Lindor 'more bummed' about missing playoffs than losing ROY
Francisco Lindor won't lose any sleep over losing out to fellow shortstop Carlos Correa for the American League Rookie of the Year award. The precocious 22-year-old is far more distraught about his Cleveland Indians missing the postseason in 2015, anyway.
"This season, yeah, I put up good numbers, but we didn't win," Lindor told MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. "At the end of the year, we didn't make it to the playoffs. So, I was more bummed out about that than me not winning the award. I'm looking forward to next year."
Lindor, who received 13 of the 30 first-place votes for AL Rookie of the Year, did nearly everything his power to get the Indians back to the playoffs for the first time since 2013. Despite spending the first two months of the season in Triple-A, Lindor still led all AL shortstops - Correa included - with 4.6 wins above replacement in 2015, posting an .835 OPS over 99 games while hitting .345/.386/.544 after the All-Star break.
Related: Correa edges Lindor for AL Rookie of the Year
Still, Lindor was gracious in defeat, and took consolation in watching a fellow countryman crowned the league's top rookie.
"I'm happy for him," Lindor said of Correa. "He had a great season and I'm glad the award is staying in Puerto Rico. He deserved it. He had a great season and hopefully he'll have a lot more seasons to come like that."
If history is any indication, though, finishing as runner-up for the Rookie of the Year award may actually augur well for Lindor, the eighth pick in the 2011 draft. The last four Indians players to finish second in ROY voting, after all, are CC Sabathia (2001), Manny Ramirez (1994), Kenny Lofton (1992), and Julio Franco (1983).
Sabathia, the only one still active, has a Cy Young Award on his mantle and has been to the All-Star Game six times. Ramirez, one of the finest hitters of his generation, hit 555 home runs with a .996 OPS over nearly two decades in the majors. Another six-time All-Star, Lofton won four Gold Gloves and led the AL in stolen bases five times. And in the 112 years that Major League Baseball has existed, only 49 players have appeared in more games than Franco.