Cubs' Soto named Rookie of the Year

There was little doubt about the outcome even if Geovany Soto had his own doubts during the season.

Soto on Monday became the fifth Cub to win the National League Rookie of the Year award, as the 25-year-old catcher received 31 of 32 first-place votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

With 158 points, he easily outdistanced Cincinnati first baseman Joey Votto, who picked up the only other first-place vote and wound up with 76 points.

Interestingly, Cubs right fielder Kosuke Fukudome, who endured a miserable second half, received 1 second-place vote and 1 third-place vote, finishing sixth.

In the American League, Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria won a unanimous decision, picking up all 28 first-place votes for 140 points. White Sox second baseman Alexei Ramirez finished second, with 59 points, picking up 18 second-place votes and 5 third-place votes.

Soto, who came up at the end of the 2007 season and made the Cubs' playoff roster, batted .285 with 23 homers, 86 RBI, an on-base percentage of .364 and a slugging percentage of .504. His 23 homers were the most by a Cubs rookie catcher, and he became the first rookie catcher to start for the NL in the All-Star Game.

Although many of his teammates marveled at how much like a veteran Soto carried himself, he said there were some rough times in what he called a "roller-coaster" season.

"I tried to act very sure about myself, very secure," he said. "I had doubts. There came moments where I doubted myself - catching, hitting throwing, everything. That's why I got veterans: Kerry Wood, (Ryan) Dempster, (Carlos) Zambrano, Ted Lilly all helped me a lot. And Henry Blanco (the backup catcher) just talking to me every day, saying, 'It's a game of adjustments. You've got to make adjustments in order to succeed in this game.'

"Yeah, I did doubt myself during the season. I didn't know what to expect. When I went into a slump, I thought, 'Here we go again, they got me. I'm done,' or whatever. But those guys kind of slapped me in the face, not literally, but, 'What are you talking about? You're good.' "

Soto also admitted Monday the "joint irritation" in his left hand is still bothering him but that he hopes to be 100 percent by mid-December.

"It's still hurting, like right now," he said of the injury that flared up in late September. "It was the like the worst hurt you could have without being injured. It was a pain that I couldn't really take at the moment. You've got to give me five or six minutes, and all of a sudden it went away."

Soto went out of his way to thank Dempster, the ace of the starting staff, and Blanco, his mentor from Day One. Dempster and Blanco are free agents, and there's a chance both may not be back with the Cubs next year.

Soto is the first Cub to win Rookie of the Year since Wood in 1998. A product of the Cubs' farm system, Soto was drafted in the 11th round in 2001 out of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

"I remember the day we drafted him," said Cubs general manager Jim Hendry. "Sam Hughes, our scout, really wanted to get him badly and said he could become a catcher. And then (farm director) Oneri Fleita after that first summer had him catching full time. There was a lot of good work by the organization."

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Video</h2> <ul class="video"> <li><a href="/multimedia/?category=23&type=video&item=23">Soto named NL Rookie of the Year </a></li> </ul> <h2>Photo Galleries</h2> <ul class="gallery"> <li><a href="/story/?id=249606">Geovany Soto's year in pictures </a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>