Photo: Doug Gray
Cincinnati Reds rookie infielder Sal Stewart has been named the National League Rookie of the Month for April. Even though it’s for April, it does include the first five games of the season that took place in March.
Stewart played in 31 games during through the end of April and he hit for a .281 batting average, had a .373 on-base percentage, and had a .570 slugging percentage. He had 32 hits with six of those being doubles and nine of them flying over the fence for home runs. Stewart had 29 runs batted in, which not only topped the rookie charts but it was the most in the league at the time. Not known for his speed, Stewart was savvy enough with his decisions to go 7-for-7 in stolen base chances, too. He has long been known for his understanding of the strikezone and that showed up well as he had 18 walks and 24 strikeouts in 134 plate appearances.
When all was said and done for the month, Stewart truly stood out among his peers. He led the rookies in RBI with 29. The rookie with the second most? That was a 3-way tie with guys who had 16. Stewart had driven in 81% more than the next closest player. He was leading National League rookies in home runs with nine. His 32 hits were tops on the list for rookies. The six doubles he had? Yep, those were also on top in a 3-way tie with two others. Stewart’s 18 walks? You guessed it – the best in the group. His 15 extra-base hits? The best. His seven steals? Also on top. He was also among the top three players in run scored, OPS, slugging percentage, and batting average.
They don’t give out the vote totals for these kinds of awards, but it’s tough to understand how any other offensive player could have gotten a vote. There’s a chance that New York Mets pitcher Nolan McLean could have gotten some votes as he had a 2.55 ERA in 35.1 innings to go along with 10 walks and 45 strikeouts. That was quite the performance in itself, but Stewart is the one who is going to get a plaque to hang up on his wall.