Antelope Valley Press

Seattle’s Rodríguez, Atlanta’s Harris voted top rookies

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NEW YORK — Seattle’s Julio Rodríguez and Atlanta’s Michael Harris II had a lot in common — perhaps too much.

The 21-year-old center fielders were runaway winners in Rookie of the Year voting on Monday after seasons of power and speed that led to lucrative long-term contracts but ultimately concluded with early postseason eliminatio­ns.

They both made jumps from Double-A straight to the majors.

“I feel like the whole season was unrealisti­c,” Harris said. “I was just going day to day and I guess living the dream. But now that the season’s over, I guess I can actually look back and think about how crazy of a year it was and how fast it went.”

Rodríguez hit .284 with 28 homers, 75 RBIs and 25 stolen bases in helping the Mariners reach the postseason for the first time since 2001. He won the American League honor by receiving 29 of 30 first-place votes and one second for 148 points from a Baseball Writers’ Associatio­n of America panel.

“I went through some shaky times at the beginning of the year, but I was able to stick to myself, trust myself,” Rodríguez said.

Rodríguez made the Mariners’ opening-day roster and hit .205 in April, then rebounded to earn a spot in the AllStar Home Run Derby, where he hit 81 long balls and lost to Juan Soto in the final.

“All the doubts I had throughout the year,” Rodríguez said, “I know it’s going to serve me well along my career.”

Harris batted .297 with 19 homers, 64 RBIs and 20 steals after making his debut on May 28. He was voted the National League award, getting 22 firsts and eight seconds for 134 points from a different BBWAA panel.

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