Top of the class
NEW YORK — Spotless through the summer, Craig Kimbrel struggled in the stretch. The newest NL Rookie of the Year intends to learn from a particular late-season blemish.
The Atlanta Braves’ closer unanimously won the award Monday, with Tampa Bay pitcher Jeremy Hellickson emerging from a talented crop to take the AL honor.
“It definitely did surprise me,” Kimbrel said on a conference call from his vacation in Hawaii. “I expected it to be close.”
The AL Cy Young Award will be announced Tuesday. Detroit ace Justin Verlander is expected to easily win.
“He’s the best pitcher in the game,” Hellickson said.
Kimbrel set a major league record for saves by a rookie with 46. He earned all 32 first-place votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and outpointed Braves teammate Freddie Freeman.
The hard-throwing righty was dominant for much of the year and chosen as an NL All-Star during his streak of 38 straight appearances without allowing a run. But that string ended in mid-September and the 23-year-old Kimbrel was wobbly as the Braves frittered away a 10 1/2-game lead in the NL wild-card race.
Kimbrel’s eighth blown save of the year came in the final game of the season, when he walked three, gave up a hit and allowed the tying run in the ninth inning against Philadelphia. The Phillies went on to win in the 13th, costing the Braves a spot in a one-game playoff against St. Louis for the wild-card slot.
The 24-year-old Hellickson was a big reason the Rays were able to erase a nine-game deficit against Boston in the last 3 1/2 weeks to win the AL wild-card spot. He was unbeaten in five starts against AL East teams in the final month, and finished 7-3 in games against division rivals.
On the next-to-last day, he kept the Rays close against the visiting New York Yankees. On his final pitch of the regular season, Hellickson got Russell Martin to ground into a triple play with the bases loaded, and the Rays went on to win.
