Whether it was Giants’ 23-year-old backstop or the Braves’ 21-year-old right fielder, the only two candidates that deserved to be considered for the 2010 Rookie of the Year Award were Buster Posey and Jason Heyward.

Yet three clowns actually voted for Jaime Garcia and Gaby Sanchez when it came down to handing out the award on Monday.

When the voting was completed, Posey beat out Heyward to win this year’s ROY award. Heyward bested Posey in runs scored (83 to 58), hits (144 to 124) and walks (91 to 30), but he also played 34 more games as the Giants kept Posey in the minors because they wanted to slow his arbitration clock.

Despite not playing a full year like Heyward, Posey hit just as many home runs (18) as the Atlanta outfielder and finished with a higher batting average (.305 to .277). He also caught a pitching staff that led the majors with a 3.36 ERA and helped San Francisco win its first ever World Series while batting cleanup for most of the postseason.

Personally, I think Posey deserved the award based on the fact that he helped the Giants win playoff games while Hewyard struggled mightily in the NLDS. Posey also plays a more demanding position and may have doubled his output had he been given the opportunity to play a full year.

But whether you thought it should have been Posey or Heyward, I think most of us would agree that the award didn’t belong to Garcia or Sanchez, who each received three first-place votes. (Posey finished with 20, Heyward had nine, Sanchez had two and Garcia had one.) That’s not to say that Garcia or Sanchez didn’t have good years because they did. But are you kidding me? Did the writers who voted for those two see Posey or Heyward play this season?

Posey and Heyward played vital roles in the success that their teams had this year and put together some of the finest seasons of any rookies over the past couple decades. Garcia and Sanchez were nice players, but they didn’t hold a candle to what Posey and Heyward did for their teams. I would expect Cardinals and Marlins fans to argue that claim, but I would suggest they put on some tape to see what Posey and Heyward accomplished this year. Again, I’m not trying to take anything away from Garcia and Sanchez but come on. Two votes? Gabby Sanchez received two first-place votes? Over Buster Posey? Dear, Barbara.

At the end of the day, who received first-place votes doesn’t matter. Posey won by a landslide and I think it was well deserved. All four of these players should go on to have solid careers, although I only see two potential superstars in the bunch and neither of them plays in St. Louis or Florida.