In 1989 voters gave the American League Rookie of the Year award to Orioles reliever Gregg Olson over a talented Mariners center fielder by the name of Ken Griffey Jr. In ’92, Pat Listach won over Kenny Lofton. Geovany Soto took home NL honors in 2008 over Joey Votto, one year before Chris Coghlan beat out Andrew McCutchen. The point being, with respect to the aforementioned winners, that the Rookie of the Year crown does not always end up going to the player with the brightest career ahead of him.
Those voting for the 2022 AL Rookie of the Year will not need to worry about such a fate.
That’s because the two front-runners—Baltimore’s Adley Rutschman and Seattle’s Julio Rodríguez—have separated themselves from an impressive pack of first-year players and appear destined for stardom for the next decade and beyond. The result is one of those races that we’ll likely look back on as both a proper recognition of two superb debuts, as well as a prelude for what was to come.
