MLB ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARD

The Jackie Robinson Award | Baseball Almanac

The Major League Baseball (MLB) Rookie of the Year Award, or Jackie Robinson Award as it became known in 1987, is given to the individual player from each League who has the best rookie season; pitching, hitting or fielding, that is during his first year of eligibility.

MLB Rookie of the Year Award History

In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is annually given to one player from each league as voted on by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA).

The Rookie of the Year Award was established in 1940 by the Chicago chapter of the BBWAA, which selected an annual winner from 1940 through 1946. Winners of the originally established award appear at the bottom of the page in the Fast Facts.

The Rookie of the Year Award became a national honor in 1947; Jackie Robinson, the Brooklyn Dodgers' second baseman, won the inaugural 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.

Originally, the award was officially known as the J. Louis Comiskey Memorial Award, named after the Chicago White Sox owner of the 1930s, though it was commonly referred to as the Rookie of the Year Award in the media. The award was officially renamed the Jackie Robinson Award in July 1987, forty-years after Jackie Robinson broke the baseball color line.

MLB Rookie of the Year Award Trivia

Of the one-hundred fifty players named Rookie of the Year, eighteen have been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame — six American League players and twelve from the National League. Next to each of their names on the chart below you'll find (HOF) to easily illustrate who they were.

The Rookie of the Year 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 franchise (with eighteen), twice the total of the New York Yankees (nine), who have produced 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, 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 (who was also 32).

MLB Rookie of the Year Award Qualifications

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 disabled 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.

Note: Team totals below include franchise wins, so the second win by the San Francisco Giants in 1958, includes their win while in New York (1951). Research by Baseball Almanac.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"Baseball is like a poker game. Nobody wants to quit when he's losing; nobody wants you to quit when you're ahead." - Robinson, Jackie. 1947 Rookie of the Year / Hall of Fame First Baseman. Book of African-American Quotations. Joslyn Pine, Dover Publications. 14 January 2011. Page 157.

Rookie of the Year Award Winners

In Chronological Order

1947 AL One Winner n/a --
1947 NL Jackie Robinson (HOF) Brooklyn (1) 1B
1948 AL One Winner n/a --
1948 NL Alvin Dark Boston (1) SS
1949 AL Roy Sievers St. Louis (1) OF
1949 NL Don Newcombe Brooklyn (2) RHP
1950 AL Walt Dropo Boston (1) 1B
