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2012 AL Rookie of the Year: Yoenis Cespides finishes second

There wasn't really any doubt Mike Trout would win, but the A's outfielder came in a clear second place, with fellow teammate Jarrod Parker coming in fifth with one vote.

By Peter Woodbrook
Ezra Shaw

Oakland Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes finished in second place in the 2012 AL Rookie of the Year voting, falling to Mike Trout.

There never was much of a doubt on the American League side of who would win the Rookie of the Year, as Mike Trout put together a season for the ages. Fittingly, he took home all the first-place votes becoming the 18th player to win the award unanimously.

Cespedes came in a solid second with 63 votes, garnering 19 second-place and six third-place votes. He finished the year with a .292/.356/.505 line with 23 home runs, 82 RBIs and 16 stolen bases as the A's surprisingly finished on top of the AL West. Cespedes finished second amongst AL rookies in WAR at 3.1, although he was far outpaced by Trout at 10.0.

Continuing the theme of surprises for the A's, Cespedes wasn't the only Athletic nominated for the honor. Some voter out there stubbornly gave pitcher Jarrod Parker a third-place vote to land the A's pitcher in fifth place — with one point.

Parker went 13-8 with a 3.47 ERA and 140 strikeouts over 181.1 innings pitched. Parker was third in WAR among all rookies, losing out to Yu Darvish (who finished third in the AL ROY voting) and Wade Miley (who finished second in NL ROY voting).