Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award

{{Infobox sports award

| name = Rookie of the Year Award

| image = Jrobinson.jpg

| imagesize =

| alt = A man swings a bat; he is wearing a dark cap with a "B" on it and a jersey with the word "Dodgers" on his chest.

| caption = Jackie Robinson, the inaugural winner in 1947 and eventual namesake of the award

| sport = Baseball

| league = Major League Baseball

| givenfor = Best regular-season rookie in American League and National League

| first = 1947

| mostrecent = Drake Baldwin (NL)Nick Kurtz (AL)

| url = Rookie of the Year

}}

In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to two outstanding rookie players, one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL), as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The award was established in 1940 by the Chicago chapter of the BBWAA, which selected an annual winner from 1940 through 1946. The award became national in 1947; Jackie Robinson, the Brooklyn Dodgers' second baseman, won the inaugural award. One award was presented for all of MLB in 1947 and 1948; since 1949, the honor has been given to one player each in the NL and AL. Originally, 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, 40 years after Robinson broke the baseball color line.

Twenty-one players have been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame—Robinson, seven AL players, and eleven others from the NL. The award has been shared twice: once by Butch Metzger and Pat Zachry of the NL in 1976; and once by John Castino and Alfredo Griffin of the AL in 1979. Members of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers have won the most awards of any franchise (with 18). 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, and 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, 33 days older than 2000 winner Kazuhiro Sasaki (also 32). Nick Kurtz of the Athletics and Drake Baldwin of the Atlanta Braves are the most recent winners.

Qualifications and voting

thumb|right|200px|alt=A man stretches his arms behind his head while wearing a baseball glove and a white baseball uniform with green sleeves and cap.|Hideo Nomo won in 1995, the first of several players to win with past professional baseball experience in Nippon Professional Baseball.

From 1947 through 1956, each BBWAA voter used discretion as to who qualified as a rookie. In 1957, the term was first defined as someone with fewer than 75 at-bats or 45 innings pitched in any previous Major League season. This guideline was later amended to 90 at-bats, 45 innings pitched, or 45 days on a Major League roster before September 1 of the previous year. The current standard of 130 at-bats, 50 innings pitched, or 45 days on the active roster of a Major League club (excluding time in military service or on the injury list) before September 1 was adopted in 1971.

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 overall points. Edinson Vólquez received three second-place votes in 2008 balloting despite no longer being a rookie under the award's definition.

The award has drawn criticism in recent years because several players with experience in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) have won the award, such as Hideo Nomo in 1995, Kazuhiro Sasaki in 2000, Ichiro Suzuki in 2001, and Shohei Ohtani in 2018. The current definition of rookie status for the award is based only on Major League experience, but some feel that past NPB players are not true rookies because of their past professional experience. Others, however, believe it should make no difference since the first recipient and the award's namesake played for the Negro leagues before his MLB career and thus could also not be considered a "true rookie". This issue arose in 2003 when Hideki Matsui narrowly lost the AL award to Ángel Berroa. Jim Souhan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune said he did not see Matsui as a rookie in 2003 because "it would be an insult to the Japanese league to pretend that experience didn't count." The Japan Times ran a story in 2007 on the labeling of Daisuke Matsuzaka, Kei Igawa, and Hideki Okajima as rookies, saying "[t]hese guys aren't rookies." Past winners such as Jackie Robinson, Don Newcombe, and Sam Jethroe had professional experience in the Negro leagues.

Winners

Key

thumb|right|200px|alt=A man in a black jersey and batting gloves prepares to swing the baseball bat that he is holding.|Cal Ripken Jr. won in 1982, and is one of 21 Hall of Famers to win Rookie of the Year honors.

