In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given each year to one player from each league as voted on by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA). The award was start in 1940 by the Chicago chapter of the BBWAA. They selected a winner every year from 1940 through 1946.[1] The award became national in 1947; Jackie Robinson, the Brooklyn Dodgers' first baseman, won the first award. One award was presented for both leagues in 1947 and 1948; since 1949, the honor has been given to one player each in the National and American League. At first, the award was known as the J. Louis Comiskey Memorial Award, named after the Chicago White Sox owner of the 1930s. The award was renamed the Jackie Robinson Award in July 1987,[2] 40 years after Jackie Robinson broke the baseball color line.
Of the 128 players named Rookie of the Year, 19 have been selected for the National Baseball Hall of Fame—Jackie Robinson, seven American League players, and eleven others from the National League. The award has been shared twice: once by Butch Metzger and Pat Zachry of the National League in 1976; and once by John Castino and Alfredo Griffin of the American League in 1979. Members of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers have won the most awards of any team (with 16). This is twice the total of the New York Yankees (eight), who have won the most in the American League. Fred Lynn and Ichiro Suzuki are the only two players who have been named Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player in the same year. Fernando Valenzuela is the only player to have won Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award in the same year. Sam Jethroe is the oldest player to have won the award, at age 32,[3] 33 days older than 2000 winner Kazuhiro Sasaki (also 32).[4] Michael Harris III of the Atlanta Braves and Julio Rodríguez of the Seattle Mariners are the 2022 winners.
From 1947 through 1956, each BBWAA voter had their own rules for decide who was a rookie. In 1957, the BBWAA first defined the term as someone with fewer than 75 at bats or 45 innings pitched in any Major League season before the current season.[1] This guideline was later changed to 90 at bats, 45 innings pitched, or 45 days on a Major League roster before September 1 of the last year.[1] The current rule is 130 at bats, 50 innings pitched or 45 days on the active roster of a Major League club (except for time in military service or on the disabled list) before September 1 was first used in 1971.[1][5] Since 1980, each voter names three rookies: a first-place choice is given five points, a second-place choice three points, and a third-place choice one point. The award goes to the player who receives the most total points.[1][6] Edinson Volquez received three second-place votes in 2008 even though he was not a rookie under the award's definition.[7][8]
Some baseball writers have criticized the voting in recent years because several players who played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) have won the award. These winners include Hideo Nomo in 1995, Kazuhiro Sasaki in 2000, and Ichiro Suzuki in 2001. The current definition of rookie for the award is based only on Major League playing. Some writers feel that past NPB players are not true rookies because of their past professional playing.[9][10] This issue came up in 2003 when Hideki Matsui lost the AL award to Ángel Berroa in a close vote. Jim Souhan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune said he did not think Matsui was a rookie in 2003 because "it would be an insult to the Japanese league to pretend that experience didn't count."[9] The Japan Times had a story in 2007 on calling Daisuke Matsuzaka, Kei Igawa, and Hideki Okajima as rookies, saying "[t]hese guys aren't rookies."[10] Past winners such as Jackie Robinson, Don Newcombe, and Sam Jethroe had professional experience in the Negro Leagues.
