New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – Chicago White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu
and New York Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom have been named the Jackie
Robinson Award winners as the top rookies in the American and National
League, respectively, as voted on by members of the Baseball Writers’
Association of America.
Abreu, the first White Sox player honored with the award since Ozzie Guillen
back in 1985, placed first on all 30 ballots submitted by two writers in each
league city for a perfect score of 150 points based on the 5-3-1 tabulation
system.
He is the ninth unanimous choice in the AL voting, joining Mike Trout, Evan
Longoria, Nomar Garciaparra, Derek Jeter, Tim Salmon, Sandy Alomar Jr., Mark
McGwire and Carlton Fisk.
DeGrom placed first on 26 ballots and finished with 142 points to easily
outdistance Cincinnati Reds outfielder Billy Hamilton and become the first
Mets player to claim the award since Dwight Gooden in 1984.
A three-time AL Rookie of the Month winner, Abreu hit .317 and led all rookies
with 36 HR, 107 RBI, 176 hits, 35 doubles, 80 runs scored, a .383 on-base
percentage, .581 slugging percentage and a .964 OPS.
Abreu was not only the AL Rookie of the Month in April, but the Player of the
Month as well after he set rookie records by swatting 10 home runs and
amassing 31 RBI, also a record. He also received the dual honor in July,
becoming the first player in major league history to win both monthly awards
twice.
The 27-year-old also became the first rookie in baseball history to rank among
the top five in his league in each Triple Crown category and joined Hal Trosky
(1934), Ted Williams (1939) and Albert Pujols (2001) as the only rookies to
record 30 doubles, 30 homers and 100 RBI in a season.
Abreu is the sixth player in franchise history to receive the honor and the
fourth Cuban-born player to be named Rookie of the Year. Miami Marlins ace
Jose Fernandez captured the NL award last season, with Tony Oliva and Jose
Canseco previous AL winners.
When deGrom was recalled by the Mets in May, the initial thought was he would
help out of the bullpen. Injuries, though, thrust him into the rotation and
the 26-year-old excelled, going 9-6 with a 2.69 ERA in 22 starts.
He won nine of his final 11 decisions and pitched to a 1.99 ERA and 1.00 WHIP
over his last 15 starts, averaging nearly 10 strikeouts per nine innings
during that stretch.
DeGrom becomes the fifth Mets player to win the Rookie of the Year and fourth
pitcher, joining Gooden, Hall of Famer Tom Seaver and Jon Matlack.
The right-hander is also the first Rookie of the Year hurler with fewer than
10 wins in a season since the Yankees’ Dave Righetti went 8-4 during the
strike-shortened 1981 campaign.
Hamilton, whose 56 stolen bases tied for second in the majors, garnered the
other four first-votes and was second on 23 ballots for a total of 92 points.
St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong placed third with 14 points.
Los Angeles Angels pitcher Matt Shoemaker finished as the AL runner-up after
tabulating 12 second-place votes and 40 points, with New York Yankees reliever
Dellin Betances (27 points) edging Houston Astros righty Collin McHugh (21
points) for third.
