Lewis, Williams top MLB rookies
Mariners center fielder Kyle Lewis is the unanimous winner of the AL rookie of the year award, and Brewers reliever Devin Williams won the NL honor on Monday night.
The 25-year-old Lewis was one of baseball’s breakout stars during the pandemic-shortened season, batting .262 with 11 homers and 28 RBIs in 58 games. He led big league rookies with 37 runs, 90 total bases and a .364 on-base percentage.
Lewis is the first Mariners player to win the award since future Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki in 2001.
Featuring a devastating changeup and a four-seam fastball that gets into the upper 90s, Williams was practically unhittable this year. The 26-year-old right-hander went 4-1 with a microscopic 0.33 ERA, striking out 53 in just 27 innings.
Williams became the first player to win the award without recording a save or making a start, reflecting the increased importance of the bullpen in today’s game. He’s the first rookie of the year for the Brewers since Ryan Braun in 2007.
The last reliever to take home the honor in either league since Craig Kimbrel for the Braves in 2011.
Golf: Kevin Sutherland made a 4-foot birdie putt on the ninth playoff hole to beat Paul Broadhurst in the Charles Schwab Cup Championship. Sutherland and Broadhurst were forced to return to Phoenix Country Club to finish the final PGA Tour Champions’ final event of the year after playing to a stalemate over six playoff holes in near darkness Sunday. It was the fourth senior title for Sutherland.
NFL: Panthers coach Matt Rhule said All-Pro RB Christian McCaffrey is “day to day” with a shoulder injury he suffered Sunday in the closing seconds of the team’s loss to the Chiefs. Rhule said he would more about the extent of the injury Wednesday. McCaffrey missed six games with a high ankle sprain before returning against the Chiefs and racking up 151 total yards and two TDs . ... The 49ers placed WR Kendrick Bourne back on the COVID-19 list three days after removing him. Bourne tested positive for the coronavirus last week and was forced to miss Thursday’s night’s loss to the Packers along with three teammates who were deemed “high-risk” contacts. Bourne then was removed from the list Friday following two straight negative tests but now is back on it. Also, former All-Pro 49ers CB Richard Sherman can return to practice. Sherman, 32, hasn’t played since suffering a calf injury in Week 1 . ... The Steelers announced that TE Vance McDonald tested positive for COVID-19, and that he’s in self-quarantine. McDonald was added to the injury report with an “illness” Friday but still played 24 snaps in the team’s win over the Cowboys on Sunday . ... The Falcons waived DE Takk McKinley just days after the 2017 first-round pick called out the team for failing to trade him.
NHL: The Stars signed restricted free agent F Roope Hintz to a three-year, $9.45 million contract. Hintz had 19 goals and 14 assists in 60 games during the regular season for the Western Conference champs. He had two goals and 11 assists in 25 playoff games before missing the last two games of the team’s Stanley Cup Final loss to the Lightning because of injuries.