page_title: J. A. Happ
section_title: 2009
hierarchical_section_title: J. A. Happ / Professional career / Philadelphia Phillies / 2009
caption_attribution_description: Ronnie Belliard pops out to the Phillies pitcher J. A. Happ.
context_page_description: James Anthony Happ is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball. He has previously played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros, Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners, and Pittsburgh Pirates. Though his name is James Anthony and his initials are "J. A.", he pronounces his name as "Jay".
context_section_description: Happ became a member of the starting rotation after fifth starter Chan Ho Park struggled in his starts and was sent to the bullpen. Happ threw his first career complete game and shutout against the Toronto Blue Jays on June 27, 2009. He got his first major league hit on July 2, against the Atlanta Braves. It came during the fifth inning with two outs and no one on base. On August 5, Happ pitched his second career shutout, giving up four hits and striking out ten in a home game against the Colorado Rockies. In that game, he also collected his first career extra-base hit, an eighth-inning double off Rockies pitcher Josh Fogg. He became the first rookie pitcher to 10 wins on August 22 against the New York Mets. He made his first career post-season start against the Rockies on October 11, 2009.
  On October 20, 2009, Happ was named Sporting News NL Rookie of the Year. He was also named by his fellow players as Players Choice Awards NL Outstanding Rookie. Baseball fans voted him the MLB "This Year in Baseball Awards" Rookie of the Year (in both leagues). He came in second in balloting for MLB's Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award (in the NL). He was also selected as the left-handed pitcher on the Topps MLB All-Star Rookie team. Baseball America chose him as one of the five pitchers on its All-Rookie Team. The Philadelphia chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America presented him the "Steve Carlton Most Valuable Pitcher" award. In 2009, Happ posted a 12–4 record, 2.93 ERA, 119 strikeouts, and a 1.24 WHIP.
  With the Phillies in 2010, Happ made three starts totaling 15​¹⁄₃ innings and earned a 1–0 record, 1.76 ERA, nine strikeouts, and a 1.63 WHIP.
caption: J. A. Happ fielding a pop-up on April 16, 2009
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "Belliard pops out to the Phillies pitcher Happ", "Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS-1D Mark III", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2009:04:17 00:24:27", "Image ExifOffset": "222", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "710", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "7849", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/1000", "EXIF FNumber": "14/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Manual", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "640", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2009:04:16 21:34:27", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2009:04:16 21:34:27", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "1245723/125000", "EXIF ApertureValue": "1485427/500000", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "3", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "200", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "33", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "33", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "144000/41", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "81000/23", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Manual Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}