1950 NL Sam Jethroe Boston (2) OF
1951 AL Gil McDougald New York (1) 3B
1951 NL Willie Mays (HOF) New York (1) OF
1952 AL Harry Byrd Philadelphia (1) RHP
1952 NL Joe Black Brooklyn (3) RHP
1953 AL Harvey Kuenn Detroit (1) SS
1953 NL Jim Gilliam Brooklyn (4) 2B
1954 AL Bob Grim New York (2) RHP
1954 NL Wally Moon St. Louis (1) OF
1955 AL Herb Score Cleveland (1) LHP
1955 NL Bill Virdon St. Louis (2) OF
1956 AL Luis Aparicio (HOF) Chicago (1) SS
1956 NL Frank Robinson (HOF | Unanimous) Cincinnati (1) OF
1957 AL Tony Kubek New York (3) SS
1957 NL Jack Sanford Philadelphia (1) RHP
1958 AL Albie Pearson Washington (1) OF
1958 NL Orlando Cepeda (HOF | Unanimous) San Francisco (2) 1B
1959 AL Bob Allison Washington (2) OF
1959 NL Willie McCovey (HOF | Unanimous) San Francisco (3) 1B
1960 AL Ron Hansen Baltimore (2) SS
1960 NL Frank Howard Los Angeles (5) OF
1961 AL Don Schwall Boston (2) RHP
1961 NL Billy Williams (HOF) Chicago (1) OF
1962 AL Tom Tresh New York (4) SS
1962 NL Ken Hubbs Chicago (2) 2B
1963 AL Gary Peters Chicago (2) LHP
1963 NL Pete Rose Cincinnati (2) 2B
1964 AL Tony Oliva (HOF) Minnesota (3) OF
1964 NL Dick Allen Philadelphia (2) 3B
1965 AL Curt Blefary Baltimore (3) OF
1965 NL Jim Lefebvre Los Angeles (6) 2B
1966 AL Tommie Agee Chicago (3) OF
1966 NL Tommy Helms Cincinnati (3) 2B
1967 AL Rod Carew (HOF) Minnesota (4) 2B
1967 NL Tom Seaver (HOF) New York (1) RHP
1968 AL Stan Bahnsen New York (5) RHP
1968 NL Johnny Bench (HOF) Cincinnati (4) C
1969 AL Lou Piniella Kansas City (1) OF
1969 NL Ted Sizemore Los Angeles (7) 2B
1970 AL Thurman Munson New York (6) C
1970 NL Carl Morton Montreal (1) RHP
1971 AL Chris Chambliss Cleveland (2) 1B
1971 NL Earl Williams Atlanta (3) C
1972 AL Carlton Fisk (HOF | Unanimous) Boston (3) C
1972 NL Jon Matlack New York (2) LHP
1973 AL Al Bumbry Baltimore (4) OF
1973 NL Gary Matthews San Francisco (4) OF
1974 AL Mike Hargrove Texas (1) 1B
1974 NL Bake McBride St. Louis (3) OF
1975 AL Fred Lynn Boston (4) OF
1975 NL John Montefusco San Francisco (5) RHP
1976 AL Mark Fidrych Detroit (2) RHP
1976 NL Butch Metzger San Diego (1) RHP
1976 NL Pat Zachry Cincinnati (5) RHP
1977 AL Eddie Murray (HOF) Baltimore (5) DH
1977 NL Andre Dawson (HOF) Montreal (2) OF
1978 AL Lou Whitaker Detroit (3) 2B
1978 NL Bob Horner Atlanta (4) 3B
1979 AL John Castino Minnesota (5) 3B
1979 AL Alfredo Griffin Toronto (1) SS
1979 NL Rick Sutcliffe Los Angeles (8) RHP
1980 AL Joe Charboneau Cleveland (3) OF
1980 NL Steve Howe Los Angeles (9) LHP
1981 AL Dave Righetti New York (7) LHP
1981 NL Fernando Valenzuela Los Angeles (10) LHP
1982 AL Cal Ripken, Jr. (HOF) Baltimore (6) SS
1982 NL Steve Sax Los Angeles (11) 2B
1983 AL Ron Kittle Chicago (4) OF
1983 NL Darryl Strawberry New York (3) OF
1984 AL Alvin Davis Seattle (1) 1B
1984 NL Dwight Gooden New York (4) RHP
1985 AL Ozzie Guillen Chicago (5) SS
1985 NL Vince Coleman (Unanimous) St. Louis (4) OF
1986 AL Jose Canseco Oakland (2) OF
1986 NL Todd Worrell St. Louis (5) RHP

