Baseball America chose him Rookie of the Year. He is the fourth criollo to do so and the previous three also won in MLB
The regular season has not ended and Julio Rodríguez is already reaping the fruits of his tremendous first season: the prestigious publication Baseball America chose him as the Rookie of the Year in the Major Leagues in 2022.
The Dominican is the first player in the history of the Mariners to obtain this recognition, which gives him some more relevant touches.
Ken Griffey Jr., Cooperstown immortal, Álex Rodríguez and Ichiro Suzuki, Rookie of the Year by the Baseball Writers Association in the United States (BBWAA) have paraded through that franchise.
This is a tremendous sign for Rodriguez, the consensus favorite for the award on the minor circuit this season, as most of those who have been recognized by Baseball America also take home the final trophies. of the year that are granted after the different votes of the accredited journalists in the MLB who have this prerogative (not everyone who follows up is a member of the BBWAA).
Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani, both of the Angels, the late Cuban José Fernández (Marlins), also Cuban José Abreu, of the Chicago White Sox, and Aaron Judge, of the Yankees, are some of those who have swept both elections.
dominican room
Rodriguez, 21, recently signed to a contract that will guarantee him at least $210 million over 12 seasons, is the fourth Dominican to be selected by Baseball America.
The first was the former Dodgers outfielder Raúl Mondesí in 1993. Then Rafael Furcal, with the Atlanta Braves, in 2000 and in the following contest Albert Pujols, with the St. Louis Cardinals. In that 2001 season, Pujols hit 37 home runs and drove in 130 runs with a .329 batting average.
Likewise, this trio of Quisqueyans were the Rookies of the Year, by coincidence in the National League. Rodríguez is on his way to being the first in the American League.
Julio, a quality outfielder who has both speed and power, is currently on the 10-day disabled list with a sore back. He has hit 27 homers, stolen 25 bases and his batting average is .280 with an on-base percentage of .342 and a .502 slugging percentage. There isn’t a rookie in the big leagues with that kind of production.
Had it not been for injuries in the second half of the season, he would be much closer or would have other achievements such as 30-30 (home runs and stolen bases), something that as a rookie only Mike Trout has done in the records of the business, except that the Angels star did it in his second season.
Baseball America only chooses one player in both leagues for this award. The honor went to the Dominican Rodriguez.
