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Maddon Delivers Pitch For His Rookie Outfielder

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 24, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - Ballots for baseball's major awards are due in before the first postseason game begins a week from Wednesday. As the clock ticks down, Rays manager Joe Maddon trotted out his stump speech for Delmon Young's Rookie of the Year candidacy following Sunday's game.

'You put the whole picture together to tie this whole thing into a nice little bundle, and I think it equals Rookie of the Year,' Maddon said. 'Everybody just wants to talk about offense - talk about his defense and his stolen bases this year. He's playing a complete game for us right now.'

Young went 3-for-4 Sunday, hitting his 13th home run to give the Rays an early lead and to increase his RBI total to 93 - 28 more than the next-closest AL rookie. Young's hit total stands at 183, one shy of the team record Rocco Baldelli set in 2003. His 16 outfield assists are 11 more than any other AL rookie.

There are plenty more numbers to recite, including Young being likely to play in all 162 games, but he had no interest in anointing himself a favorite.

'I don't know, because those Red Sox guys are putting up very strong years,' he said.

Young's stiffest competition will come from Boston's Dustin Pedroia. The second baseman is hitting .315, tops among AL rookies, and his .432 slugging percentage and .380 on-base percentage beat out Young's numbers. Pedroia also has a hefty trump card in playing almost every day for a high-profile, playoff-bound team.

'Those are wonderful intangibles, and I think that's fabulous,' said Maddon, 'but when it really comes down to his performance in regard to voting in this particular situation, you can't base it on a fact that you're in a city that, media-wise, generates more publicity. I think if you're really going to go after the guy that's most deserving based on the appropriate numbers, you have to give it to Delmon.'

Young would happily accept the honor, but he said he isn't worried about it.

'I'd rather win a World Series ring than an award,' he said.

BETWEEN THE LINES: The pronouncements have seesawed from pessimistic to optimistic and back again, but Maddon finally seemed to concede that LF Carl Crawford isn't going to play again this year.

Crawford suffered a left groin strain Sept. 16 at Seattle and hasn't made any significant strides - literally or figuratively - toward a return. Maddon has said repeatedly he won't play Crawford unless he's 100 percent, and there are no signs he is near that point.

'I'm not so sure right now that he's going to be able to do this,' Maddon said. 'It doesn't seem like it's going anywhere where we need it to go for him to participate right now. We'll look at it again after today's day off, but I'm not anticipating that he's going to be able to play.'

NOTEWORTHY: Sunday's crowd of 30,310 for the Red Sox series finale at Tropicana Field upped the season total to 1,312,517. The Rays need to draw 59,403 over three games against the Yankees this week - an average of 19,801 - to match last year's home total of 1,371,920. ... Saturday's game at Toronto will not be televised. It originally was scheduled to air on FSN Florida, but Sunday's season finale is now the only game from the last series that will be on TV.

Marc Lancaster

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