1959 Awards

1959 Awards

MVP

After several seasons of near misses, 1959 saw Peoria outfielder Willie Mays win his first AARBL MVP award. Mays was a terror at the plate, finishing second in the league in batting with a .329 average, seventh in the league in home runs with 31, and fifth in RBIs with 117. Mays also led the league in doubles with 51, finished fourth in stolen bases with 35, sixth in runs scored with 108, and third in slugging percentage with a .602 mark. Mays also played stellar defense, winning his third Gold Glove in center field. All this occurred while leading the Chiefs to a 106 win season, and their fifth World Series appearance. In the voting, Mays received 5 of the 10 first place votes, and won a narrow victory over Babe Ruth Award Winner Ernie Banks of the Oneonta Tigers.

1959 AARBL MVP

Willie Mays

Peoria Chiefs

AVG.

SLG.

OBP.

RBI

.329

.602

.407

148

571

108

188

51*

117

* Denotes led league

Cy Young

For the first time in Franchise history, the Peoria Chiefs have a Cy Young award winner in Bud Daley. After toiling in the Chiefs bullpen for several seasons, prior to the 1959 season, Daley was promoted to the Peoria rotation where he combined with fellow hurlers Vern Law, Harvey Haddix, and Larry Jackson to form one of the best staffs in league history. Daley was simply masterful on the mound, and his 23 wins and 2.12 E.R.A. were both tops in the league, and helped lead Peoria to another Eastern Division title. Daley also threw four complete games, had three shutouts, and compiled a .793 winning percentage. In the Cy Young Award voting, Daley garnered eight first place votes and two seconds, as he easily bested Roger Craig of the Wilmington Hornets, and teammate Vern Law for the award.

1959 AARBL Cy Young Award Winner

Bud Daley

Peoria Chiefs

E.R.A.

PCT.

2.12*

23*

.793

250.1

214

138

* Denotes led league

Babe Ruth

With one of the greatest offensive seasons in league history, Ernie Banks of the Oneonta Tigers ran away with the league's coveted Babe Ruth award that is awarded each season to the AARBL's best offensive player. Banks collected all ten of the first place votes, and topped runner up Willie Mays of the Peoria Chiefs by a whopping 29 points. Although Banks finished second to Mays in the MVP voting, that result was more a comment on Oneonta's 72-82 record as opposed to anything Banks failed to accomplish on the field. The Tiger shortstop clubbed a league record 61 home runs, compiled a .307 batting average, a whopping .672 slugging percentage, and knocked in a league best 141 runs, while scoring 115 times. In the voting, league MVP Willie Mays finished a distant second with 21 points.

1959 AARBL Babe Ruth Award

Ernie Banks

Oneonta Tigers

AVG.

SLG.

OBP.

RBI

.307

.672

.367

154

615

115

189

61*

141*

* Denotes led league

Rolaids Reliever

During the 1959 AARBL season, Ryne Duren of the Peoria Chiefs was the dominant reliever in the league. Pitching for the first place Peoria Chiefs, Duren put out numerous fires on his way to league record 151 Rolaids Relief points. Ryne's dominance was evidenced by the fact that he allowed only 41 hits in 72 innings. while striking out 95. Pitching in pressure situations all season long, Duren notched a league record 53 saves and compiled a 3-1 record with a 2.13 E.R.A. Don Elston of the Hill Valley Lightning Bolts also had a fine season, but finished a distant second to Duren with 99 Rolaids Relief points.

1959 AARBL Rolaids Relief Man

Ryne Duren

Peoria Chiefs

E.R.A.

PCT.

2.13

.750

53*

72.0

* Denotes led league

Rookie of the Year

In somewhat of a surprise, the 1959 Rookie of the Year award goes to pitcher Jim Owens of the Kansas City Athletics. Drafted by the A's in 1958, Owens was never viewed by the organization as a top prospect, but in 1959, he proved all the naysayers wrong as he compile a 19-3 record in 33 starts for the A's, which was good for a league best .864 winning percentage. Whether or not Owens can avoid a sophomore slump, or continue to thrive remains to be seen, however, the AARBL will not soon forget his impressive rookie campaign. In the Rookie of the Year voting, Owens received 5 of 10 first place votes, edging out sluggers Willie McCovey of Wilmington, and teammate Harmon Killebrew who finished second and third respectively.

1959 AARBL Rookie of the Year

Jim Owens

Kansas City Athletics

E.R.A.

PCT.

