It’s pretty rare to win the Rookie of the Year Award and make it to the World Series. It’s even more seldom for the winner from both leagues to make it.
The award is voted on before the postseason, so the voting can’t exactly be rigged.
When San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey and Texas Rangers closer Neftali Feliz were named the winners Monday, it was just the third time since 1949 that the rookies of the year faced off in the Fall Classic. (In 1947 and 1948 only one award was given).
The other two years featured a few well-known ball players: Fernando Valenzuela and Dave Righetti in 1981 and Willie Mays and Gil McDougald in 1951. An interesting side note is that Righetti was the pitching coach for the 2010 Giants.
With all of this history behind them, we’re likely to be hearing about the careers of Posey and Feliz for years to come.
