THE ROOK
The first Yankee player to win the Rookie of the Year Award, McDougald was also the first rookie in MLB history to hit a grand slam in the World Series. In the Yankees' 1951 championship season, McDougald (.306 avg) hit 14 home runs and drove in 63 runs, while finishing ninth in MVP voting. Just three years after McDougald, the Yankees got their second ever Rookie of the Year (and the first Yankees pitcher to win the award) in Grim, a right-handed Brooklynite who notched 20 wins and eight complete games in his first year in the majors. He beat out Hall of Famer Al Kaline by just 1 point in the voting. Kubek was another stand-out rookie for the Yankees in the 1950s. In the Yankees' 1957 World Series loss to the Milwaukee Braves, Kubek's .286 batting average had him tied for third-best among teammates who'd recorded at least 10 at-bats, and his eight hits and two home runs were tied for most on the team. The Yankees found a power-hitting Rookie of the Year in Tresh, who won the award during the Yankees' 1962 championship season. He hit .286, with 20 homers and 93 RBI in his rookie campaign. The All-Star also hit a three-run shot in the eighth inning of Game 5 of the World Series to help give the Bombers a 3-2 series lead. Bahnsen became the second Yankees pitcher to win the Rookie of the Year Award after a 17-12 campaign with a 2.05 ERA. Bahnsen was selected by the Yankees in 1965 during MLB's first official amateur draft. He notched 162 strikeouts in 267.1 IP in his first full season. The catcher posted 35 extra-base hits in his rookie year. The right-handed Munson batted .302 with six home runs and 53 RBI that season. He also caught 52% of runners attempting to steal. Righetti was yet another Yanks rookie who saw a World Series trip while also winning the Rookie of the Year Award. During the regular season, the lefthander went 8-4 with a 2.05 ERA, fanning batters 89 times in 15 games started, but he gave up a costly three-run home run in his World Series appearance. After a 15-year Rookie of the Year drought, the Yankees found another in shortstop Derek Jeter, who became the second youngest Yankee to win the award at 22 years old after Kubek (21). He tallied 10 home runs and 78 RBI while batting .314, and only Cecil Fielder (9) had more hits than Jeter (5) during the Yankees’ 1996 World Series win against the Atlanta Braves.