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We knew way ahead of time that Felipe Martins was not in the final list for the 2012 MLS Newcomer of The Year Award, something that was disappointing. But what are personal awards inside a strong collective, embodied in a team-oriented team that fought for every inch of every pitch it played on?
The initial shock of not being on the final list passed but the choice of Federico Higuain must have made trigger me happy on the keyboard. The big win margin for the Crew DP over Victor Bernardez is apparent with a big win in the media vote section at 30.77%.
| NEWCOMER | % Club Votes | % Media Votes | % Player Votes | WEIGHTED TOTAL |
| 1. Federico Higuain (CLB) | 17.24 | 30.77 | 10.99 | 59.00 |
| 2. Victor Bernardez (SJ) | 18.97 | 9.23 | 23.08 | 51.28 |
| 3. Michael Gspurning (SEA) | 15.52 | 10.77 | 5.49 | 31.78 |
| 4. Young-Pyo Lee (VAN) | 6.90 | 4.61 | 14.29 | 25.80 |
| 5. Boniek Garcia (HOU) | 12.1 | 4.61 | 7.69 | 24.40 |
Looking at this list and you see that two recent MLS signings were in the final including winner Higuain. Boniek Garcia , who has had a huge impact on the Houston Dynamo, played 17 games and Higuain played a total of 13 games.
The impact of both players was very tangible and measurable as both Eastern conference teams went on a winning streak towards the playoffs but only made it to the promised land: 2012 MLS Cup finalist, the Houston Dynamo.
With 30 games played, the 21-year old had 4 goals (yes 4) and 10 assists (yes 10 assists). Is this an expansion team bias that is making performances go unnoticed?
Tell us what you think in the comments below