{| class="wikitable"

|Year

|Links to the article about the corresponding Major League Baseball season

|style="background-color:#FFFF99;"|†

|Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

|style="background-color:#CFECEC;"|^

|Denotes player who is still active

|style="background-color:#eeabab;"|*

|Denotes year in which the award was shared

|scope= style="text-align:center"|§

|Unanimous selection

|scope= style="text-align:center"|+

|Denotes lead Major Leagues in that category

Major Leagues combined (1947–48)

{| Class="wikitable sortable"

!Year

!Player

!Team

!Position

!class="unsortable"| Selected statistics

!class="unsortable"| Ref

| bgcolor="#ffff99" | †

| Brooklyn Dodgers

| 1B

.297 batting average
125 runs scored
29 stolen bases

| Boston Braves

| SS

.322 batting average
3 home runs
48 runs batted in

American League winners (1949–present)

{| Class="wikitable sortable"

!Year

!Player

!Team

!Position

!class="unsortable"| Selected statistics

!class="unsortable"| Ref

|St. Louis Browns

|OF

.306 batting average
16 home runs
91 runs batted in

|Boston Red Sox

|1B

.322 batting average
34 home runs
144 runs batted in

|New York Yankees

|3B

.306 batting average
14 home runs
63 runs batted in

3.31 earned run average
15 complete games
15–15 record in 37 appearances (28 games started)

|Detroit Tigers

|SS

.308 batting average
94 runs scored
209 hits

|New York Yankees

3.26 earned run average
199 innings pitched
20–6 record in 37 appearances (20 games started)

|Cleveland Indians

2.85 earned run average
innings pitched
16–10 record in 32 games started

| bgcolor="#ffff99" |†

|Chicago White Sox

|SS

.266 batting average
21 stolen bases
69 runs scored

|New York Yankees

|SS

.297 batting average
56 runs scored
39 runs batted in

|Washington Senators

|OF

.275 batting average
3 home runs
63 runs scored

|Washington Senators

|OF

.261 batting average
30 home runs
85 runs batted in

|Baltimore Orioles

|SS

.255 batting average
22 home runs
86 runs batted in

|Boston Red Sox

3.22 earned run average
innings pitched
15–7 record in 25 games started

|New York Yankees

|SS

.286 batting average
20 home runs
93 runs batted in

|Chicago White Sox

2.33 earned run average
243 innings pitched
19–8 record in 41 appearances (30 games started)

| bgcolor="#ffff99" |†

|Minnesota Twins

|OF

.323 batting average
32 home runs
94 runs batted in

|Baltimore Orioles

|OF

.260 batting average
22 home runs
70 runs batted in

|Chicago White Sox

|OF

.273 batting average
44 stolen bases
98 runs scored
29.3 Power-Speed #+

| bgcolor="#ffff99" |†

|Minnesota Twins

|2B

.292 batting average
8 home runs
66 runs scored

|New York Yankees

2.05 earned run average
innings pitched
17–12 record in 34 games started

|Kansas City Royals

|OF

.282 batting average
11 home runs
68 runs batted in

|New York Yankees

.302 batting average
53 runs batted in
52% caught stealing percentage in the field

