On November 22, 1952 — Philadelphia Athletics pitcher Harry Byrd, who won 15 games and posted and a 3.31 ERA, is selected American League Rookie of the Year by BBWAA voters. Byrd will be the last Athletics player to win the Award until Jose Canseco in 1986.
Byrd narrowly defeats Clint Courtney of the Browns and Sammy White of the Red Sox. It was a mild surprise. The Sporting News had selected Courtney as Rookie of the Year in its September 24 edition, but it was the third year in a row its choices differed from the official BBWAA voting.
Byrd finished the season with a 15-15 record. He could have been 17-13, but he lost 1-0 at Cleveland on September 11 and 1-0 at New York on September 21. His ERA at the All-Star break was 4.46 in 72⅔ innings pitched, but his second-half ERA was 2.78, bringing his season’s average down to 3.31. Byrd will follow up his ROY campaign with a 11-20 record with a 5.51 ERA.
