Runaway Winner in the AL

Capping a historic season, Boston Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra was selected unanimous winner of the American League’s rookie-of-the-year award by a committee of the Baseball Writers Assn. of America. In results announced Monday, Garciaparra received all 28 first-place votes and 140 points to become the fifth unanimous winner, joining Carlton Fisk, Sandy Alomar Jr., Mark McGwire and the Angels’ Tim Salmon.

Outfielder Jose Cruz Jr., traded from the Seattle Mariners to the Toronto Blue Jays in July, was second with 61 points. Pitcher Jason Dickson of the Angels was third with 27 points, followed by Detroit Tiger shortstop Deivi Cruz with 12 and Cleveland Indian pitcher Jaret Wright with seven.

Wright, who attended Katella High in Anaheim, gained national prominence by going 3-0 in the postseason, but ballots had to be mailed between the end of the regular season and the first game of the postseason. His otherwise impressive 8-3 record in half a season with the Indians paled in comparison to Garciaparra’s remarkable year.

“He’s a complete player,” Angel Manager Terry Collins said of the Boston shortstop Monday, adding he admired the respect that the 24-year-old rookie showed for the game.

“He ran out balls hard, he didn’t get caught up in his success and he continued to work at it,” Collins said.

“When you look at Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez and this kid, that’s a pretty impressive array of young shortstops to come into the league.

“The thing about Garciaparra, it’s not’s just Fenway Park. He can hit ‘em out of anywhere.

“We hadn’t heard much about his power, but you hit 30 homers and drive in 98 runs as a leadoff hitter, you’re getting a lot of big hits and doing it everywhere.”

His 98 RBIs were a major league record for a leadoff hitter. The 30 homers were the most by a rookie shortstop.

Garciaparra hit .306 with 122 runs and 22 stolen bases. He led the majors with 68 multi-hit games and led the American League with 209 hits and 11 triples. His 30-game hitting streak from July 26-Aug. 29 set an AL rookie record, four more than Guy Curtright’s 1943 record.

He also broke Johnny Pesky’s Boston record for hits by a rookie--205 in 1942--and his 365 total bases broke Ted Williams’ team rookie record of 344 in 1939. He was first Boston player to reach double figures in doubles, triples, homers and steals since Jackie Jensen in 1956.

“Besides the outstanding offensive year, he made highlight plays three or four times a week,” Red Sox General Manager Dan Duquette said. “He had a storybook year and he has a great future.”

The Red Sox are attempting to secure it by negotiating a multiyear contract that might buy out Garciaparra’s first year or two of arbitration eligibility and accelerate his current house-hunting expedition in the Boston area.

Garciaparra grew up in the Whittier area, where his parents still live, and attended St. John Bosco High in Bellflower. He was Boston’s No. 1 draft choice in 1994 as a junior at Georgia Tech.

He called the rookie award a great honor, credited teammates and said, “I expect to get better with experience. I have a lot to learn. Nobody ever knows this game completely or can ever be really satisfied. It’s a game of adjustments. Sometimes they work and sometimes it takes longer, but you have to make adjustments every year, work harder every year.”

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The Voting

Player, Team: 1st-2nd-3rd--Total

Nomar Garciaparra, Boston: 28-0-0--140

Jose Cruz Jr., Sea.-Tor.: 0-18-7--61

Jason Dickson, Angels: 0-6-9--27

Deivi Cruz, Detroit: 0-3-3--12

Jaret Wright, Cleveland: 0-1-4--7

Mike Cameron: 0-0-5--5