Year | Links to the article about the corresponding Major League Baseball season |
† | Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum |
^ | Denotes player who is still active |
* | Denotes year in which the award was shared |
Year | Player | Team | Position | Selected statistics | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1947 | Jackie Robinson† | Brooklyn Dodgers | 1B |
|
[11] |
1948 | Alvin Dark | Boston Braves | SS |
|
[12] |
Year | Player | Team | Position | Selected statistics | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1949 | Roy Sievers | St. Louis Browns | OF |
|
[13] |
1950 | Walt Dropo | Boston Red Sox | 1B |
|
[14] |
1951 | Gil McDougald | New York Yankees | 3B |
|
[15] |
1952 | Harry Byrd | Philadelphia Athletics | P |
|
[16] |
1953 | Harvey Kuenn | Detroit Tigers | SS |
|
[17] |
1954 | Bob Grim | New York Yankees | P |
|
[18] |
1955 | Herb Score | Cleveland Indians | P |
|
[19] |
1956 | Luis Aparicio† | Chicago White Sox | SS |
|
[20] |
1957 | Tony Kubek | New York Yankees | SS |
|
[21] |
1958 | Albie Pearson | Washington Senators | OF |
|
[22] |
1959 | Bob Allison | Washington Senators | OF |
|
[23] |
1960 | Ron Hansen | Baltimore Orioles | SS |
|
[24] |
1961 | Don Schwall | Boston Red Sox | P |
|
[25] |
1962 | Tom Tresh | New York Yankees | SS |
|
[26] |
1963 | Gary Peters | Chicago White Sox | P |
|
[27] |
1964 | Tony Oliva | Minnesota Twins | OF |
|
[28] |
1965 | Curt Blefary | Baltimore Orioles | OF |
|
[29] |
1966 | Tommie Agee | Chicago White Sox | OF |
|
[30] |
1967 | Rod Carew† | Minnesota Twins | 2B |
|
[31] |
1968 | Stan Bahnsen | New York Yankees | P |
|
[32] |
1969 | Lou Piniella | Kansas City Royals | OF |
|
[33] |
1970 | Thurman Munson | New York Yankees | C |
|
[34] |
1971 | Chris Chambliss | Cleveland Indians | 1B |
|
[35] |
1972 | Carlton Fisk† | Boston Red Sox | C |
|
[36] |
1973 | Al Bumbry | Baltimore Orioles | OF |
|
[37] |
1974 | Mike Hargrove | Texas Rangers | 1B |
|
[38] |
1975 | Fred Lynn | Boston Red Sox | OF |
|
[39] |
1976 | Mark Fidrych | Detroit Tigers | P |
|
[40] |
1977 | Eddie Murray† | Baltimore Orioles | DH |
|
[41] |
1978 | Lou Whitaker | Detroit Tigers | 2B |
|
[42] |
1979* | John Castino | Minnesota Twins | 3B |
|
[43] |
1979* | Alfredo Griffin | Toronto Blue Jays | SS |
|
[44] |
1980 | Joe Charboneau | Cleveland Indians | OF |
|
[45] |
1981 | Dave Righetti | New York Yankees | P |
|
[46] |
1982 | Cal Ripken, Jr.† | Baltimore Orioles | SS |
|
[47] |
1983 | Ron Kittle | Chicago White Sox | OF |
|
[48] |
1984 | Alvin Davis | Seattle Mariners | 1B |
|
[49] |
1985 | Ozzie Guillén | Chicago White Sox | SS |
|
[50] |
1986 | José Canseco | Oakland Athletics | OF |
|
[51] |
1987 | Mark McGwire | Oakland Athletics | 1B |
|
[52] |
1988 | Walt Weiss | Oakland Athletics | SS |
|
[53] |
1989 | Gregg Olson | Baltimore Orioles | P |
|
[54] |
1990 | Sandy Alomar Jr | Cleveland Indians | C |
|
[55] |
1991 | Chuck Knoblauch | Minnesota Twins | 2B |
|
[56] |
1992 | Pat Listach | Milwaukee Brewers | SS |
|
[57] |
