Brewers third baseman Ryan Braun is a pretty popular choice to be named National League Rookie of the year when the award is announced Monday afternoon.
Braun had not only one of the best performances by a rookie in recent memory, but also one of the better individual seasons by a Brewer in a long time.
His .324 batting average led the team and his 34 home runs were the most ever hit by a major league rookie. Braun also led the National League with a .634 slugging percentage. Those stats were a major factor in the Brewers' 83-79 record in 2007, the franchise's first winning campaign since 1992.
What's more impressive is that Braun compiled such gaudy numbers despite the fact that he wasn't called up until May 24. Braun had an immediate impact on an offense that was struggling to generate runs and helped the Brewers battle for first place in the Central Division.
With numbers like that, one would think Braun would be a shoo-in for top rookie honors. He collected similar trophies from The Sporting News, Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus magazines and also was named the most outstanding rookie in a survey of MLB players.
As good as Braun was, though, he could very well finish a second when the announcement comes down Monday.
Colorado shortstop Troy Tulowitzki put together a nice debut campaign himself. His numbers (.292 BA/.363 OBP/.475 SLG, 23 HR) aren't as gaudy as Braun's, but he was a much better defensive player.
Tulowitzki's .987 fielding percentage helped anchor the league's best defense in 2007. His 11 errors in 834 total chances give him a sizeable advantage over Braun, who was charged with 12 gaffes in 248 opportunities and was often pulled during the late innings for a defensive replacement in the late innings. During a four-game set against the Padres to wrap up the season, Braun committed four errors, including three in a 9-5 loss to San Diego on Sep. 27; a game that, had the Brewers won, would have cut the Cubs lead to one game in the Central with three to play.
Even with the defensive shortcomings, the numbers point decidedly to Braun. It could be argued that he did more in less time than his competition and was much more consistent, as well. Tulowitzki did his best work in the rarified air of Denver's Coors Field where he hit .326 with 15 of his home runs. On the road, however, he batted .259 with nine homers and 39 RBI.
Braun was pretty much even, hitting .326 at Miller Park and .322 on the road.
What will set the players apart, though, is the success of their teams. Most writers -- the award is selected by members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America -- didn't hand in their ballots until the final game of the season. (Votes must be in before the first pitch of the post-season).
OnMilwaukee.com Senior Editor Drew Olson is a former BBWAA president. Most writers, Olson says, waited until after the Rockies beat San Diego in the wild-card tie-breaker game to cast their votes.
That means that most of the voters had a chance to see Braun get pulled late in meaningful games while the Brewers were falling apart and the Rockies -- thanks to a solid effort from their rookie shortstop -- win 21 of 22 games down the stretch to make the playoffs.
Looking strictly at the numbers, Braun should get the nod. While his defense cost the Brewers more than a few games, his offense at times single-handedly kept the team in first place for more than 100 days during the season.
If he doesn't win and Tulowitzki ends up with the hardware, Braun as well as Brewers fans can look at his defensive performance for the reason.
They also can take comfort in the memory that the Brewers' most recent rookie of the year, Pat Listach in 1992, defeated a player (Cleveland's Kenny Lofton) who went on to have more successful career.