|Cleveland Indians

|1B

.275 batting average
9 home runs
48 runs batted in

| bgcolor="#ffff99" |†§

|Boston Red Sox

.293 batting average
22 home runs
61 runs batted in

|Baltimore Orioles

|OF

.337 batting average
11 triples
73 runs scored

|Texas Rangers

|1B

.323 batting average
.395 on-base percentage
66 runs batted in

|Boston Red Sox

|OF

.331 batting average
47 doubles
105 runs batted in

|Detroit Tigers

2.34 earned run average
24 complete games
19–9 record in 29 games started

| bgcolor="#ffff99" |†

|Baltimore Orioles

|DH

.283 batting average
27 home runs
88 runs batted in

|Detroit Tigers

|2B

.285 batting average
3 home runs
58 runs batted in

| rowspan="2" bgcolor="#eeabab" |*

|Minnesota Twins

|3B

.285 batting average
8 triples
52 runs batted in

|Toronto Blue Jays

|SS

.287 batting average
10 triples
81 runs scored

|Cleveland Indians

|OF

.289 batting average
23 home runs
87 runs batted in

|New York Yankees

2.05 earned run average
innings pitched
8–4 record in 15 games started

| bgcolor="#ffff99" |†

|Baltimore Orioles

|SS

.264 batting average
28 home runs
93 runs batted in

|Chicago White Sox

|OF

.254 batting average
35 home runs
100 runs batted in

|Seattle Mariners

|1B

.284 batting average
27 home runs
116 runs batted in

|Chicago White Sox

|SS

.273 batting average
9 triples
71 runs scored

|Oakland Athletics

|OF

.240 batting average
33 home runs
117 runs batted in

|§

|Oakland Athletics

|1B

.289 batting average
49 home runs
118 runs batted in

|Oakland Athletics

|SS

.250 batting average
3 home runs
39 runs batted in

|Baltimore Orioles

1.69 earned run average
85 innings pitched
27 saves

|§

|Cleveland Indians

.290 batting average
9 home runs
66 runs batted in

|Minnesota Twins

|2B

.281 batting average
25 stolen bases
78 runs scored

|Milwaukee Brewers

|SS

.290 batting average
54 stolen bases
93 runs scored

|§

|OF

.283 batting average
31 home runs
95 runs batted in

|Kansas City Royals

|DH

.282 batting average
24 home runs
65 runs batted in

|Minnesota Twins

|OF

.277 batting average
24 home runs
84 runs batted in

| bgcolor="#ffff99" |†§

|New York Yankees

|SS

.314 batting average
10 home runs
104 runs scored

|§

|Boston Red Sox

|SS

.306 batting average
30 home runs
122 runs scored

|Oakland Athletics

|OF

.288 batting average
18 home runs
89 runs batted in

| bgcolor="#ffff99" |†

|Kansas City Royals

|OF

.293 batting average
22 home runs
108 runs batted in

|Seattle Mariners

3.16 earned run average
78 strikeouts
37 saves

| bgcolor="#ffff99" |†

|Seattle Mariners

|OF

.350 batting average
56 stolen bases+
242 Hits+
127 runs scored

|Toronto Blue Jays

|3B

.279 batting average
24 home runs
84 runs batted in

|Kansas City Royals

|SS

.287 batting average
21 stolen bases
92 runs scored

|Oakland Athletics

|SS

.239 batting average
22 home runs
64 runs batted in

|Oakland Athletics

1.72 earned run average
innings pitched
23 saves

| bgcolor="#cfecec" |^

|Detroit Tigers

3.63 earned run average
186 innings pitched
17–9 record in 30 games started

|Boston Red Sox

|2B

.317 batting average
39 doubles
86 runs scored

|§

|Tampa Bay Rays

|3B

.272 batting average
27 home runs
85 runs batted in

|Oakland Athletics

1.84 earned run average
innings pitched
26 saves

|Texas Rangers

2.73 earned run average
innings pitched
40 saves

|Tampa Bay Rays

2.95 earned run average
117 strikeouts
13–10 record in 29 games started

| bgcolor="#cfecec" |^§

|Los Angeles Angels

|OF

.326 batting average
30 home runs
129 runs scored
49 stolen bases

| bgcolor="#cfecec" |^

|Tampa Bay Rays

|OF

.293 batting average
13 home runs
53 runs batted in

| bgcolor="#cfecec" |^§

|Chicago White Sox

|1B

.317 batting average
36 home runs
107 runs batted in

| bgcolor="#cfecec" |^

|Houston Astros

|SS

.279 batting average
22 home runs
68 runs batted in

| bgcolor="#cfecec" |^

|Detroit Tigers

3.06 earned run average
132 strikeouts
11–7 record in 26 games started

| bgcolor="#cfecec" |^§

|New York Yankees

|OF

.284 batting average
52 home runs
114 runs batted in
128 runs scored

| bgcolor="#cfecec" |^

|Los Angeles Angels

|P/DH

.285 batting average
22 home runs
4–2 record in 11 games started
63 strikeouts

| bgcolor="#cfecec" |^§

|Houston Astros

|DH/OF

.313 batting average
27 home runs
78 runs batted in
58 runs scored

|^§

|Seattle Mariners

|OF

.267 batting average
11 home runs
28 runs batted in
37 runs scored

| bgcolor="#cfecec" |^

|Tampa Bay Rays

|OF

.274 batting average
20 home runs
69 runs batted in
94 runs scored

| bgcolor="#cfecec" |^

|Seattle Mariners

|OF

.284 batting average
28 home runs
25 stolen bases
75 runs batted in
84 runs scored

