YES, SANCHEZ IS ELIGIBLE FOR THE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARD!

It's time to dispel some inaccurate rumors flying around about Gary Sanchez and whether or not he is eligible for American League Rookie of the Year consideration. It's nearly impossible to find how rumors like these start. My best guess is that it started with a Daily News story entitled "Should Gary Sanchez win Rookie of the Year despite playing fewer than 60 games? THAT’S DEBATABLE". In their defense, if you read the article, they never suggest that he doesn't qualify. Their point was that he may not have played enough this season like some of the other contenders for Rookie of the Year. Now if you only read the title, you may have drawn the wrong conclusion and, well, that's how rumors start.

Let's set the record straight. To be eligible for Rookie of the Year, you have to be a rookie defined as follows:

A player shall be considered a rookie unless, during a previous season or seasons, he has (a) exceeded 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the Major Leagues; or (b) accumulated more than 45 days on the active roster of a Major League club or clubs during the period of 25-player limit (excluding time in the military service and time on the disabled list).Rules, regulations and statistics | MLB.com

His 131st career at-bat took place on September 12 at the Stadium against the Dodgers - ironically, a game I was at! So he is definitely eligible as far as the rules go. The only question remaining is whether or not he'll get the votes from the members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Honestly, I call that a question out of courtesy to the other players having the misfortune of starting their careers in the American League this year. I am sure their prospects looked great in July.

If you take all the players who are considered rookies this year with 100 or more at-bats and start comparing their stats, it's clear who is the top player. His OPS (1.137) is more than 200 points better than second place. His slugging percentage is more than 150 points better than the guy in second. He leads in batting average with .329, better than Derek Jeter's .314 in his 1996 Rookie of the Year campaign. If he had as many at-bats as Trevor Story, who plays in homer-happy Coors Field and leads rookies in home runs, Sanchez would have over 40 home runs by now. NBC Sports' Bill Baer got it right when he said that Gary Sanchez is "running away" with this.

That "if he had as many at-bats" statement headlines the critics' claim that Sanchez doesn't deserve the award because he hasn't had to endure a full season of play. Clearly, baseball recognizes that you cannot give the ROY award to a guy who only played a few games, just like they cannot give the batting title to someone hitting .500 who had only two at-bats and was lucky enough to get a hit. That's why they have the minimums the way they do. If having 130 at-bats takes you out of eligibility as a rookie, it should be enough to warrant consideration.

We'll see what the baseball writers decide. This is a slam dunk. Unless something dramatic happens in the last 10 games of the season, this is a done deal. He will be the 9th Yankee to win the award, joining Jeter, Dave Righetti, Thurman Munson, Stan Bahnsen, Tom Tresh, Tony Kubek, Gil McDougald, and Bob Grim.

--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Senior Staff Writer
Follow me on Twitter: @KingAgamemnon

WHY THE NERD SHOW OPENED MY EYES

6 years ago, I was lucky enough to go to a card show and meet 3 very important Yankees. Yes, 2 were much older men, but the other was a new kid on the block. That stuff didn’t really matter though, they were Yankees and played with the greatest and played on the biggest stage. They were Gil McDougald, Bobby Murcer and Chien Ming Wang.

I walked into the auditorium of the event with my wife, who likes to break my balls when it comes to memorabilia collecting. She calls them “Nerd” shows. This isn’t to say that the actual shows are nerd shows, she’s making fun of me for being a nerd. Anyway, that being said, when I saw these athletes live, I turned into a little kid, and dare I say, a nerd… so maybe she’s onto something. Anyway, back to my point.

The first line was a short one. When I saw Gil Mcdougald, he looked nothing like the 1956 baseball card I had of him, but it was the ACTUAL Gil Mcdougald. I had a baseball and when it was my turn, I went up shook his hand and told him while I never saw him play, I thanked him for some great years on the Yankees and appreciated him. He smiled at me and told me he appreciated it. “A lot of youngsters tend to go up to the new guys.” That broke my heart but he laughed it off and signed my baseball. I took a picture and thanked him.

Next we waited on a longer line, but it was worth it, Bobby Murcer was on the end of it. He was healthy at the time, smiling, shaking hands and really just larger than life in my mind. I always liked Murcer and I loved him more in the booth. Just a likable guy. My fondest memory of Bobby Murcer was that home run he hit in the Munson game. I was a kid, but I remember where I was when I saw it and how important it was. I became a fan right then and to meet him now was incredible. When it was my turn, I walked up and shook his hand. I was really nervous. “I love you in the booth Mr. Murcer”, I said. “Thank you” he said. He took my ball, then he grabbed an action shot of him and signed it for me too. “Wow” I thought. We posed for a picture and after alittle more conversation I was on my way.

Then I got on the longest line in the room. At the end of it was Chien Ming Wang. Wow, maybe Gil Mcdougald was right, could it be that a lot of these kids don’t know about the other Yankee Greats of the past?

(In Photo: Bobby Richardson)

When I was a kid, my dad didn’t sit with me teaching about the Yankees of years past, but he would drop a name and a memory,like Bobby Richardson, "he was great for the Yankees," he'd say. Or “Moose” Skowron, "He had some great years for us," he'd say. My dad watched them play and he’d mention them. Me, in turn, would go and read about them, just so I knew who he talking about. When I was old enough, I’d go to card stores and save up to buy a card. If my dad says that guy was good, then he must be good, I thought. And that’s how I did it. Now, waiting on Wang's line, I realized maybe many had forgotten about the others.

I walked up, shook Wang’s hand. The conversation was limited, just a lot of nodding and pictures and signing my baseball and to me, it was exciting, but I have to tell you, at the time, Wang was the new guy and it was definitely a different feeling for me. Yes, he was a Yankee, but he wasn’t yet a Yankee great, the others were.

I tell you this story merely because the Yankee history runs long and deep and has so many incredible players over the years, even not so great ballplayers, but great stories and stats just the same. Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth are the most well known, but what do you know about Wayne Tolleson or Bobby Shantz. How about Matt Nokes or Jim Abbott? (In Photo: Jim Abbott)

Do you remember Bobby Meacham? I do, it was not a good career, but he was a New York Yankee and that means something I think. Check out Baseball Reference and type in a New York Yankee. Everything about them is there, stats and information that you never knew. It's really great. The Yankee history is truly awesome.

I love my New York Yankees and it really doesn’t matter who they are, they were Yankees and to learn about them and the teams they played on is great. Know the players, love them, they were Yankees, members of the greatest team in the world. It’s damn glorious.

Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.