ALVAREZ WINS ROOKIE OF YEAR
Astros DH wins award in unanimous fashion after partial season totals of 27 HRs, 78 RBIs
Alvarez’s outstanding performance as the Astros’ designated hitter culminated in his unanimous selection Monday as American League Rookie of the Year, a prelude to what he said are offseason plans to expand his defensive presence in 2020.
Alvarez, 22, of Los Tunas, Cuba, received all 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers Association of America voting panel to become the 11th unanimous selection as the AL’s top rookie. Pete Alonso of the Mets won the National League award.
Based on a 5-3-1 point distribution, Alvarez received 150 points to 53 for Orioles lefthander John Means, who had 16 second-place votes. Infielder Brandon Lowe of the Rays was third with 27 points, including six second-place votes.
Rounding out the top five were Eloy Jimenez of the White Sox with 20 points, including four second-place votes, and Cavan Biggio, the son of former Astros player Craig Biggio, of the Blue Jays, with seven points and two second-place votes.
Speaking through an interpreter after the award was announced on MLB Network, Alvarez said, “I’m very happy, very thankful to my whole family, to the team, to everyone who supported me, to everyone in Cuba. I appreciate the help and everyYordan thing that everyone has taught him during the season, especially my teammates, and all the fans following me.”
As he prepares for his second season in Houston in 2020, Alvarez said he plans to play a larger role on defense after spending most of his time in the lineup as a rookie as the Astros’ DH.
“DH was part of last year,” he said. “Next year, I’m more focused on being an outfielder.”
Alvarez said he will spend the offseason working on agility drills and movement in the outfield while convening with coaches in Tampa and at the Astros’ minor league complex in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Alvarez started the year at Class AAA Round Rock and did not make his big league debut until June 9. But he immediately es
tablished himself as one of the majors’ best young lefthanded hitters, drawing comparisons to another player who wore uniform number 44, Hall of Famer Willie McCovey of the Giants.
Like McCovey, the 1959 NL Rookie of the Year with San Francisco, Alvarez spent a significant part of his first season in the minors, hitting 23 homers in 56 games with an 1.184 OPS with the Round Rock Express before being elevated to the big leagues.
After joining the Astros, he hit .313 with 27 home runs and 78 RBIs in 87 games, and his on-base plus slugging percentage of 1.067 was a major league record among rookies with at least 300 at-bats. In addition to DH duties, he had nine starts in left field during the regular season and one during the World Series.
“What an incredible year and recognition for Alvarez,” said Astros manager A.J. Hinch in a statement provided by the ballclub. “He did everything we could have asked and more. His dynamic presence on our team is undeniable.
“I’m proud of how he handled his transition to the big leagues, his immediate success, all the attention, and ultimately his actions as a teammate. A great and well-deserved honor.”
The Rookie of the Year award is based on regular-season results only. Alvarez started slowly in the playoffs with one RBI in the Division Series against the Rays and had 12 strikeouts in 22 at bats against the Yankees in the AL Championship Series.
He rebounded against the Nationals in the World Series, hitting .412 with a homer and two RBIs with just two strikeouts.
“I learned a lot during the Yankees series,” he said. “I wasn’t able to hit the ball like I did during the regular season. But once I reached to the World Series, my approach changed, and I was able to do what I did during the season, which was hit the ball hard.”
Alvarez is the third Astros player to win the award, joining Jeff Bagwell in 1991 and Carlos Correa in 2015. Justin Verlander won the award with the Tigers in 2006.
Alvarez defected from Cuba in 2016 and signed as an international free agent with the Dodgers, who traded him to the Astros in August 2016. He played for two Class A teams in 2017 and split the 2018 season between the Class AA Corpus Christi Hooks and the AAA Express before starting 2019 in Round Rock and then progressing to the majors.
“It’s a dream for every player to get to the major leagues, and while I was living the moment, I was living my dream,” he said.
He joins Aaron Judge of the Yankees and Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers in 2017, Corey Seager of the Dodgers in 2016, Kris Bryant of the Cubs in 2015 and Jose Abreu of the White Sox in 2014 as recent unanimous Rookie of the Year selections.
Other past unanimous winners in both leagues include Orlando Cepeda, Carlton Fisk, Derek Jeter,
McCovey, Mark McGwire, Mike Piazza, Albert Pujols, Frank Robinson and Mike Trout.
The Rookie of the Year award is named for Dodgers Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson, the award’s inaugural winner in 1947.
In the National League voting, Alonso received 29 first place votes to one for one for Braves starter Mike Soroka. Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. was third.
Two voters from each league city vote for the awards, with voters in American League cities selecting AL awards and voters in National League cities voting for NL honors.
Chronicle writers do not vote for BBWAA awards in accordance with the newspaper’s ethics policy.