There was no doubt in voters’ minds about who deserves to be named this year’s American League Rookie of the Year.
The MLB announced on Tuesday that Seattle Mariners’ slugger Kyle Lewis won the prestigious award by receiving all 30 first-place votes and a maximum of 150 points. Lewis topped the Chicago White Sox’ center fielder Luis Robert, who finished second with 83 points, and Houston Astros’ right-hander Cristian Javier, who came in third with 11 points.
Lewis is the 12th unanimous rookie of the year in the history of the American League and joins the all-time greats like Derek Jeter and Mike Trout. He is also the first Mariner to be named AL Rookie of the Year since 2001 when the award went to legendary outfielder Ichiro Suzuki.
Kyle Lewis was selected 11th overall in the 2016 MLB Draft by Seattle Mariners, but had to wait until 2019 to receive his majors’ debut. He ended up playing 18 games, during which he impressed by batting .268 and hitting six home runs.
There were some doubts that Lewis could keep up his production in larger sample size, but the 25-year-old player rebuked them all with an even more formidable campaign in 2020. He played 58 games during the regular season and batted .262 while getting 11 homers and 28 RBIs.
“It’s just a great first step for me, and being in that category, it’s just really special,” said Lewis after learning the news about the award.
