Indians Confidential

Indians pitcher Aaron Laffey has been named the May recipient of the American League Rookie of the Month Award presented by Gillette.

Laffey went 3-2 with a 0.79 ERA in his five May starts. In his 34.0 innings, he struck out 19 while allowing just 28 hits and seven walks. The 23-year-old left-hander went seven innings in each of his first four May starts and tossed six innings in his last outing in the month, allowing two runs or less in each appearance. The Maryland native went 4-2 with a 4.56 ERA in his nine starts for the A.L. Central Champion Indians last year. In 2008, Laffey is 3-3 with a 2.98 ERA in his 51.1 innings across eight starts. Aaron was a 16th round choice in the 2003 First-Year Player Draft.

Other rookies receiving votes included Boston Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury (.281, 8 RBI, 21 R, 18 SB, .375 OBP); Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria (.234, 4 HR, 18 RBI, 12 R); and last month’s winner, Texas Rangers outfielder David Murphy (.280, 33 H, 4 HR, 21 RBI, 14 R).

MLB fans should visit www.mlb.com/gillette throughout the season to access information on the nominees, unique statistics, video clips and exclusive editorial content all focused on the rookies.

As part of Gillette’s involvement, fans, for the first time, have a voice in selecting the Rookie of the Month winners by voting each month at www.mlb.com/gillette. The online fan vote represents 20% of the overall vote with the remaining votes coming from team baseball writers and Club broadcasters.

Gillette, the presenting sponsor of the American League Rookie of the Month Award will donate $5,000 in the name of Aaron Laffey to the Club’s official charity.