| bgcolor="#cfecec" |^§

|Baltimore Orioles

|SS/3B

.255 batting average
28 home runs
82 runs batted in
100 runs scored

| bgcolor="#cfecec" |^

|New York Yankees

3.50 earned run average
171 strikeouts
15–7 record in 29 games started

| bgcolor=" #cfecec" |^§

|Athletics

|1B

.290 batting average
36 home runs
86 runs batted in
90 runs scored

National League winners (1949–present)

{| Class="wikitable sortable"

!Year

!Player

!Team

!Position

!class="unsortable"| Selected statistics

!class="unsortable"| Ref

3.17 earned run average
5 shutouts
17–8 record in 31 games started

|OF

.273 batting average
35 stolen bases
100 runs scored

| bgcolor="#ffff99" |†

|OF

.274 batting average
20 home runs
68 runs batted in

2.15 earned run average
15 saves
15–4 record in 56 appearances

|2B

.278 batting average
17 triples
125 runs scored

|St. Louis Cardinals

|OF

.304 batting average
12 home runs
106 runs scored

|St. Louis Cardinals

|OF

.281 batting average
17 home runs
68 runs batted in

| bgcolor="#ffff99" |†§

|Cincinnati Reds

|OF

.290 batting average
38 home runs
122 runs scored

|Philadelphia Phillies

3.08 earned run average
188 strikeouts
19–8 record in 33 games started

| bgcolor="#ffff99" |†§

|San Francisco Giants

|1B

.312 batting average
25 home runs
96 runs batted in

| bgcolor="#ffff99" |†§

|San Francisco Giants

|1B

.354 batting average
13 home runs
38 runs batted in

|Los Angeles Dodgers

|OF

.268 batting average
23 home runs
77 runs batted in

| bgcolor="#ffff99" |†

|Chicago Cubs

|OF

.278 batting average
25 home runs
86 runs batted in

|Chicago Cubs

|2B

.260 batting average
90 runs scored
Gold Glove Award

|Cincinnati Reds

|2B

.273 batting average
9 triples
101 runs scored

| bgcolor="#ffff99" |†

|Philadelphia Phillies

|3B

.318 batting average
13 triples
125 runs scored

|Los Angeles Dodgers

|2B

.250 batting average
12 home runs
69 runs batted in

|Cincinnati Reds

|2B

.284 batting average
9 home runs
72 runs scored

| bgcolor="#ffff99" |†

|New York Mets

2.76 earned run average
251 innings pitched
16–13 record in 34 games started

| bgcolor="#ffff99" |†

|Cincinnati Reds

.275 batting average
15 home runs
82 runs batted in

|Los Angeles Dodgers

|2B

.271 batting average
4 home runs
69 runs scored

|Montreal Expos

3.60 earned run average
innings pitched
18–11 record in 43 appearances (37 games started)

|Atlanta Braves

.260 batting average
33 home runs
87 runs batted in

|New York Mets

2.32 earned run average
244 innings pitched
15–10 record in 32 games started

|San Francisco Giants

|OF

.300 batting average
12 home runs
74 runs scored

|St. Louis Cardinals

|OF

.309 batting average
30 stolen bases
81 runs scored

|San Francisco Giants

2.88 earned run average
215 strikeouts
15–9 record on 34 games started

| rowspan="2" bgcolor="#eeabab" |*

|San Diego Padres

2.92 earned run average
16 saves
11–4 record in 77 appearances

|Cincinnati Reds

2.74 earned run average
204 innings pitched
14–7 record in 38 appearances (28 games started)

|style="background-color:#FFFF99;"|†

|Montreal Expos

|OF

.282 batting average
19 home runs
65 runs batted in

|Atlanta Braves

|3B

.266 batting average
23 home runs
63 runs batted in

|Los Angeles Dodgers

3.46 earned run average
242 innings pitched
17–10 record in 39 appearances (30 games started)

