It was announced today that Oakland A's reliever Andrew Bailey earned the American League Rookie of the Year award. His appearance in the All-Star game made quite a wrinkle for baseball fans as people debated whether a guy no one had ever heard of should be in the All-Star game. With this announcement it appears it was a fair selection.

Bailey earned 26 saves and had a 6-3 record as a closer with Oakland. For a team that finished under .500 that is not an easy task. The A's will probably lose him within two seasons to better market team like the Yankees, but at least there is a bright spot for the A's this season. Bailey garnered 13 first-place votes to finish one vote above Texas’ Elvis Andrus.

Pitching has been a bleak area for the A's of late, in fact, the A's roster has been bleak of late. Since the mid 2000s when they had Barry Zito, Mark Mulder Tim Hudson and another Rookie of the Year, Huston Street, the A's have not been impressive.

The 2010 A's will need some serious help in the pitching and hitting departments. Among other bright spots for the A's are Catcher Kurt Suzuki, who is among the better catchers in the league. Perhaps this Rookie award will draw more young talent to Oakland since that is Oakland’s only chance to win anything. They need to get young up-and-comers and win before they get signed for big contracts with big market teams. Congrats Bailey, keep up the great work.