1993 | Tim Salmon | California Angels | OF |
|
[58] |
1994 | Bob Hamelin | Kansas City Royals | DH |
|
[59] |
1995 | Marty Cordova | Minnesota Twins | OF |
|
[60] |
1996 | Derek Jeter^ | New York Yankees | SS |
|
[61] |
1997 | Nomar Garciaparra | Boston Red Sox | SS |
|
[62] |
1998 | Ben Grieve | Oakland Athletics | OF |
|
[63] |
1999 | Carlos Beltrán^ | Kansas City Royals | OF |
|
[64] |
2000 | Kazuhiro Sasaki | Seattle Mariners | P |
|
[65] |
2001 | Ichiro Suzuki^ | Seattle Mariners | OF |
|
[66] |
2002 | Eric Hinske^ | Toronto Blue Jays | 3B |
|
[67] |
2003 | Ángel Berroa^ | Kansas City Royals | SS |
|
[68] |
2004 | Bobby Crosby^ | Oakland Athletics | SS |
|
[69] |
2005 | Huston Street^ | Oakland Athletics | P |
|
[70] |
2006 | Justin Verlander^ | Detroit Tigers | P |
|
[71] |
2007 | Dustin Pedroia^ | Boston Red Sox | 2B |
|
[72] |
2008 | Evan Longoria^ | Tampa Bay Rays | 3B |
|
[73] |
2009 | Andrew Bailey^ | Oakland Athletics | P |
|
[74] |
2010 | Neftali Feliz^ | Texas Rangers | P |
|
[75] |
2011 | Jeremy Hellickson^ | Tampa Bay Rays | P |
|
[76] |
2012 | Mike Trout^§ | Los Angeles Angels | OF |
|
[77] |
2013 | Wil Myers^ | Tampa Bay Rays | OF |
|
[78] |
2014 | José Abreu^§ | Chicago White Sox | 1B |
|
[79] |
2015 | Carlos Correa^ | Houston Astros | SS |
|
[80] |
2016 | Michael Fulmer^ | Detroit Tigers | P |
|
[81] |
2017 | Aaron Judge^§ | New York Yankees | OF |
|
[82] |
2018 | Shohei Ohtani^ | Los Angeles Angels | P/DH |
|
[83] |
2019 | Yordan Álvarez^§ | Houston Astros | DH/OF |
|
[84] |
2020 | Kyle Lewis^§ | Seattle Mariners | OF |
|
[85] |
2021 | Randy Arozarena^ | Tampa Bay Rays | OF |
|
[86] |
2022 | Julio Rodríguez^ | Seattle Mariners | OF |
|
[87] |
Year | Player | Team | Position | Selected statistics | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1949 | Don Newcombe | Brooklyn Dodgers | P |
|
[88] |
1950 | Sam Jethroe | Boston Braves | OF |
|
[89] |
1951 | Willie Mays† | New York Giants | OF |
|
[90] |
1952 | Joe Black | Brooklyn Dodgers | P |
|
[91] |
1953 | Jim Gilliam | Brooklyn Dodgers | 2B |
|
[92] |
1954 | Wally Moon | St. Louis Cardinals | OF |
|
[93] |
1955 | Bill Virdon | St. Louis Cardinals | OF |
|
[94] |
1956 | Frank Robinson† | Cincinnati Reds | OF |
|
[95] |
1957 | Jack Sanford | Philadelphia Phillies | P |
|
[96] |
1958 | Orlando Cepeda† | San Francisco Giants | 1B |
|
[97] |
1959 | Willie McCovey† | San Francisco Giants | 1B |
|
[98] |
1960 | Frank Howard | Los Angeles Dodgers | OF |
|
[99] |
1961 | Billy Williams† | Chicago Cubs | OF |
|
[100] |
1962 | Ken Hubbs | Chicago Cubs | 2B |
|
[101] |
1963 | Pete Rose | Cincinnati Reds | 2B |
|
[102] |
1964 | Dick Allen | Philadelphia Phillies | 3B |
|
[103] |
1965 | Jim Lefebvre | Los Angeles Dodgers | 2B |
|
[104] |
1966 | Tommy Helms | Cincinnati Reds | 2B |
|
[105] |
1967 | Tom Seaver† | New York Mets | P |
|
[106] |
1968 | Johnny Bench† | Cincinnati Reds | C |
|
[107] |
1969 | Ted Sizemore | Los Angeles Dodgers | 2B |
|
[108] |
1970 | Carl Morton | Montreal Expos | P |
|
[109] |
