Rookie of the Year: Chris Coghlan, 2009

Outfielder, Florida Marlins

Age:  24 (June 18)

Bats – Left, Throws – Right

Height: 6’0”    Weight: 195 

Prior to 2009:

First drafted as an amateur by the Arizona Diamondbacks out of Tarpon Springs, Florida’s East Lake High School in 2003, Coghlan chose to attend the Univ. of Mississippi instead where he played third base and achieved All-SEC honors in 2006. Drafted in the first round by the Marlins in ’06 (36^th overall) he batted .297 that year with teams at the Rookie and Class A levels and then .325 with Greensboro of the Class A South Atlantic League in 2007. Following a season with Carolina of the Class AA Southern League in 2008, where he was named to the league All-Star team. Coghlan was hitting .344 at Class AAA New Orleans in 2009 prior to being called up to the Marlins in May where he was installed in left field.

2009 Season Summary

Appeared in 128 games

LF – 123, PH – 6, 2B-1

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 565

At Bats – 504

Runs – 84

Hits – 162

Doubles – 31

Triples – 6 [19, tied with six others]

Home Runs – 9

RBI – 47

Bases on Balls – 53

Int. BB – 2

Strikeouts – 77

Stolen Bases – 8

Caught Stealing – 5

Average - .321 [6]

OBP - .390 [12, tied with David Wright]

Slugging Pct. - .460

Total Bases – 232

GDP – 3

Hit by Pitches – 4

Sac Hits – 3

Sac Flies – 1

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 10, 3B – 1, HR - 2, RBI - 15, AVG. - .245, OBP – .342

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 5 AB) at Toronto 6/12, (in 6 AB) at Philadelphia 8/9, (in 4 AB) at Cincinnati 9/17

Longest hitting streak – 14 games

Most HR, game – 2 (in 4 AB) vs. NY Mets 8/27

HR at home – 5

HR on road – 4

Multi-HR games – 1

Most RBIs, game – 3 at Milwaukee 5/13, vs. Colorado 8/16

Pinch-hitting – 1 for 5 (.200) with 1 HR & 1 RBI

Fielding

Chances - 217

Put Outs – 209

Assists – 3

Errors – 5

DP – 1

Pct. – .977

Awards & Honors:

NL Rookie of the Year: BBWAA

28^th in NL MVP voting, tied with Jeremy Affeldt, SF & Brad Hawpe, Col. (1 point, 0% share)

NL ROY Voting (Top 5):

Chris Coghlan, Fla.: 105 points – 17 of 32 first place votes, 66% share

J.A. Happ, Phila.: 94 points – 10 first place votes, 59% share

Tommy Hanson, Atl.: 37 points – 2 first place votes, 23% share

Andrew McCutchen, Pitt.: 25 points – 2 first place votes, 16% share

Casey McGehee, Mil.: 18 points – 1 first place vote, 11% share

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Marlins went 87-75 to finish second in the NL Eastern Division, 6 games behind the division-winning Philadelphia Phillies. The Marlins started fast with a 14-8 April and led the NL East until May 5. A 9-20 May knocked them down to fourth where they remained until mid-June. 46-44 at the All-Star break, a 41-31 second half led to a second-place finish, five games behind Colorado in the wild card race.

Aftermath of 2009:

Coghlan suffered a knee injury in 2010 that required surgery and he batted just .268 in 91 games. Injuries continued to limit his appearances until he was let go by the Marlins following the 2013 season. He caught on with the Chicago Cubs in 2014 as a utility player and hit .283 while playing in 105 games in the outfield. He hit .250 with 16 home runs and 41 RBIs in 148 games in 2015 and was traded to Oakland just prior to the 2016 season and appeared in 51 games with the A’s, playing at second and third base as well as the outfield. Coghlan was dealt back to the Cubs in June and appeared in the postseason that included the first World Series title for the team since 1908. He signed with the Phillies in 2017 and was released during spring training. Catching on with the Toronto Blue Jays he became a highlight favorite for his leap over St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina to score a run but otherwise hit only .200 while appearing in 36 games. Bouncing around the minors until 2018, his ultimately disappointing playing career came to an end at age 33. For his major league career, Coghlan batted .258 with 666 hits that included 149 doubles, 26 triples, and 53 home runs. He scored 353 runs and compiled 234 RBIs, 47 stolen bases, and a .334 OBP while drawing 275 walks. In 15 postseason games with the Cubs, Coghlan hit .053 (1 for 19).

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Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major league.