August 8, 200818 yr Go and vote for Chris! http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20...sp&c_id=mlb Fans can vote on July's top rookie Strong crop of newcomers sizzled in both leagues By Robert Falkoff / MLB.com ? Vote for Rookie of the Month ? NL nominees: Stewart | Volstad | Soto ? AL nominees: Davis | Ziegler | Ramirez The weather was sizzling in July and so were a number of players from the rookie class. With the calendar flipping over to August, it's time for fans to assess those July performances and help determine who deserves to be singled out for exceptional accomplishments. Beginning Tuesday, voting for the July Rookie of the Month award presented by Gillette will get under way for both the National League and American League. The NL nominees are Colorado third baseman Ian Stewart, Florida right-hander Chris Volstad and Cubs catcher Geovany Soto. In the AL, the nominees are Texas first baseman Chris Davis, Oakland right-hander Brad Ziegler and White Sox second baseman Alexei Ramirez. Fans can cast their Rookie of the Month votes through Sunday at MLB.com/gillette. Stewart didn't make his first appearance of the month until July 19, but hit at a blistering pace upon his arrival. Doing his best to help the Rockies maintain contact in the NL West race, Stewart hit .432 in 44 at-bats. Stewart finished the month with 15 RBIs and had a .519 on-base percentage and a .614 slugging percentage. Volstad played a big role in helping the Marlins hang around the top of the NL East in July. The right-hander went 3-1 with a 2.38 ERA. His signature outing of the month came on July 11 when he worked 8 2/3 innings and allowed just five hits and one earned run in a 3-1 win over the Dodgers. Soto, who won Rookie of the Month honors in April, continues to be a driving force for a Cubs team which is now solidly positioned atop the NL Central. Besides handling the Chicago pitching staff in expert fashion, Soto chipped in with some timely hits. He had four homers and 11 RBIs in 89 at-bats in July. There were equally notable performances turned in by the AL nominees. Ziegler has been on a historic pace coming out of the Oakland bullpen. He had 32 scoreless innings to open his Major League career through Sunday and 17 of those innings came in July. Ziegler allowed just nine hits in those 17 innings and had 10 strikeouts. Ramirez has been a fixture for the White Sox as they battle for the AL Central title. He hit .341 in July with four homers, four stolen bases and 14 RBIs. Davis showed his power stroke for the Rangers in July with eight homers and 16 RBIs. For the month, he hit .303 in 99 at-bats. Gillette will present the award winners with a Rookie of the Month trophy following the announcement and make a donation to a charitable organization in the award recipient's name. The online fan vote will represent 20 percent of the overall vote, with the remaining votes coming from team baseball writers and club broadcasters. Gillette continues to make significant media commitments to national Major League Baseball rightsholders, This Week in Baseball presented by Aquafina, produced Emmy Award-winning Major League Baseball Productions, and to MLB Jewel Event publications created by MLB Properties.
August 8, 200818 yr Volstad showed that he deserves to be in the majors, definitely rookie of the month
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