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Mike Trout named Baseball America Rookie and Player of the Year

The Angels phenom became the first player in history to win both awards in the same year.

Eric P. Mull-US PRESSWIRE - Presswire

Mike Trout was named Baseball America's Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year, the first time in history any player has won both awards in the same year.

Baseball America's accolades seem to guarantee that Trout will win the American League Rookie of the Year, and puts some serious weight on the possibility he can win the AL Most Valuable Player award as well.

If he wins that award, he would be the youngest MVP in MLB history. He would also be the first player to win both the ROY and MVP awards in the same season since Ichiro Suzuki did it with the Seattle Mariners in 2001.

The 21-year-old phenom finished at the top or near the top in most AL offensive categories. He was second in batting average at .326, third in on-base percentage at .399, third in slugging percentage at .564, led the league in steals with 49, tied for first with the highest weighted runs created score at 166, second in weighted on-base average at .409 and led the AL in wins above replacement at 10.0 (based on Fangraphs calculations).

Trout is the first Angels player to win either of the two Baseball America awards. His teammate Albert Pujols is the only other player to claim both awards in his lifetime. Pujols was named the Rookie of the Year in 2001 and the Player of the Year in 2005.

Baseball America started handing out the Rookie of the Year award in 1989 and the Player of the Year award in 1998.