Kyle Lewis, Seattle Mariners.
Kyle Lewis, Seattle Mariners.
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?
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.
Alvin Davis, Seattle Mariners.
One man’s disappointment is another man’s opportunity. After one game at Triple-A Salt Lake City, Alvin Davis was called up to the show. The left-handed hitter from Arizona State had to replace opening day first baseman Ken Phelps, who went on the IL with a hand injury.
Davis was the best player on an otherwise forgettable 1984 Seattle Mariners team. He hit .284 with 27 home runs. What really stood out was Davis’ 116 RBI. At the time, that was the second-highest total by any Rookie of the Year winner (it’s now sixth-best) behind the144 knocked in by Boston’s Walt Dropo in 1950.
While it wasn’t Wally Pipp and Lou Gehrig, Davis became the M’s everyday first baseman. Over the next eight seasons, he played in 1,166 games.
A 32-year-old Rookie of the Year. It sounds like something from a movie. After 10 years with Yokahama in the Nippon Professional Baseball League, relief pitcher Kaz Sasaki decided to give it a go in the Majors.
In the spring of 2020, Sasaki beat out Jose Mesa for the team’s closer job. Armed with a mid-90s fastball and devastating splitter, he revived a shaky Mariners bullpen. More importantly, a stable bullpen helped make the M’s into a serious World Series contender.
His 37 saves were third-best in the American League. Kaz Sasaki’s success in 2000 paved the road for Ichiro to come to Seattle a year later.
Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners, 2001 AL Rookie of the Year. (photo by Russ Walker, via Flickr)
When the Seattle Mariners landed Ichiro in November of 2000, the team knew he’d be special, but wow! The M’s second Japanese import turned Major League Baseball upside down. He was the catalyst for a team that won 116 games and reached the ALCS.
He was the first rookie since Jackie Robinson in 1950 to lead the league in batting average (.350) and stolen bases (56). Additionally, Ichiro was second in the A.L. for runs (127), fourth in WAR (7.7), and seventh in triples (8).
Like Sasaki the year earlier, Ichiro’s Rookie of the Year win wasn’t without controversy. When he came to the USA, Ichiro was 27 and had been with the Orix Blue Wave in Japan since 1992. Many baseball people considered him anything but a “rookie.” That why, despite his rookie record of 242 hits, he wasn’t a unanimous choice to be the A.L. ROY.
Four ROY winners in 44 years. At a one every 11-year pace, that means the next Seattle Mariners should be in 2031. Jarred Kelenic should have something to say about that in 2021.