|Los Angeles Dodgers

2.66 earned run average
innings pitched
17 saves

|Los Angeles Dodgers

2.48 earned run average
8 shutouts
13–7 record in 25 games started

|Los Angeles Dodgers

|2B

.282 batting average
49 stolen bases
88 runs scored

|New York Mets

|OF

.257 batting average
26 home runs
74 runs batted in

|New York Mets

2.60 earned run average
276 strikeouts+
17–9 record in 31 games started
218 innings pitched
7 Complete Games/3 Shutouts
1.073 WHIP+
1.69 FIP+

|§

|St. Louis Cardinals

|OF

.267 batting average
110 stolen bases+
107 runs scored

|St. Louis Cardinals

2.08 earned run average
innings pitched
36 saves

|§

|San Diego Padres

.300 batting average
18 home runs
79 runs batted in

|Cincinnati Reds

|3B

.271 batting average
46 stolen bases
74 runs scored

|Chicago Cubs

|OF

.293 batting average
24 stolen bases
64 runs scored

|Atlanta Braves

|OF

.282 batting average
28 home runs
78 runs batted in

|style="background-color:#FFFF99;"| †

|Houston Astros

|1B

.294 batting average
15 home runs
82 runs batted in

|Los Angeles Dodgers

|1B

.257 batting average
20 home runs
88 runs batted in

|style="background-color:#FFFF99;"| †§

|Los Angeles Dodgers

.318 batting average
35 home runs
112 runs batted in

|§

|Los Angeles Dodgers

|OF

.306 batting average
16 home runs
56 runs batted in

|Los Angeles Dodgers

2.54 earned run average
236 strikeouts
13–6 record in 28 games started

|Los Angeles Dodgers

|OF

.291 batting average
12 home runs
59 runs batted in

|style="background-color:#FFFF99;"|†§

|Philadelphia Phillies

|3B

.283 batting average
21 home runs
92 runs batted in

|Chicago Cubs

3.40 earned run average
233 strikeouts
13–6 record in 26 games started

|Cincinnati Reds

2.41 earned run average
19 saves
12–7 record in 62 appearances

|Atlanta Braves

|SS

.295 batting average
40 stolen bases
87 runs scored

|§

|St. Louis Cardinals

|3B

.329 batting average
37 home runs
130 runs batted in

|Colorado Rockies

4.52 earned run average
innings pitched
16–8 record in 32 games started

|Florida Marlins

3.30 earned run average
innings pitched
14–6 record in 27 games started

|Pittsburgh Pirates

|OF

.282 batting average
26 home runs
82 runs batted in

|Philadelphia Phillies

|1B

.288 batting average
22 home runs
63 runs batted in

|Florida Marlins

|SS

.292 batting average
51 stolen bases
119 runs scored

|Milwaukee Brewers

|3B

.324 batting average
34 home runs
97 runs batted in

|Chicago Cubs

.285 batting average
23 home runs
86 runs batted in

|Florida Marlins

|OF

.321 batting average
162 base hits
84 runs scored

|San Francisco Giants

.305 batting average
18 home runs
67 runs batted in

| bgcolor="#cfecec" |^§

|Atlanta Braves

2.10 earned run average
127 strikeouts in 77 innings pitched
46 saves

| bgcolor="#cfecec" |^

|Washington Nationals

|OF

.270 batting average
22 home runs
59 runs batted in

|Miami Marlins

2.19 earned run average
0.98 WHIP
12 wins

| bgcolor="#cfecec" |^

|New York Mets

2.69 earned run average
1.14 WHIP
9 wins

| bgcolor="#cfecec" |^§

|Chicago Cubs

|3B

.275 batting average
26 home runs
99 runs batted in

| bgcolor="#cfecec" |^§

|Los Angeles Dodgers

|SS

.308 batting average
26 home runs
72 runs batted in

| bgcolor="#cfecec" |^§

|Los Angeles Dodgers

|1B

.267 batting average
39 home runs
97 runs batted in

| bgcolor="#cfecec" |^

