Major League Baseball has announced the winners of 2019 Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year awards for both the American League and National League. In the American League (AL) it was Yordan Álvarez of the Houston Astros who took home the honors for best rookie performance. In the National League (NL) it was Pete Alonso who took home the 2019 Rookie of the Year award as the New York Mets rising star.
To recap, the grouping of players who were up for the award in the AL were Yordan Álvarez (HOU), John Means (BAL), and Brandon Lowe (TB). In the NL it was Pete Alonso (NYM), Mike Soroka (ATL), and Fernando Tatis Jr. (SD) who were up for the award. The Baseball Writers’ Association Of America (BBWAA) voted on the award and deemed Alonso and Álvarez the two most worthy candidates.
It’s unanimous! ?
Yordan Álvarez is the 2019 @officialBBWAA Jackie Robinson AL Rookie of the Year! pic.twitter.com/wBHm073qFP
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 11, 2019
For the Astros, Álvarez took home the unanimous vote for the award while being a huge part of the Astros team and a deep playoff run that ended in a World Series loss to the Washington Nationals. Something to note, the twenty-two-year-old only played in eighty-seven games for the Astros but still took the vote unanimously. In 2019, Álvarez posted a .313/.412/.655 with 27 home runs and 78 RBI for the Astros. This unanimous victory was most recently seen in the AL from New York Yankees outfielder, Aaron Judge, who won the award unanimously in 2017.
? Home Run Derby Champion
? 2019 Home Run King
? Rookie record for most HR in a season
? 2019 NL Rookie of the YearWhat a season for @Mets 1B Pete Alonso! pic.twitter.com/AFSLybuPLj
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) November 11, 2019
It was Mets rookie sensation Pete Alonso who set the record for the most home runs by a rookie in his inaugural season. In 2019, Alonso would manage to smash 53 home runs while producing a .260/.358/.583 slash line also had 120 RBI for the Mets. The Mets future is bright with Alonso leading the way for this organization and taking home the 2019 Rookie of the Year award for the Mets. Alonso took home a 2019 Home Run Derby championship as well as the 2019 Rookie of the Year award, the future is bright for Alonso and the Mets. He ultimately took home 29 of 30 first-place votes.
The BBWAA will continue to hand out awards this week with the 2019 Manager of the Year awards coming out on Tuesday, November 12th.
