 I would create from ROYs over the last 15 years (1993-2008). I will also point out the complete and utter flame-outs [editor’s note: heh, flamers!] at each position. Play ball!

1B: Ryan Howard (2005) - Howard jumped onto the baseball scene in 2005. He just didn’t jump very high…see, because he’s fat…nevermind. But his numbers were astounding: .288 avg, 22 HR, 63 RBI in only 88 games. He would win the NL MVP a year later.
FLAMER: None. Surprisingly, Ryan Howard is the first 1B to win this award since Eric Karros in 1992, a year before I started collecting baseball cards.

2B: Derek Jeter (1996) - Now before you get your collective internet perusing panties in a wad, let me say that I know Jeter is a shortstop. But no 2B has won the award in the last 15 years, and Jeter’s defense is so bad he should probably be bumped over to second.
Flamer: None. Wow, this category is pretty boring so far…

3B: Albert Pujols (2001) - Yeah, bet you forgot that Pujols started out as a third baseman, didn’t you? Well, he did. Pujols is one of the top three hitters currently playing in the game, and no one is going to argue that. His rookie year he hit .329 with 37 (!) HR and 130 (!!) RBI. That’s a career year for most people. For Albert, it was just his first. Unfortunately, Chris Berman dubbed him “Winnie The” Pujols and made America grow to hate the talented slugger.
Flamer: Scott Rolen (1997) - Rolen hit the league running, and promptly tripped and injured his shoulder. The best Phillie 3B since a guy named Schmidt was supposed to be just that, the next Schmidt. But injuries began piling up and Rolen is now a shell of his former self (and all his cards are value-less, thank you very much!)

SS: Nomar Garciaparra (1997) - I know, I know, Nomar has run into the same situation as Rolen recently. Sue me! [editor’s note: no, seriously, don’t] But at his height, Nomar was much higher than Rolen ever was. A six time all star, led the AL in hitting twice (1999 and 2000) , Garciaparra was considered one of the best in baseball at the turn of the century. That, and he went to high school around where I grew up, so my homerism gets him onto this list.
Flamer: Angel Berroa (2003) - Well, I’ll let Wikipedia tell this story: “Following his rookie year, Angel Berroa’s performance went down annually in on-base percentage, runs, slugging percentage and stolen bases. His fielding statistics included 77 errors in 2003-2005 (24, 28 — leading all major league shortstops while he had the lowest fielding percentage among shortstops — .955, 25) that were the most among starting American League shortstops in that time span.”

C: Mike Piazza (1993) - We’ve all had our fun at Piazza’s expense, but what shouldn’t be overlooked is that he was the best hitting catcher of our generation. He was barely drafted (Dodger’s last pick in 1988 draft) but ended up making 12 all-star teams and hitting the most home runs ever as a catcher (423).
Flamer: Bob Hamelin (1994) - Again, I know Hamelin wasn’t a catcher, but where am I supposed to put a DH that ended up sucking on this list? Career stats: .246 avg, 67 HR, 209 RBIs. If Albert Pujols didn’t reach those numbers over two years, let alone a career, he would kill himself.

LF: Carlos Beltran (1999) - Beltran is a legit 5-tool star that can switch hit to boot. His rookie year he hit .293 with 22 HR and 108 RBI. He went on to be a great hitter for the next few years before catching everyone’s eye in the 2004 NL Playoffs (he tied Barry Bonds’ record with 8 HR in a postseason). After that he signed a huge contract with the Mets (7 years, $119 mil) where Willie Randolph has begun eating his soul.
Flamer: Todd Hollandsworth (1996) - To be fair, I think Todd only won this award so people could say “Look, the Dodgers had five in a row!” (Karros, Piazza, Mondesi, Nomo) because he was never really that good (.291, 12 HR, 59 RBI in 149 games in ROY campaign). Just right place at the right time (his sub-par stats somehow led NL rookies in hits, doubles, home runs, RBI, and stolen bases).

CF: Ichiro (2001) - In my mind, he’s one of the top three position players in the game. Yeah yeah, when he was an MLB rookie he had already logged 9 seasons in Japan, but rules are rules. And a .350 avg is a .350 avg. He has since set the single record for most hits (262 in 2004). Did I mention he also won MVP his rookie season? Yeah, um, he’s good.
Flamer: Ben Grieve (1998) - Well, for starters, he’s already a “former major league player”. That should tell you something right there. But it’s not all his fault. He was traded to Tampa Bay just two years after winning ROY (and putting up half-way decent numbers). You find me someone willing to play hard for Tampa Bay in 2000 and I’ll tell you to get Greg Vaughn back to work, those groceries won’t bag themselves!

RF: Tim Salmon (1993) - For me, it was between Salmon and Jason Bay (2004) and Salmon won out for playing at a high level for nearly a decade. His rookie campaign (.283, 31 HR, 95 RBI) got slightly overshadowed by Piazza, but for a long time Salmon was the best player and very very bad Angels team. I just thought he was a classy guy who worked hard and produced pretty well. That, and his white guy sliding catches in the outfield were awesome.
Flamer: Marty Cordova (1995) - To me, Marty Cordova is the epitome of the Flame Out ROY. His rookie year was okay (.277, 24 HR, 84 RBI) but in hindsight players like Andy Pettite, Shawn Green, and even lazy ass Garret Anderson look more deserving. He was pretty old when he finally made it to the majors, so his back problems that robbed him of a lot of time aren’t that surprising. What is surprising is that he missed time for falling asleep in a tanning bed. And that will forever be his legacy.

Got anyone I missed? Feel like someone has been shunned? Let me hear about it in the comments!