Angel Berroa became the third Royal in the last ten seasons to win the American League Rookie of the Year Award by edging out Hideki Matsui of the Yankees. It proved to be the closest vote in 24 years. Berroa got 88 points worth of voting while Matsui got 84. Berroa received 12 first-place votes, Matsui 10. Angel Berroa hit .278 with 17 homers, 73 RBI’s, 21 stolen bases and 92 runs. Despite 13 errors in the first 48 games, Berroa settled down and had just 11 miscues the rest of the way. Carlos Beltran was the last Royals to win the award, when he was honored in 1999. Bob Hamelin won it for the Royals in 1994 and Lou Piniella was the winner in 1969.
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