Awarding the top rookie player began in 1947, coincidentally the year in which Jackie Robinson endured the toughest rookie year in baseball history. Fittingly, he won the award.
What qualifies as a rookie?
In order to qualify for the award a player must have accumulated, prior to the season under consideration:
- Fewer than 130 at bats and 50 innings pitched in the Major Leagues or
- Fewer than 45 days on the roster of Major League clubs
List of winners
combined award | ||
1947 | Jackie Robinson, Brooklyn Dodgers 1B | |
1948 | Alvin Dark, Boston Braves SS | |
American League | National League | |
1949 | Roy Sievers, St. Louis Browns OF | Don Newcombe, Brooklyn Dodgers P |
1950 | Walt Dropo, Boston Red Sox 1B | Sam Jethroe, Boston Braves OF |
1951 | Gil McDougald, New York Yankees 3B | Willie Mays, New York Giants OF |
1952 | Harry Byrd, Philadelphia Athletics P | Joe Black, Brooklyn Dodgers P |
1953 | Harvey Kuenn, Detroit Tigers SS | Jim Gilliam, Brooklyn Dodgers 2B |
1954 | Bob Grim, New York Yankees P | Wally Moon St Louis OF |
1955 | Herb Score, Cleveland Indians P | Bill Virdon, St. Louis Cardinals OF |
1956 | Luis Aparicio, Chicago White Sox SS | Frank Robinson, Cincinnati Reds OF |
1957 | Tony Kubek, New York Yankees SS | Jack Sanford, Philadelphia Phillies P |
1958 | Albie Pearson, Washington Senators OF | Orlando Cepeda, San Francisco Giants 1B |
1959 | Bob Allison, Washington Senators OF | Willie McCovey, San Francisco Giants 1B |
1960 | Ron Hansen, Baltimore Orioles SS | Frank Howard, Los Angeles Dodgers OF |
1961 | Don Schwall, Boston Red Sox P | Billy Williams, Chicago Cubs OF |
1962 | Tommy Tresh, New York Yankees SS | Ken Hubbs, Chicago Cubs 2B |
1963 | Gary Peters, Chicago White Sox P | Pete Rose, Cincinnati Reds |
1964 | Tony Oliva, Minnesota Twins OF | Dick Allen, Philadelphia Phillies |
1965 | Curt Blefary, Baltimore Orioles OF | Jim Lefebvre, Los Angeles Dodgers 2B |
1966 | Tommie Agee, Chicago White Sox OF | Tommy Helms, Cincinnati Reds 2B |
1967 | Rod Carew, Minnesota Twins 2B | Tom Seaver, New York Mets P |
1968 | Stan Bahnsen, New York Yankees P | Johnny Bench, Cincinnati Reds C |
1969 | Lou Piniella, Kansas City Royals OF | Ted Sizemore, Los Angeles Dodgers 2B |
1970 | Thurman Munson, New York Yankees C | Carl Morton, Montreal Expos P |
1971 | Chris Chambliss, Cleveland Indians 1B | Earl Williams, Atlanta Braves C |
1972 | Carlton Fisk, Boston Red Sox C | Jon Matlack, New York Mets P |
1973 | Al Bumbry, Baltimore Orioles OF | Gary Matthews, San Francisco Giants OF |
1974 | Mike Hargrove, Texas Rangers 1B | Bake McBride, St. Louis Cardinals OF |
1975 | Fred Lynn, Boston Red Sox OF | John Montefusco, San Francisco Giants P |
1976 | Mark Fidrych, Detroit Tigers P | Butch Metzger, San Diego Padres P Pat Zachry, Cincinnati Reds P |
1977 | Eddie Murray, Baltimore Orioles DH | Andre Dawson, Montreal Expos OF |
1978 | Lou Whitaker, Detroit Tigers 2B | Bob Horner, Atlanta Braves 3B |
1979 | John Castino, Minnesota Twins 3B Alfredo Griffin, Toronto Blue Jays SS | Rick Sutcliffe, Los Angeles Dodgers P |
1980 | Joe Charboneau, Cleveland Indians OF | Steve Howe, Los Angeles Dodgers P |
1981 | Dave Righetti, New York Yankees P | Fernando Valenzuela, Los Angeles Dodgers P |
1982 | Cal Ripken, Jr., Baltimore Orioles SS | Steve Sax, Los Angeles Dodgers 2B |
1983 | Ron Kittle, Chicago White Sox OF | Darryl Strawberry, New York Mets OF |
1984 | Alvin Davis, Seattle Mariners 1B | Dwight Gooden, New York Mets P |
1985 | Ozzie Guillen, Chicago White Sox SS | Vince Coleman, St. Louis Cardinals OF |
1986 | Jose Canseco, Oakland As OF | Todd Worrell, St. Louis Cardinals P |
1987 | Mark McGwire, Oakland As 1B | Benito Santiago, San Diego Padres C |
1988 | Walt Weiss, Oakland As SS | Chris Sabo, Cincinnati Reds 3B |
1989 | Gregg Olson, Baltimore Orioles P | Jerome Walton, Chicago Cubs OF |
1990 | Sandy Alomar, Jr., Cleveland Indians C | David Justice, Atlanta Braves OF |
1991 | Chuck Knoblauch, Minnesota Twins 2B | Jeff Bagwell, Houston Astros 1B |
1992 | Pat Listach, Milwaukee Brewers SS | Eric Karros, Los Angeles Dodgers 1B |
1993 | Tim Salmon, California Angels OF | Mike Piazza, Los Angeles Dodgers C |
1994 | Bob Hamelin, Kansas City Royals DH | Raul Mondesi, Los Angeles Dodgers OF |
1995 | Marty Cordova, Minnesota Twins OF | Hideo Nomo, Los Angeles Dodgers P |
1996 | Derek Jeter, New York Yankees SS | Todd Hollandsworth, Los Angeles Dodgers OF |
1997 | Nomar Garciaparra, Boston Red Sox SS | Scott Rolen, Philadelphia Phillies 3B |
1998 | Ben Grieve, Oakland As OF | Kerry Wood, Chicago Cubs P |
1999 | Carlos Beltran, Kansas City Royals OF | Scott Williamson, Cincinnati Reds P |
2000 | Kazuhiro Sasaki, Seattle Mariners P | Rafael Furcal, Atlanta Braves SS |
2001 | Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners P | Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals SS |