JUDGE RULES OVER ALL ROOKIES
Judge second unanimous Rookie of the Year in Yanks history after epic season
ORLANDO, Fla. — All rose. Aaron Judge, not surprisingly, has captured the 2017 American League Rookie of the Year award by unanimous decree. All 30 Baseball Writers’ Association of America voters placed the Yankees’ right fielder first on their ballots, making him the ninth such AL rookie and 22nd overall. Among the star names in that group of unanimous recipients is Derek Jeter, the previous Yankee to capture this award (in 1996).
“I’m still sitting back and trying to think about what happened this year,” Judge said on a conference call. “It was quite a journey. … With all of the ups and downs, I wouldn’t change anything that happened this year. It was an incredible year.”
It can become even more incredible if Judge pulls off an upset win over the Astros’ Jose Altuve on Thursday night, when the AL Most Valuable Player award will be announced. Altuve, Judge and the Indians’ Jose Ramirez have been announced as the finalists.
No matter what happens Thursday, Judge’s rookie campaign will be remembered as one of the best freshman years in baseball history. After not making the Yankees’ Opening Day roster until the tail end of spring training, Judge — whose 2016 major league cup of coffee saw him strike out 42 times in 84 at-bats — set the rookie single-season record with 52 home runs. That total led the American League, as did his 127 walks and 128 runs scored (as well as his 208 strikeouts, for accuracy’s sake).
His fantastic first half, culminating in his Home Run Derby victory at Marlins Park, turned him into a transcendent figure, someone baseball commissioner Rob Manfred projected as a potential face of the game. On Monday, Pepsi announced an endorsement deal with Judge, who also has been anointed as the cover player for the video game “MLB The Show 18.”
“The cool thing about that is, if you look around the league, there are a lot of young faces that can be the faces of MLB,” Judge said. “We’ve got a special group here in Major League Baseball. It’s a special time to play in the big leagues.”
While that may prove to be the case, Judge’s ballot showing exemplifies his exalted status. The Red Sox’s Andrew Benintendi finished in second place, with 75 points to Judge’s 150 (he got five points for each first-place vote in the 5-3-1 scoring system), and the Orioles’ Trey Mancini placed third with 31 points. Yankees pitcher Jordan Montgomery rounded up the ballot with one second-place vote and one third-place vote for a total of four points.
Cody Bellinger was named the unanimous NL Rookie of the Year over Josh Bell and Paul DeJong.
As much as 2017 turned into a dream season, Judge said he departed unfulfilled due to the Yankees’ ALCS loss to Altuve’s Astros. He promised he would rest, but he added: “I can’t wait to get things going for 2018.”
That will happen with a new Yankees manager to be identified, and Judge professed respect for the departed Joe Girardi.
“I had a great relationship with Joe,” Judge said. “He was my first manager in the big leagues. He stuck with me in the good times and bad times. … I’m excited to see who we get, but I have a lot of respect for what Joe did for me my first year.”