Phenoms have been phenomenal

The rookies about to make their postseason debuts weren't just along for the ride. They fueled the playoff drives of their teams, which could not have made it without them.

These impact kids range from left-hander Justin Verlander, tied for the Detroit staff lead in wins two years after being drafted out of Old Dominion University, to Dodgers fuses Andre Ethier and Russell Martin, to the quartet of pitchers who turned Minnesota's season from woe to wonder (Boof Bonser, Matt Garza, Pat Neshek and, before felled by injury, Francisco Liriano).

Why, not even the venerable Yankees could snub the compelling trend. Melky Cabrera was the 21-year-old placeholder in the outfield for the long-term absences of Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield.

The Majors' overall rookie class -- including oodles of illustrious players outside of the postseason velvet rope -- dropped jaws in awe and spun heads in admiration all season.

"This is the most rookies I've ever seen really stand out and make contributions," said manager Charlie Manuel, whose Phillies just missed out, along with the rookie battery of Cole Hamels (145 strikeouts in 132 innings) and Chris Coste (a 33-year-old inspiration batting .325).

Dave Wallace, the former Boston pitching coach who saw Jonathan Papelbon seamlessly go from dominant starter to lights-out closer, said, "There's never been this kind of depth. There's the quality, obviously, but there's also quantity. There are guys everywhere."

A scout said simply, "What's going on is amazing."

The most amazing leaders of this parade were the Florida Marlins, who valiantly pursued the ultimate miracle of a postseason berth.

The scaled-back Fish went through 21 rookies, six of whom were in the Opening Day lineup.

When informed of that being a record, at the time manager Joe Girardi had an amusing reaction: "How about the first season? Everybody would've had to be a rookie then, no?"

OK, then. Maybe for the NL's startup, in 1876. Or 1901, when the AL came on board. And, certainly, during the World Wars years. Otherwise, you would be hard pressed to find a comparable rookie influence.

Rookie heroics to nudge teams into the postseason are few and far between.

There was Dick Nen, hitting a ninth-inning, game-tying homer in his big-league debut on Sept. 18, 1963, in a game the Dodgers would win, 6-5, on their way to the NL pennant.

There was Francisco Rodriguez, materializing out of nowhere in September 2002 to turn into K-Rod and relief pitch the Angels to the World Series title.

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There have always been such sparks of youth. But a comparable season-long rookie-influence on the races? Doubtful.

Bona-fide rookies aren't the only ones about to have the postseason spotlight of national celebrity fall on them. Several of the game's young vanguard, established yet still relatively unknown, will make the nation's acquaintance.

Foremost, Minnesota's M&M treat: 23-year-old Joe Mauer, the first catcher ever to cop an AL batting title, and Justin Morneau, an MVP candidate with his .322-34-129 card.

Twentysomethings fuel the A's: Rich Harden and Dan Haren in the rotation, Huston Street in the bullpen, Nick Swisher in the batter's box.

Then there is Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano, who will turn 24 during the playoffs and spent the end of his first full season chasing a batting crown.

However, the emphasis here is on legitimate first-year phenoms. An educated guess prior to the respective teams' official announcement of 25-man playoff rosters: They will include 24 rookies.

The Dodgers' roster could be nearly one-third rookie, also including starting pitcher Chad Billingsley, possible starter lefty Hong-Chih Kuo, reliever Jonathan Broxton and closer Takashi Saito. Newest hero James Loney can also make the cast as a backup at first base for fragile Nomar Garciaparra.

These Baby Blues deserve being here. They got the Dodgers here. Ethier and Martin arrived from the Minors in May, Saito nailed his first save in mid May, Billingsley made his first start in mid June.

"They've all come up with the same attitude," said Ned Colletti, the GM who felt a dramatic shakeup was needed with the Dodgers lounging at 12-17 on May 5 -- the very day Martin was recalled, three days after Ethier's arrival.

"They're confident in their abilities," Colletti added. "They get the best out of every day. They've made it work."

They quickly earned the trust of manager Grady Little and his staff. "Very seldom do you see this many players of this quality come through an organization at the same time," Little said.

"They've played big parts on our club. They got the opportunities, and they made the best of it."

They're not alone.

Verlander is the first Detroit rookie with at least 17 wins since Mark Fidrych's 19 in 1976. Out of the Tigers bullpen, Joel Zumaya throws 100-mph heat that has fanned batters 93 times and kept them to a sub-.200 average.

Bonser and Garza have won 10 games between them, alleviating the Twins' pain from losing Brad Radke (shoulder) and Liriano (elbow).

Remember when, in a knuckleball-induced panic, the Red Sox re-acquired catcher Doug Mirabelli a few minutes before Tim Wakefield's May 1 start against the Yankees? Going to San Diego in that deal was Cla Meredith -- who doesn't give up hits or walks and has a sub-1.00 ERA in 44 outings.

In Flushing, a bad hamstring injury waylaid Brian Bannister after a promising start, but fellow righty John Maine has been bright enough to be the top choice to replace Pedro Martinez deeper into the postseason.

Said Verlander of his circle of peers, "It's been impressive. Kind of taken the league by surprise. A bunch of these guys have kind of blind-sided people. No one really saw us coming."

An impressed veteran, Mets left-hander Tom Glavine, said, "I don't really remember too many other years where you could look around the league and see as many quality young arms."

Guys have made their presences felt on the other end of the stick, too, of course. Such as Padres second baseman Josh Barfield (.283 in 150 ironman games), St. Louis outfielder Chris Duncan (18 homers since mid-July) and Minnesota outfielder Jason Kubel.

However, the biggest rookie impact has been on that hill in the middle of the infield, where the tones of games are invariably set.

Said Yankees center fielder Johnny Damon after an evening of flailing away helplessly against Angels rookie lefty Joe Saunders, "We couldn't figure out that young kid. I don't know where these young kids are coming from."

But we do know where many of them are going: to the big stage, and into the nation's consciousness.