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The Baseball Writers Association of America has officially announced the winners of the 2009 American League and National League Rookie of the Year Awards. Oakland Athletics closer Andrew Bailey received the AL Rookie of the Year Award while Florida Marlins outfielder Chris Coghlan was named the NL Rookie of the Year. The 25-year-old Bailey, who was the only rookie in Major League Baseball to earn a spot on the AL All-Star team in 2009, proved to be one of the league’s most reliable closers during his rookie season.

Bailey converted 26 of 30 save opportunities for the Oakland Athletics while posting an incredibly impressive 1.84 earned run average. He averaged more than one strikeout per inning and held opposing batters to a .164 batting average. The closer helped his cause in the final month of the season by not allowing an earned run in any of his last 10 appearances in 2009. Promising Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus finished second in the voting with eight first-place votes, according to The USA Today.

Coghlan performed exceptionally well throughout the year and proved to be one of the most productive players in all of Major League Baseball after the All-Star break by recording a league high 113 hits in the second half of the season. Coghlan’s 113 hits after the All-Star break were the most in Major League Baseball in nearly 45 years and he led all National League rookies in several important categories including hits, on-base percentage, runs, total bases and doubles out of the leadoff spot in Florida’s lineup.

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