Seattle Mariners: Ranking all four M’s Rookie of the Year winners
Kyle Lewis, Seattle Mariners.
The Seattle Mariners have been in existence since 1977. In 44 seasons, they produced four American League Rookie of Year winners. How do they stack up against each other?
On November 10, the BBWA announced that Kyle Lewis is the 2020 American League Rookie of the Year. He became the fourth player in Seattle Mariners franchise history to win the prestigious award.
Those not familiar with the team’s past might assume the other winners were Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez, and Ichiro. One out of three isn’t bad. For the record, Junior finished third in 1989, and A-Rod only had 148 at-bats in his rookie year of 1995. Ichiro Suzuki brought home the award in 2001. The other winners were Alvin Davis in 1984 and Kazuhiro Sasaki in 2000.
How do the respective Mariners Rookie of the Year seasons stack up to each other?
4. Kyle Lewis – 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic delayed the 2020 season. What will get lost in the annals of history was that labor problems between Major League Baseball and their Player’s Union were equally if not more responsible for an abbreviated 60-game schedule.
No matter how many games were on the schedule, 2020 supposed to be a rebuilding season for the Mariners. Someone must have forgotten to tell the representatives from the Emerald City. The M’s were in contention for a playoff spot until the final week.
Fittingly, the young Seattle Mariners were led by a rookie, Kyle Lewis. The 2016 M’s first-round draft pick put up a slash line of .262/.364/.437/.801. But it was more than that, Lewis was the steady offensive performer Seattle needed to compete. Additionally, his defense in centerfield was Griffey-esque.
It may be unfair, but the 2020 season was only 60 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since that’s only 37 percent of a normal season, he will trail the other three.
Lewis accomplished something that none of the others on this list did. He was the only one to collect all 30 Rookie of the Year first-place votes.