South Siders only squad with two rookies named"
By Scott Merkin / MLB.com
11/25/09 2:33 PM EST
Actually, they have one representative from the present and one representative from the franchise's not-too-distant past.
Gordon Beckham holds down the third-base spot on the Topps team, while Chris Getz is the player chosen at second base. Getz, who finished with a .261 average, two home runs and 31 RBIs, along with 25 stolen bases in 27 attempts, was traded along with Josh Fields to the Royals in exchange for Mark Teahen on Nov. 6. Getz actually led the American League with his 92.6 percent stolen-base efficiency rate.
This honor capped off a rousing six weeks of the offseason for Beckham, 23, who won Rookie of the Year honors as awarded by Sporting News and in the Players Choice balloting. Both top rookie prizes were voted on by the players, with Beckham finishing fifth in the official AL Rookie of the Year Award as selected by the media.
Texas shortstop Elvis Andrus and Baltimore outfielder Nolan Reimold were the other AL players on the Topps team. The Topps Major League Rookie All-Star team began in 1959 with Willie McCovey being the first of 16 future Hall of Famers named to the squad, a list which includes one-time White Sox standouts Carlton Fisk and Tom Seaver and Cubs great Ryne Sandberg.
All Rookie All-Stars will have a trophy on their respective 2010 trading card in Topps Baseball, with Series One due out in late January. The Major League Rookie All-Star Team is one of a number of awards programs managed by Topps to reward and encourage young ballplayers. Since 1959, Topps has annually bestowed honors on Minor Leaguers, baseball scouts and the Baseball Organization of the Year.
