Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award

Rookie of the Year Award
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.
Jackie Robinson, the inaugural winner in 1947 and eventual namesake of the award
SportBaseball
LeagueMajor League Baseball
Awarded forBest regular-season rookie in American League and National League
History
First award1947
Most recentPaul Skenes (NL)
Luis Gil (AL)
WebsiteRookie 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.[1] 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,[2] 40 years after Robinson broke the baseball color line.

Nineteen 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,[3] 33 days older than 2000 winner Kazuhiro Sasaki (also 32).[4] Luis Gil of the New York Yankees and Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates are the most recent winners.

  1. ^ Vass, George (July 1998). "History of the rookie award filled with controversy". Baseball Digest. 57 (7): 26. ISSN 0005-609X.
  2. ^ "Sports News". Associated Press. July 14, 1987.
  3. ^ Goldstein, Richard (June 19, 2001). "Sam Jethroe Is Dead at 83; Was Oldest Rookie of the Year". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 16, 2009. Retrieved November 11, 2008.
  4. ^ Cour, Jim (November 7, 2000). "Sasaki voted AL Rookie of the Year". Associated Press.