Jackie Robinson Award Winners (Rookie of the Year)

Jackie Robinson Award / Rookie of the Year Award

In Chronological Order

1987 AL Mark McGwire (Unanimous) Oakland (3) 1B
1987 NL Benito Santiago (Unanimous) San Diego (2) C
1988 AL Walt Weiss Oakland (4) SS
1988 NL Chris Sabo Cincinnati (6) 3B
1989 AL Gregg Olson Baltimore (7) RHP
1989 NL Jerome Walton Chicago (3) OF
1990 AL Sandy Alomar, Jr. (Unanimous) Cleveland (4) C
1990 NL David Justice Atlanta (5) OF
1991 AL Chuck Knoblauch Minnesota (6) 2B
1991 NL Jeff Bagwell (HOF) Houston (1) 1B
1992 AL Pat Listach Milwaukee (1) SS
1992 NL Eric Karros Los Angeles (12) 1B
1993 AL Tim Salmon (Unanimous) California (1) OF
1993 NL Mike Piazza (HOF | Unanimous) Los Angeles (13) C
1994 AL Bob Hamelin Kansas City (2) DH
1994 NL Raul Mondesi (Unanimous) Los Angeles (14) OF
1995 AL Marty Cordova Minnesota (7) OF
1995 NL Hideo Nomo Los Angeles (15) RHP
1996 AL Derek Jeter (HOF | Unanimous) New York (8) SS
1996 NL Todd Hollandsworth Los Angeles (16) OF
1997 AL Nomar Garciaparra (Unanimous) Boston (5) SS
1997 NL Scott Rolen (HOF | Unanimous) Philadelphia (3) 3B
1998 AL Ben Grieve Oakland (5) OF
1998 NL Kerry Wood Chicago (4) RHP
1999 AL Carlos Beltran Kansas City (3) OF
1999 NL Scott Williamson Cincinnati (7) RHP
2000 AL Kazuhiro Sasaki Seattle (2) RHP
2000 NL Rafael Furcal Atlanta (6) SS
2001 AL Ichiro Suzuki Seattle (3) OF
2001 NL Albert Pujols (Unanimous) St. Louis (6) 3B
2002 AL Eric Hinske Toronto (2) 3B
2002 NL Jason Jennings Colorado (1) RHP
2003 AL Angel Berroa Kansas City (4) SS
2003 NL Dontrelle Willis Florida (1) LHP
2004 AL Bobby Crosby Oakland (6) SS
2004 NL Jason Bay Pittsburgh (1) OF
2005 AL Huston Street Oakland (7) RHP
2005 NL Ryan Howard Philadelphia (4) 1B
2006 AL Justin Verlander Detroit (3) RHP
2006 NL Hanley Ramirez Florida (2) SS
2007 AL Dustin Pedroia Boston (6) 2B
2007 NL Ryan Braun Milwaukee (2) 3B
2008 AL Evan Longoria Tampa Bay (1) 3B
2008 NL Geovany Soto Chicago (5) C
2009 AL Andrew Bailey Oakland (8) RHP
2009 NL Chris Coghlan Florida (3) LF
2010 AL Neftali Feliz Texas (2) RHP
2010 NL Buster Posey San Francisco (6) C
2011 AL Jeremy Hellickson Tampa Bay (2) RHP
2011 NL Craig Kimbrel (Unanimous) Atlanta (7) RHP
2012 AL Mike Trout (Unanimous) Los Angeles (2) OF
2012 NL Bryce Harper Washington (3) OF
2013 AL Wil Myers Tampa Bay (3) OF
2013 NL Jose Fernandez Miami (4) RHP
2014 AL Jose Abreu (Unanimous) Chicago (6) 1B
2014 NL Jacob deGrom New York (5) RHP
2015 AL Carlos Correa Houston (2) SS
2015 NL Kris Bryant Chicago (6) 3B
2016 AL Michael Fulmer Detroit (4) RHP
2016 NL Corey Seager (Unanimous) Los Angeles (17) SS
2017 AL Aaron Judge (Unanimous) New York (9) RF
2017 NL Cody Bellinger (Unanimous) Los Angeles (18) 1B
2018 AL Shohei Ohtani Los Angeles (3) RHP / DH
2018 NL Ronald Acuna Jr. Atlanta (8) OF
2019 AL Yordan Alvarez (Unanimous) Houston (3) DH
2019 NL Pete Alonso New York (6) 1B
2020 AL Kyle Lewis (Unanimous) Seattle (4) OF
2020 NL Devin Williams Milwaukee (3) RP
2021 AL Randy Arozarena Tampa Bay (4) OF
2021 NL Jonathan India Cincinnati (8) 2B
2022 AL Julio Rodríguez Seattle (5) CF
2022 NL Michael Harris II Atlanta (9) CF
2023 AL Gunnar Henderson (Unanimous) Baltimore (8) SS
2023 NL Corbin Carroll (Unanimous) Arizona (1) LF
2024 AL To Be Determined (x) -- --
2024 NL To Be Determined (x) -- --
Rookie of the Year | Jackie Robinson Award | Baseball Awards
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baseball almanac fast facts

During the 1964 season, Tony Oliva of the Minnesota Twins won a batting title making him the first Rookie of the Year with a batting title — a feat not duplicated until 2001 when Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners led the American League with a .350 batting average.

Did you know that Mark McGwire was the first Rookie of the Year Award winner who also led the league in home runs? Too easy? Did you know that from 1940 through 1946 the Chicago chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) selected a Rookie of the Year Award recipient? When they invited all thirty-nine baseball writers to vote in 1947 the official Rookie of the Year Award was born — or the J. Louis Comiskey Memorial Award as it was called at the time.

Chicago BBWAA Rookie of the Year
Year Name Team LG POS
1940 Lou Boudreau Cleveland AL SS
1941 Pete Reiser Brooklyn NL OF
1942 Johnny Beazley St. Louis NL P
1943 Billy Johnson New York AL 3B
1944 Bill Voiselle New York NL P
1945 Dave Ferriss Boston AL P
1946 Eddie Waitkus Chicago NL 1B

The following players were all unanimous selections and appear in chronological order: Frank Robinson, Orlando Cepeda, Willie McCovey, Carlton Fisk, Vince Coleman, Benito Santiago, Mark McGwire, Sandy Alomar Jr., Mike Piazza, Tim Salmon, Raul Mondesi, Derek Jeter, Scott Rolen, Nomar Garciaparra, Albert Pujols, Craig Kimbrel, Mike Trout, Jose Abreu, Corey Seager, Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Lewis, Corbin Carroll, and Gunnar Henderson.