The Tampa Bay Rays' Randy Arozarena on Monday was named American League Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, outpacing his teammate Wander Franco, and pitcher Luis Garcia of the Houston Astros.
Arozarena received 124 points in the voting by baseball writers, with 22 first-place votes, four second-place votes, and two third-place votes. Garcia had 63 points, including two first-place votes, and Franco also received two first-place votes, but only ended up with 30 points to finish third.
Randy is the fourth Rays player to win the award, all since 2008, following Evan Longoria, Jeremy Hellickson and Wil Myers.
Rays lefty pitcher Shane McClanahan received one second-place vote and finished seventh.
The 26-year-old Arozarena had a 20-20 season for the AL East champions, living up to the hype he generated after a stellar postseason in 2020. He became the third rookie in the past decade to have a 20-20 season, and posted a 4.1 WAR, which led all rookies, and an .815 OPS. He batted .274 with 69 RBIs and 94 runs scored. He also made only one error in 119 games played in the outfield.
Franco made an incredible run at the award in playing only 70 games with the Rays, including that amazing on-base streak of 43 consecutive games, tying Frank Robinson as the only players 20-and-under to accomplish that feat. One gets the feeling had Wander played a full season, this story might be a little different.
Over in the National League, Jonathan India of the Cincinnati Reds won that league's Rookie of the Year award.
Cover Photo: Getty Images