The Baseball Writers' Association of America named Rodriguez the American League's rookies of the year on Monday.
Rodriguez received 29 of 30 first-place votes and one second for 148 points. He got one first-place vote and 18 second-place votes.
Rodriguez's youthful exuberance, pronounced swagger and wide-ranging talent made him one of the most popular baseball players in the country. He slashed.284/.345/.509 with 28 home runs, 25 stolen bases and 25 doubles while propelling the Mariners to their first playoff appearance since 2001 at the age of 21.
Rodriguez excelled in big spots with his defense and speed. He had a FanGraphs win above replacement of 5.3 which tied him for the rookies lead and was topped by only 21 players throughout the sport.
| Player, Team | First | Second | Third | Totals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Julio Rodriguez, Mariners | 29 | 1 | -- | 148 |
| Adley Rutschman, Orioles | 1 | 18 | 9 | 68 |
| Steven Kwan, Guardians | -- | 10 | 14 | 44 |
| Bobby Witt Jr., Royals | -- | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| Jeremy Peña, Astros | -- | -- | 2 | 2 |
| George Kirby, Mariners | -- | -- | 1 | 1 |
| -- Baseball Writers' Association of America |
Rodriguez is the fifth player from the club to win the award.
Since 1900, only two other players have accumulated at least 28 home runs, 25 stolen bases and 25 doubles in their age-21-or-Younger seasons: Mike Trout and Andruw Jones. Rodriguez is the first player to combine 25 home runs with 25 stolen bases in his first season in the big leagues and the third to do so, along with Trout and Chris Young.
The catcher finished with a.254/.362/.450 slash line to go along with 13 homers and 35 doubles. The Orioles, who were widely expected to finish last in the hyper-competitiveAL East, went on to make the playoffs after losing in the first round to the Yankees.
The most hits by a Cleveland first baseman in the expansion era has been 168 by Kwan, who is already one of the most skilled hitters in the game. Luis Arraez, who won the American League batting title, had the highest contact rate in the majors.
When they signed Rodriguez out of the Dominican Republic in the summer of 2017, they thought he could be a star, but he was more of a corner outfielder. Rodriguez worked to turn himself into a five-tool center fielder, zooming through the Mariners' minor league system -- despite losing an entire season to the COVID-19 epidemic in 2020 -- and cracking the team's opening day roster.
Less than two months later, the SeattleMariners rewarded him with a long-term extension that will pay him anywhere between $210 million and $470 million over the course of his career, an unprecedented contract for someone with less than a full year of major league service time.
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