Mariners' Lewis, Brewers' Williams top rookies
Seattle Mariners outfielder Kyle Lewis was a unanimous choice in the American League and Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Devin Williams was named the National League winner as the Jackie Robinson rookie of the year awards were announced Monday.
Lewis received all 30 first-place votes and is the 12th unanimous winner in the AL and 25th overall. He's the first Mariner to win the honour since Ichiro Suzuki in 2001.
“I'm still learning the game,” Lewis said on the MLB Network. “I'm still working every day and trying to write my story.”
Williams received 14 of the 30 first-place votes while accumulating 95 points in the NL balloting. The reliever joins Pat Listach (1992) and Ryan Braun (2007) as Brewers to win the award.
“I never thought I would be in this position,” Williams said. “It is just a culmination of all my hard work and it's nice to get recognized.”
Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm and San Diego Padres infielder Jake Cronenworth tied for second in the NL with 74 points. Bohm received nine firstplace votes while Cronenworth received six.
Chicago White Sox outfielder Luis Robert finished second in the AL with 83 points. He received 27 of the 30 second-place votes. Houston Astros right-hander Christian Javier (11 points) finished third.
Lewis, who hit .259 with 11 homers and 28 RBIs in 58 games, is the fourth Mariners player to win the award. Alvin Davis (1984) and Kazuhiro Sasaki (2000) also won the honour besides Suzuki.
The 25-year-old Lewis was a firstround pick of the Mariners in 2016. But just 30 games into his professional career, he was involved in a collision at home plate that left him with three torn knee ligaments — ACL, MCL and LCL.
Lewis played in just 49 minor league games the following year (2017) as it took him awhile to work his way back, both physically and mentally. But eventually he got over the hump.
Williams had to overcome his own adversity on his track to the majors. The second-round pick in 2013 had Tommy John surgery and missed the 2017 season. He later struggled as a minor league starter before being converted to a reliever prior to the 2019 campaign.
But there were few struggles this season as Williams posted a microscopic 0.33 ERA and struck out 53 hitters in 27 innings over 22 appearances. He gave up just one run, eight hits and nine walks while compiling an 0.63 WHIP.
It was quite a stunning performance by Williams, who is the first pitcher to win the award without recording either a victory or a save.
RAYS' AROZARENA WINS BABE RUTH AWARD
Following a positively Ruthian post-season performance, Tampa Bay outfielder Randy Arozarena won the Babe Ruth Award on Monday as the 2020 post-season MVP.
Arozarena batted .377 with a playoff-record 10 home runs and 14 RBIs in 20 post-season games for the Rays, who fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games in the World Series. He received 64.3 per cent of the votes from the New York chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America, beating out pitcher Clayton Kershaw and shortstop Corey Seager of the Dodgers.
The award is named after the Hall-of-Fame slugger who won four World Series titles with the New York Yankees and three with the Boston Red Sox.