1971 | Earl Williams | Atlanta Braves | C |
|
[110] |
1972 | Jon Matlack | New York Mets | P |
|
[111] |
1973 | Gary Matthews | San Francisco Giants | OF |
|
[112] |
1974 | Bake McBride | St. Louis Cardinals | OF |
|
[113] |
1975 | John Montefusco | San Francisco Giants | P |
|
[114] |
1976* | Butch Metzger | San Diego Padres | P |
|
[115] |
1976* | Pat Zachry | Cincinnati Reds | P |
|
[116] |
1977 | Andre Dawson† | Montreal Expos | OF |
|
[117] |
1978 | Bob Horner | Atlanta Braves | 3B |
|
[118] |
1979 | Rick Sutcliffe | Los Angeles Dodgers | P |
|
[119] |
1980 | Steve Howe | Los Angeles Dodgers | P |
|
[120] |
1981 | Fernando Valenzuela | Los Angeles Dodgers | P |
|
[121] |
1982 | Steve Sax | Los Angeles Dodgers | 2B |
|
[122] |
1983 | Darryl Strawberry | New York Mets | OF |
|
[123] |
1984 | Dwight Gooden | New York Mets | P |
|
[124] |
1985 | Vince Coleman | St. Louis Cardinals | OF |
|
[125] |
1986 | Todd Worrell | St. Louis Cardinals | P |
|
[126] |
1987 | Benito Santiago | San Diego Padres | C |
|
[127] |
1988 | Chris Sabo | Cincinnati Reds | 3B |
|
[128] |
1989 | Jerome Walton | Chicago Cubs | OF |
|
[129] |
1990 | David Justice | Atlanta Braves | OF |
|
[130] |
1991 | Jeff Bagwell | Houston Astros | 1B |
|
[131] |
1992 | Eric Karros | Los Angeles Dodgers | 1B |
|
[132] |
1993 | Mike Piazza | Los Angeles Dodgers | C |
|
[133] |
1994 | Raúl Mondesí | Los Angeles Dodgers | OF |
|
[134] |
1995 | Hideo Nomo | Los Angeles Dodgers | P |
|
[135] |
1996 | Todd Hollandsworth | Los Angeles Dodgers | OF |
|
[136] |
1997 | Scott Rolen^ | Philadelphia Phillies | 3B |
|
[137] |
1998 | Kerry Wood^ | Chicago Cubs | P |
|
[138] |
1999 | Scott Williamson^ | Cincinnati Reds | P |
|
[139] |
2000 | Rafael Furcal^ | Atlanta Braves | SS |
|
[140] |
2001 | Albert Pujols^ | St. Louis Cardinals | 3B |
|
[141] |
2002 | Jason Jennings^ | Colorado Rockies | P |
|
[142] |
2003 | Dontrelle Willis^ | Florida Marlins | P |
|
[143] |
2004 | Jason Bay^ | Pittsburgh Pirates | OF |
|
[144] |
2005 | Ryan Howard^ | Philadelphia Phillies | 1B |
|
[145] |
2006 | Hanley Ramirez^ | Florida Marlins | SS |
|
[146] |
2007 | Ryan Braun^ | Milwaukee Brewers | 3B |
|
[147] |
2008 | Geovany Soto^ | Chicago Cubs | C |
|
[148] |
2009 | Chris Coghlan^ | Florida Marlins | OF |
|
[149] |
2010 | Buster Posey^ | San Francisco Giants | C |
|
[150] |
2011 | Craig Kimbrel^§ | Atlanta Braves | P |
|
[151] |
2012 | Bryce Harper^ | Washington Nationals | OF |
|
[152] |
2013 | José Fernández^ | Miami Marlins | P |
|
[153] |
2014 | Jacob deGrom^ | New York Mets | P |
|
[154] |
2015 | Kris Bryant^§ | Chicago Cubs | 3B |
|
[155] |
2016 | Corey Seager^§ | Los Angeles Dodgers | SS |
|
[156] |
2017 | Cody Bellinger^§ | Los Angeles Dodgers | 1B |
|
[157] |
2018 | Ronald Acuña Jr.^ | Atlanta Braves | OF |
|
[158] |
2019 | Pete Alonso^ | New York Mets | 1B |
|
[159] |
2020 | Devin Williams^ | Milwaukee Brewers | P |
|
[160] |
2021 | Jonathan India^ | Cincinnati Reds | 3B |
|
[161] |
2022 | Michael Harris II^ | Atlanta Braves | OF |
|
[162] |