Sophomore of the Year Award

Sophomore of the Year Award

The Sophomore of the Year Award began during the 1953 season and was given annually by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) to the player who performed best during their second full season. Discontinued in 1962 due to lack of interest, it still remained a popular topic of discussion amongst fans for decades and was often used to describe players who were able to avoid the sophomore jinx.

"After the success I had in '96 I was scared of failing. You hear so much about the sophomore jinx and all that. I had never failed before in this game. People say it happens to everybody eventually. It got me." - Rocky Coppinger in the Baltimore Sun (02/14/1998)

Sophomore of the Year Award In Chronological Order
Year	A.L. Sophomore of the Year	N.L. Sophomore of the Year
1953	Jimmy Piersall	Eddie Mathews
1954	Harvey Kuenn	Ruben Gomez
1955	Al Kaline	Ernie Banks
1956	Herb Score	Ed Bailey
1957	Frank Malzone	Frank Robinson
1958	Dick Hyde	Harry Anderson
1959	Bob Shaw	Orlando Cepeda
1960	Jim Perry	Ernie Broglio
1961	Jim Gentile	Ron Santo
1962	Rich Rollins	Willie Davis
1963	Award Discontinued	Award Discontinued
Year	A.L. Sophomore of the Year	N.L. Sophomore of the Year
Sophomore of the Year Award

What do Harvey Kuenn (1954), Herb Score (1956), Frank Robinson (1957) & Orlando Cepeda (1959) all have in common? Each of those players also won the Rookie of the Year Award.

Should they bring the Sophomore of the Year Award back? Would you vote each year for a winner? Share with us your thoughts on Baseball Fever.

Did you know that five of the former Sophomore of the Year winners went on to have a Hall of Fame caliber career? Those names appear in bold print and four were from the National League, one played in the American League.

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