November 8, 200619 yr BY CLARK SPENCER Second baseman Dan Uggla not only impressed the Marlins with his 2006 performance, he also earned the praise of his peers. Uggla was named today the National League's Outstanding Rookie in voting for the annual Players Choice Awards. Uggla received more votes than the other two finalists: Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder and Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman. Voting among major-league players was conducted Sept. 12 and 13. Uggla hit .282 with 90 RBI and established a major-league rookie record for a second baseman with 27 home runs. Uggla and Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez are expected to be among the top vote-getters for the NL Rookie of the Year award as determined by the Baseball Writers Association of America. That award will be announced Monday. Ballots for the BBWAA awards were received at the end of the regular season but before the playoffs. Other Marlins named as finalists in the Players Choice Awards were third baseman Miguel Cabrera and closer Joe Borowski. Cabrera was one of three finalists for NL Outstanding Player, which was won by Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard. Borowski was one of three candidates for NL Comeback Player of the Year, which was won by Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Nomar Garciaparra. LINKAGE
November 8, 200619 yr First Girardi got picked by his peers and now Uggla. Lot of suprises in 2006. Congrats to Uggla. I definitely wasnt a believer in him back in March. He suprised the sh*t out of me. He played a big part in 2006 being a great year to be a Marlins fan.
November 9, 200619 yr As much as I know that in the end it was Dan Uggla's hard work and overachieving that won him the award, Perry Hill, Admin Beinfest, Mike Hill, Fleming, Freeman and the rest deserve a ton of credit for seeing something that the Diamondbacks couldn't or wouldn't. I don't think for a minute it was blind luck. And my hope is they can do it again.
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