*Photo from Yahoo! Sports*
The best of the first year crop both reside in the outfield. Seattle Mariners OF Julio Rodriguez and Atlanta Braves OF Michael Harris II were named 2022 AL and NL Rookie of the Year on Monday, according to an announcement by the BBWAA.
Rodriguez was contending with finalists Adley Rutschman of the Baltimore Orioles and Steven Kwan of the Cleveland Guardians. Receiving down ballot votes in the voting process were Houston Astros SS Jeremy Pena, Kansas City Royals SS Bobby Witt Jr, and Mariners starter George Kirby.
In the race for first place, Rodriguez took home 29 of the 30 available votes, finishing with one second place vote and 148 points. Rutschman received one first place vote along with 18 second place votes and 9 for 3rd, finishing with 68 points. Kwan racked up 10 second place votes and 14 for 3rd, finishing with 44 points.
By winning Rookie of the Year, Rodriguez is the 5th player on the Mariners to win the award, with Kyle Lewis being the most recent winner in 2020. He's also the 8th Dominican Born player to win the honor. He hit .284 with 28 homers and 25 steals in 132 games, being the 3rd rookie ever to hit 25 homers and steal 25 bases in a season.
Harris II was competing with teammate Spencer Strider and Cardinals utility player Brendan Donovan for the award. Down ballot votes were given to Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Jake McCarthy, Cincinnati Reds pitchers Alexis Diaz and Nick Lodolo, and also Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz.
In the NL voting, Harris II took 22 first place votes and 8 second place votes for 134 points. Strider was in second with 103 points, given 8 first place votes and 21 for second. Donovan rounded out the top 3 with 22 votes for 3rd place, giving him 22 points.
Harris II didn't debut until May 28 but hit the ground running when he did. Harris shined defensively in center field, providing 7 outs above average (OAA) and 8 defensive runs saved (DRS). He also hit 19 home runs and stole 20 bases, driving in 64 runs while posting a .297 average at the plate, playing 114 games for the Braves.
Comments
Post a Comment