Notes:
Mickey was a front-runner for the 2000 Rookie of the Year throughout most of the season, which might give you an idea of how poor the crop was that year, despite it being the rookie seasons for
future stars Mike Walsh, Seth Yoder, and Darnell Uhland. None of those three displayed much of the talent they'd later show, and they
didn't come out very consistently. Mickey came out the most and you could argue he also put up the best numbers. Many to this day are confounded by his 2.61 ERA that season, ranking him among the leaders that year. People
are confounded because Mickey didn't appear to have any perceptible skills. Eventually, Darnell Uhland came out to a few gamedays late in the season, making himself eligible for the award, and the decision-makers quickly threw together
reasoning to give Darnell the ROTY award over Mickey, despite his meager AB total. The main reason was Darnell's perfect ERA. It was possible that the league simply wanted the Rookie of the Year to LOOK like a talented player. Darnell played college ball and
he looked like he'd eventually be an impact player. Mickey looked like the wiffleball equivalent of Mark Lemke.
He was drafted in the final round of the 2001 draft by Casey Sylvester (Wiffolution), played the way everyone thought he'd play for one gameday, and was never heard from again.
|