3.07

.864*

228.2

224

137

* Denotes led league

MVP Voting

Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Total
Mays	Peoria	5	2	2	33
Banks	Oneonta	3	3	1	25
Mathews	Wilmington	2	2	2	18
Duren	Peoria	0	1	2	5
Jensen	Des/H.V.	0	1	1	4
Stuart	Wilmington	0	1	0	3
Elston	Hill Valley	0	0	1	1
Pinson	Hill Valley	0	0	1	1

Cy Young Voting

Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Total
Daley	Peoria	8	2	0	46
Craig	Wilmington	2	2	1	17
Law	Peoria	0	3	1	10
Duren	Peoria	0	1	3	6
Wilhelm	Hill Valley	0	1	1	4
Spahn	Des Moines	0	1	0	3
Jones	Hill Valley	0	0	2	2
Elston	Hill Valley	0	0	1	1
Pascual	Bayside	0	0	1	1

Babe Ruth Voting

Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Total
Banks	Oneonta	10	0	0	50
Mays	Peoria	0	6	3	21
Mathews	Wilmington	0	3	2	11
Stuart	Wilmington	0	1	2	6
Aaron	Kansas City	0	0	1	1
Runnels	North Bend	0	0	1	1

R.O.Y. Voting

Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Total
Owens	Kansas city	5	5	0	40
McCovey	Wilmington	3	2	5	26
Killebrew	Kansas City	2	3	5	24

Strat-O-Matic Awards

Strat-O-Matic Report
Strat-O-Matic Report

AWARDS VOTING FOR 1959 AA Retro League Date: 10/7/1959 MVP AWARD CY YOUNG AWARD E.Banks(ONT) 382 R.Duren(PEO) 121 E.Mathews(WIL) 375 B.Daley(PEO) 93 W.Mays(PEO) 224 V.Law(PEO) 47 M.Mantle(HLV) 125 D.Elston(HLV) 18 V.Pinson(HLV) 92 C.Pascual(BAY) 8 ALL-STAR SELECTIONS BY POSITION C S.Lollar(BAY) 1,147,442 Y.Berra(NOB) 1,144,289 1B F.Robinson(NOB) 1,512,649 D.Stuart(WIL) 1,508,300 2B P.Runnels(NOB) 1,470,810 N.Fox(HLV) 1,088,893 3B E.Mathews(WIL) 2,325,182 H.Killebrew(KCA) 1,363,168 SS E.Banks(ONT) 3,649,301 L.Aparicio(HLV) 903,784 LF M.Minoso(PEO) 886,943 W.Moon(KCA) 863,261 CF W.Mays(PEO) 2,182,735 M.Mantle(HLV) 1,651,647 RF H.Aaron(KCA) 1,835,424 R.Colavito(ONT) 1,671,392 Pi R.Duren(PEO) 3,503,329 B.Daley(PEO) 2,645,403 C.Pascual(BAY) 2,492,173 V.Law(PEO) 2,281,184 D.Elston(HLV) 2,228,563 S.Jones(HLV) 2,043,547 R.Craig(WIL) 2,002,006 H.Wilhelm(HLV) 1,820,377 J.Owens(KCA) 1,803,297 B.Shantz(WIL) 1,788,442 E.Wynn(***) 1,450,648 P.Ramos(HLV) 1,316,220 GOLD GLOVE SELECTIONS BY POSITION WINNER RUNNER UP P J.Sanford(ONT) D.Mossi(ONT) C D.Crandall(HLV) S.White(ONT) 1B V.Power(NOB) O.Cepeda(DES) 2B N.Fox(HLV) F.Bolling(KCA) 3B J.Davenport(CAR) E.Mathews(WIL) SS L.Aparicio(HLV) E.Banks(ONT) OF W.Mays(PEO) A.Kaline(BAY) OF M.Mantle(HLV) J.Landis(ONT) OF B.Tuttle(WIL) J.Jensen(***) SILVER SLUGGER SELECTIONS BY POSITION WINNER RUNNER UP C Y.Berra(NOB) S.Lollar(BAY) 1B D.Stuart(WIL) F.Robinson(NOB) 2B P.Runnels(NOB) T.Taylor(PEO) 3B E.Mathews(WIL) H.Killebrew(KCA) SS E.Banks(ONT) L.Aparicio(HLV) LF M.Minoso(PEO) W.Moon(KCA) CF W.Mays(PEO) V.Pinson(HLV) RF H.Aaron(KCA) R.Colavito(ONT) ROLAIDS FIREMAN RELIEF AWARD R.Duren(PEO) 151 D.Elston(HLV) 99 B.Shantz(WIL) 81 G.Staley(KCA) 72 T.Morgan(DES) 50

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