no real “reason”. Both players pass the ‘eye’ test for me. I didn’t look at the numbers at all before I typed my ballot. I’m a little surprised the SLG # is so different between Evan & Ramirez. I think both players will have really good careers. Longoria will win, and he is deserving of it….

From ArnchairGm.com..

Rookie of the Year:
For a while there it looked like Tampa Bay Rays’ Evan Longoria would win the thing easily, but he got hurt and missed some time, and in his absence, a few others had a chance to make some noise. Alexei Ramirez of the Chicago White Sox set a rookie record by hitting four grand slams this year, and will get some votes, but his lackluster .315 OBP (thanks to walking unintentionally only once every ten games or so) and ineffectiveness on the basepaths (13 for 22 in steals). Plus, his awful defense at second base (-12 FRAA) should keep him out of serious discussions for the RoY.

Jacoby Ellsbury led the AL with 50 steals, and led AL rookies with 98 runs scored, but he slowed down after the All-Star break, and didn’t hit for power or hit for much of anything away from Fenway Park, so he won’t get it either.

The Kansas City Royals’ shortstop Mike Aviles turned some heads by hitting .325 in about two-thirds of a season, but I just don’t think he played enough to get serious consideration.

What about pitchers? They can win this award, too, you know.

The Detroit Tigers’ Armando Galarraga won 13 games, pitching 179 innings with an impressive 3.73 ERA that ranks 15th in the AL. ( NOTE: His insanely low .239 BABIP likely means that he’s in for a rude awakening next year when Lady Luck catches up to him.)

Joba Chamberlain was even more valuable, in terms of VORP, but due to injuries, he pitched only 100 innings and will generally be viewed as a disappointment, at least for this season. LAnahfornia’s Jose Arredondo went 10-2 with a 1.62 ERA in 61 relief innings, but he probably won’t get much support. Glen Perkins of Minnesota went 12-4, but then a decade ago, El Duque did that too, with a better ERA, and he finished 4th in the voting.

Oakland Athletics’ Brad Ziegler started his career with a record 38 consecutive scoreless innings, and ended the season as the A’s closer, but nobody ever heard of giving an award to a guy who went 3-0 with 11 saves, even if he did post a Bob-Gibson-esque 1.06 ERA in 59 innings, so that’s not gonna happen. Besides, he might not have been the best rookie reliever in his own bullpen, as Joey Devine finished the year with a 0.59 ERA in 45 innings.

So we’re back to Longoria, which is where we should be. Not only did he lead all AL rookies in homers, RBI, slugging, and OPS, but he led the field in VORP and WARP as well, by a healthy margin, thanks to his excellent defense.

My votes would go for Longoria, Galaragga and Aviles, in that order.