In the eyes of fellow players, there was no National League rookie who was better than Cincinnati Reds second baseman Jonathan India this year.
India was voted the National League’s Most Outstanding Rookie in the MLB Player Association’s Players Choice Awards. He beat out finalists Dylan Carlson (St. Louis Cardinals) and Patrick Wisdom (Chicago Cubs).
It’s another award for India, who was named a Silver Slugger Award finalist and led all NL rookies in RBI (69), runs (98), doubles (34), extra-base hits (57) and walks (71). He was the first Reds rookie with 98 runs and 57 extra-base hits in a season since Frank Robinson in 1956.
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The last time the Reds had the top rookie in the players choice awards was Todd Frazier in 2012.
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India, the No. 5 pick in the 2018 MLB Draft, had a .269 batting average and .376 on-base percentage in a team-high 150 games this season. He ignited the Reds’ lineup when he was moved to the leadoff spot on June 5.
The awards should continue for him when the Baseball Writers Association of America’s National League Rookie of the Year finalists are named on Monday, Nov. 8. He’s vying to become the franchise’s first Rookie of the Year winner since Scott Williamson in 1999 and the first position player since Chris Sabo in 1988.
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Joey Votto was a finalist for the NL Comeback Player of the Year award in the players choice awards, but he lost out to San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey, who opted out of the 2020 season for COVID-19 concerns after adopting prematurely born twin girls.
NO GOLD GLOVES: Rawlings announced Gold Glove finalists Thursday afternoon and no Reds made the cut.
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Catcher Tucker Barnhart and shortstop Kyle Farmer were considered the team’s top candidates. Yadier Molina, J.T. Realmuto and Jacob Stallings were the NL finalists at catcher while Brandon Crawford, Francisco Lindor and Kevin Newman.
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