While veteran presence is overrated in the game of baseball, it's something we couldn't live without in real life. Thank you to all Purple Row readers who have served or who are currently serving in the armed forces.
Today is also for honoring NL rookies, and either Troy Tulowitzki or Ryan Braun will walk away with the big award in what will inevitably be a disappointment to the second place finisher, given that the two -Braun with his bat, Tulo with his glove- put up a couple of historically impressive seasons. In an article for subscribers on Friday, Baseball Prospectus' Jim Baker points out that in the last quarter century, only Mark McGwire, Frank Thomas and Albert Pujols have had a higher WARP3 than Tulo. Meanwhile, Braun's spectacular bat -with the highest slugging percentage ever for a qualified rookie- certainly makes a strong case for giving him the nod. Both players and their teams seem to have bright futures ahead, and plenty more hardware should come regardless of who wins.