Rodriguez received 29 of 30 first-place votes and one second-place vote for 148 points from a panel of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Rutschman came in second with one first-place vote, 18 second-place votes and nine third-place votes. Quan came in third with Royals Bobby Witt Jr., Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena and George Kirby also receiving votes. Rodriguez electrified the city of Seattle and captivated an entire nation of baseball fans with his youthful exuberance, intense optimism and great talent. At 21, he slashed .284/.345/.509 with 28 home runs, 25 stolen bases and 25 doubles while leading the Mariners to their first postseason berth since 2001, marking the longest active drought among the major four majors of North America. Along the way, Rodriguez consistently came through in big spots, dazzling with his defense, power and speed. His 5.3 FanGraphs wins above replacement tied Rutschman for the rookie lead and was topped by only 21 position players in the entire sport. Player, TeamFirstSecondThirdTotalJulio Rodriguez, Mariners291–148Adley Rutschman, Orioles118968Steven Kwan, Guardians–101444Bobby Witt Jr., Royals–147Jeremy Base-of-American-Orge-2, America. Rodriguez is the fifth Mariners player to win Rookie of the Year, following Alvin Davis (1984), Kazuhiro Sasaki (2000), Ichiro Suzuki (2001) and Kyle Lewis (2020). Only two other players since 1900 have collected at least 28 home runs, 25 stolen bases and 25 doubles in their seasons 21 or younger — Mike Trout and Andruw Jones. Rodriguez is the first player ever to combine 25 home runs with 25 stolen bases in his first major league season and the third player to do so as a rookie, along with Trout and Chris Young, according to ESPN Stats & Research Information. Rutschman finished with a .254/.362/.445 slash line to go along with 13 homers and 35 doubles while handling the rigors behind home plate. The Orioles, widely expected to finish last in the hyper-competitive AL East, started the 2022 season 16-24 but went 67-55 after Rutschman’s debut on May 21, nearly making the playoffs.
1 Related Kwan, already one of the most accomplished hitters in the sport, hit .298/.373/.400 with 168 hits, the most by a Cleveland rookie in the expansion era (since 1961). The only player in the majors with a higher contact percentage last season was Minnesota Twins shortstop Luis Arraez, who won the AL batting title. The Mariners envisioned Rodriguez as a potential star when they signed him out of the Dominican Republic for $1.75 million in the summer of 2017, but he emerged more as a power-hitting corner. Rodriguez has worked to become a five-tool center fielder, zooming through the Mariners’ minor league system — despite missing an entire season due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 — and cracking the team’s Opening Day roster this spring . Rodriguez struggled mightily in his first month, posting a .544 OPS during that stretch, but rebounded enough to make the All-Star team and eventually put on a show during the Home Run Derby from Dodger Stadium. Less than two months later, the Mariners rewarded him with a long-term extension that will pay him between $210 million and $470 million over his career, an unprecedented — and highly motivated — contract for someone with less than full service time in the championship.
