One of my favorite things about collecting baseball cards back in the day was when I opened up a pack of Topps that I paid 50 cents for, not the $4.00 they are today, and got a card with a gold cup on it.
I have no idea why, but I always thought those cards were special. Those cards with the gold cup on them signified that the player was on Topps’ All-Rookie Team the year before.
Now that the regular season has been over for a couple of weeks, I thought I would hand out my gold cups for the 2010 season.
Here is The Ghost of Moonlight Graham’s 2010 All-Rookie Team…
C—Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants: .305/.357/.505 with 18 HRs
Not only will Posey be a top candidate for the Rookie of the Year, but he will get some MVP votes as well.
1B—Ike Davis, New York Mets: .264/.351/.440 with 17 HRs
Tough call between Davis and Gaby Sanchez, but went with Davis because he put up equal numbers as Sanchez, but in fewer games.
2B—Neil Walker, Pittsburgh Pirates: .296/.349/.462 with 12 HRs
The 2004 first-round pick really blossomed in 2010. The 25-year-old hit .326 at PNC Park this year and should be the Pirates’ second baseman for years to come.
SS—Starlin Castro, Chicago Cubs: .300/.347/.408 with 10 SBs
The Cubs have a good one in Castro. In addition to his 10 SBs, Castro also contributed five triples.
3B—Chris Johnson, Houston Astros: .308/.337/.481 with 11 HRs
Johnson’s .818 OPS was the fourth highest amongst rookies in 2010. Johnson hit .316 in the second half.
OF—Austin Jackson, Detroit Tigers: .293/.345/.400 with 27 SBs and 10 triples
Jackson led all rookies in hits with 181 on the season, and he already has established himself as one of the better defensive center fielders in the game.
OF—Jason Heyward, Atlanta Braves: .277/.393/.456 with 18 HRs and 11 SBs
Heyward showed a tremendous eye at the plate, drawing 91 walks on the season. If he can stay healthy, 30-30 is a distinct possibility in the future.
OF—Mike Stanton, Florida Marlins: .259/.326/.507 with 22 HRs
Another tough call—Stanton or Jose Tabata? Stanton earns the honors because of his 22 HRs in just 100 games.
SP—Jaime Garcia, St. Louis Cardinals: 13-8 with a 2.70 ERA and 1.32 WHIP in 163.1 IP
Garcia led all rookie starting pitchers with a 2.70 ERA, and his 55.9 GB percentage ranked sixth amongst all major league pitchers.
SP—Madison Bumgarner, San Francisco Giants: 7-6 with a 3.00 ERA and 1.31 WHIP in 111 IP
Bumgarner is next in a long line of great Giant pitchers. Bumgarner loved pitching on the road in 2010. He had a 1.91 ERA away from AT&T Park.
SP—Daniel Hudson, Arizona Diamondbacks: 8-2 with a 2.45 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in 95.1 IP
The Diamondbacks got a steal when they acquired Hudson from the Chicago White Sox in July. Hudson had a 1.69 ERA in 11 starts for the D-Backs.
SP—Jhoulys Chacin, Colorado Rockies: 9-11 with a 3.28 ERA and 1.27 WHIP in 137.1 IP
Chacin’s win-loss record doesn’t do him justice, as he averaged nine K’s/9 and only allowed 7.5 H/9.
SP—Travis Wood, Cincinnati Reds: 5-4 with a 3.51 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in 102.2 IP
Wood really came on in the second half and was murder on left-handed batters. Lefties only hit .136 against Wood this year.
RP—Jonny Venters, Atlanta Braves: 1.95 ERA and 1.20 WHIP in 83 IP
The hard-throwing lefty paced all rookies with 24 holds on the season. Venters also K’d 10.1 batters per nine innings.
RP—John Axford, Milwaukee Brewers: 2.48 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 24 saves in 58 IP
Axford was outstanding after taking over for Trevor Hoffman in Milwaukee. His 24 saves ranked ninth in the NL, and his 11.8 K/9 was good for fifth in baseball amongst relievers.
RP—Neftali Feliz, Texas Rangers: 2.73 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 40 saves in 69.1 IP
Feliz was a huge reason why the Rangers won the AL West. Batters hit only .176 against Feliz this year, and when he was ahead in the count, batters hit only .170 against the 22-year-old.
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