The Kansas City Royals awarded Bruce Chen with the Bruce Rice Pitcher Of The Year Award for 2011.
Bruce Chen was a floundering pitcher who seemed to have lost his way. The Royals felt that he had something left to offer and brought him to the organization in 2009. Now, with a youth movement brewing in Kansas City, Chen finds himself as a defacto leader of the pitching staff, and he is saying all the right things.
From the Royals Awards information: Chen, 34, was 12-8 with a career best 3.77 ERA in 25 starts, leading the club in victories for the second straight season. Last year’s Joe Burke Special Achievement Award winner was 8-3 with a 2.47 ERA in 14 starts against AL Central opponents. He closed the season by posting a 6-3 mark in hi final 10 starts with a 2.93 ERA and recorded a career long five-game winning streak from August 7-28. Chen became the first Royals southpaw to win 12 or more games in back-to-back season since Charlie Leibrandt (1985-88).
It is no secret ...
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