Matt Duffy finishes second for NL Rookie of the Year

By the middle of September, everyone knew that Matt Duffy wasn't going to win the National League Rookie of the Year. Kris Bryant turned around a mid-year slump and dominated for the last two months of the year, and Duffy was merely excellent. There's no shame in him losing to Bryant.

The bigger story is that it's November, and we're talking about Matt Duffy being a Rookie of the Year candidate. Who saw that coming? Where are we? Wasn't he in Double-A last year? Duffy finished second to Bryant in the voting, picking up 22 of the 30 second-place votes. He's the highest-finishing Giants rookie since Buster Posey won the award in 2010.

Bryant might have had the better season. He might have the better career. But he was supposed to be here, a #2-overall pick who never stopped hitting in his brief minor-league career. Duffy is a testament in great scouting, solid instruction, and the Giants getting some good ol'-fashioned luck. Can you imagine this offseason without him? There would be so many David Freese rumors. It would be a total drag.

Congratulations to Matt Duffy, who used to be a potential utility player, but turned into a franchise cornerstone when we weren't looking. This sort of thing should happen every year, in my opinion. I'll bet he feels really good about this right now.

I'll bet he feels really good about this right now.

To whoever broke into my truck, trashed it, stole my manuals/information, and smoked a cigarette inside: you have a weird sense of humor.

— Matt Duffy (@mm_duffy) November 16, 2015

I'll bet he'll feel really good about this tomorrow, at least.