Kyle Lewis vs. Luis Robert: The Battle for AL Rookie of the Year
Kyle Lewis, Seattle Mariners.
What Catches People’s Attention
Numbers are meaningless outside of context. Players like Robert match numbers with his electric play on the field. Among his gems of the year, Robert put Lewis on notice with a walk-off three-run home run in the 10th inning against the Royals on August 30. The next day, he tied a game against Minnesota with a seventh-inning home run and won it with an RBI double in the 9th.
The strength of Robert is not his great numbers as a rookie. Rather it’s his ability to change games at their biggest moments. All season, clutch hitting kept him right in the thick of things.
One of the intangible qualities Kyle Lewis has is the ability to find another gear. It relies on how a game plays out. When opportunities present themselves, the greats take advantage.
So amidst a smoky backdrop on September 14, Lewis had one of those prime opportunities. In the first game of a doubleheader, he hit a two-run homer that sparked a late comeback, which he finished with a bases-loaded walk for the game-winning RBI. In the first inning of the next game, Ramon Laureano hit a two-out grand slam to give the Oakland Athletics a 5-0 lead. Well, almost.
Unfortunately for Laureano, Lewis found that next gear. Leaping against the wall was the final stamp of approval on his Rookie of the Year case. Before the smoke cleared, Lewis danced in the outfield, celebrating a Griffey-esque robbery.
Victory tour
Assuming the voters have been paying attention, whatever happens over the final six games of the regular season should be nothing more than a victory lap for Kyle Lewis’s Rookie of the Year campaign. The kid from Snellville, Georgia, who went to college at Mercer, has overcome every obstacle. He checked every box and should be the 2020 winner. That is, unless a surprise pitcher, Justus Sheffield, who has been red hot since August 9, sneaks in as a candidate with a big final performance.
It’s an exciting time to be a Mariners fan.
Do you believe Kyle Lewis is the 2020 American League Rookie of the Year? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media.