Hanson third in NL Rookie voting

By David O'Brien

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Braves pitcher Tommy Hanson met or surpassed all expectations in his first major league season, but so did a couple of other National League East rookies.

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Curtis Compton , ccompton@ajc.com Braves' Tommy Hanson went 11-4 with a 2.89 ERA in his first season in the majors.

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Florida outfielder Chris Coghlan edged Philadelphia pitcher J.A. Happ for the NL Rookie of the Year award announced Monday, with Hanson third in the voting by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Coghlan, who led the majors with 113 hits and a .372 average after the All-Star break, received 17 of the 32-first-place votes and 105 total points in the BBWAA balloting.

Happ (12-4, 2.93 ERA) got 10 first-place votes and 94 points. Hanson wasn't called up from Class AAA until June, while Happ started out in Philadelphia's bullpen before moving to the starting rotation.

Hanson (11-4, 2.89 ERA in 21 starts) got two first-place votes and 37 points. Other first-place votes went to Pittsburgh outfielder Andrew McCutchen (two) and Milwaukee infielder Casey McGehee (one).

Hanson, who turned 23 in August, led major league rookies in ERA, opponents' average (.225) and strikeouts per nine innings (8.2). After allowing six earned runs and three homers in his June 7 debut, he won his next four starts and was 11-4 with a 2.59 ERA and seven homers allowed over his next 20.

In his last 11 starts, he had a .210 opponents' average and 75 strikeouts in 66-2/3 innings.