Seattle Mariners outfielder Julio Rodriguez won the AL Rookie of the Year award on Tuesday.
He got 29 of the 30 first-place votes and comfortably edged out Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman.
Steven Kwan finished third and Bobby Witt Jr. was fourth.
In fifth place, with just three third-place votes, was Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena.
Pena started off the season on the right foot, but went cold in the second half and lost too much ground in comparison to J-Rod and Rutschman (and Kwan).
His end of the season numbers were good, but not great like Rodriguez’s.
The Astros infielder hit .253/.289/.426 with 22 home runs and 11 stolen bases.
That, and his excellent defense at short helped him post 3.4 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) in his debut season.
He may have finished fifth, but according to an Astros insider, Pena has his consolation prize.
Pena Didn’t Win AL Roy, But Was The Astros’ Postseason MVP
Or, shall we say, prizes?
“Jeremy Peña finished fifth in AL Rookie of the Year voting. I’m sure he will take his Gold Glove, ALCS and World Series MVPs instead,” Brian McTaggart tweeted.
Jeremy Peña finished fifth in AL Rookie of the Year voting. I’m sure he will take his Gold Glove, ALCS and World Series MVPs instead. pic.twitter.com/DgpAGRWbG8
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) November 15, 2022
That’s right: he may have been a bit off his game in the second half of the regular season, but Pena turned things around in the playoffs big time.
He hit the home run to get the Astros in the Championship Series, an 18th-inning blast against the Seattle Mariners.
Then, he was selected the MVP of the ALCS against the New York Yankees.
As if that wasn’t enough, he took home World Series MVP honors against the Philadelphia Phillies.
With a powerful offense and a Gold Glove-caliber defense, Pena captivated the baseball universe in October and wrote his name in the Astros’ history books.
Not too bad for the rookie.
NEXT: The Astros Missed Out On A Top Free Agent