|Atlanta Braves

|OF

.293 batting average
26 home runs
64 runs batted in

| bgcolor="#cfecec" |^

|New York Mets

|1B

.260 batting average
53 home runs+
120 runs batted in
103 runs scored

| bgcolor="#cfecec" |^

|Milwaukee Brewers

0.33 earned run average
0.63 WHIP
53 strikeouts in 27 innings pitched

| bgcolor="#cfecec" |^

|Cincinnati Reds

|2B

.269 batting average
21 home runs
69 runs batted in
98 runs scored

| bgcolor="#cfecec" |^

|Atlanta Braves

|OF

.297 batting average
19 home runs
64 runs batted in
75 runs scored

| bgcolor="#cfecec" |^ §

|Arizona Diamondbacks

|OF

.285 batting average
25 home runs
76 runs batted in
116 runs scored
54 stolen bases

| bgcolor="#cfecec" |^

|Pittsburgh Pirates

1.96 earned run average
0.95 WHIP
170 strikeouts in 133 innings pitched
11–3 record in 23 games started

| bgcolor="#cfecec" |^

|Atlanta Braves

.274 batting average
80 runs batted in
19 home runs

Wins by team

Following Corbin Carroll winning the award as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks, every MLB franchise has had at least one Rookie of the Year winner. The Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers have won more than any other team with 18.

{| class="wikitable"

!Teams !!Awards !!Years

|Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers

|18

|1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1960, 1965, 1969, 1979–1982, 1992–1996, 2016, 2017

|New York Yankees

|rowspan="2" |10

|1951, 1954, 1957, 1962, 1968, 1970, 1981, 1996, 2017, 2024

|Boston/Atlanta Braves

|1948, 1950, 1971, 1978, 1990, 2000, 2011, 2018, 2022, 2025

|Philadelphia/Oakland Athletics

|1952, 1986–1988, 1998, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2025

|St. Louis Browns/Baltimore Orioles

|rowspan="2" |8

|1949, 1960, 1965, 1973, 1977, 1982, 1989, 2023

|Cincinnati Reds

|1956, 1963, 1966, 1968, 1976, 1988, 1999, 2021

|Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins

|1958, 1959, 1964, 1967, 1979, 1991, 1995

|St. Louis Cardinals

| rowspan=6 |6

|1954, 1955, 1974, 1985, 1986, 2001

|Boston Red Sox

|1950, 1961, 1972, 1975, 1997, 2007

|New York/San Francisco Giants

|1951, 1958, 1959, 1973, 1975, 2010

|Chicago White Sox

|1956, 1963, 1966, 1983, 1985, 2014

|Chicago Cubs

|1961, 1962, 1989, 1998, 2008, 2015

|New York Mets

|1967, 1972, 1983, 1984, 2014, 2019

|Detroit Tigers

|rowspan=2|5

|1953, 1976, 1978, 2006, 2016

|Seattle Mariners

|1984, 2000, 2001, 2020, 2022

|Cleveland Indians/Guardians

|rowspan=5|4

|1955, 1971, 1980, 1990

|Kansas City Royals

|1969, 1994, 1999, 2003

|Philadelphia Phillies

|1957, 1964, 1997, 2005

|Miami Marlins

|2003, 2006, 2009, 2013

|Tampa Bay Rays

|2008, 2011, 2013, 2021

|Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals

|rowspan=4|3

|1970, 1977, 2012

|Los Angeles Angels

|1993, 2012, 2018

|Houston Astros

|1991, 2015, 2019

|Milwaukee Brewers

|1992, 2007, 2020

|Pittsburgh Pirates

| rowspan="4" |2

|2004, 2024

|San Diego Padres

|1976, 1987

|Toronto Blue Jays

|1979, 2002

|Texas Rangers

|1974, 2010

|Arizona Diamondbacks

| rowspan="2" |1

|2023

|Colorado Rockies

|2002

References

General

Inline citations

Qualifications and voting

Winners

Key

Major Leagues combined (1947–48)

American League winners (1949–present)

National League winners (1949–present)

Wins by team

See also

References