It has been a long time since Clayton Kershaw has smelled like a real ace. Paul Skins (22) of the Pittsburgh Pirates overcame his inferiority in statistical indicators to be named the Rookie of the Year in the National League.
The Major League Baseball (MLB) secretariat announced the results of the Rookie of the Year award in the two major leagues on the 19th (Korea Standard Time).
As expected, Skins was chosen as the Rookie of the Year award of the National League, which drew keen attention due to its “legendary” competition. Skins swept 23 votes among the 30-member voting list of the American Baseball Journalists Association (BBWAA) and received second place votes from the other seven, winning the award with 136 points in total.
Their opponents were not easy. Outfielders Jackson Merrill (San Diego Padres) and Jackson Churio (Milkowie Brewers), who were revealed as finalists along with the Skins, both showed outstanding performances this season. However, Merrill ranked second (104) with seven first-place votes and 23 second-place votes, while Churio also ranked third with only 26 third-place votes. Other than them, Shota Imanaga (Chicago Cubs), who came from the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), received the remaining four third-place votes to rank fourth. It is the first time that only four players have won the Rookie of the Year award since 1980, when voting for three players began.
Although the result was expected, the result was more overwhelming than expected. Skinny’s first overall pick in the 2023 draft came to the big league in a year. Due to call-ups during the season, he pitched in only 23 games, recording 11 wins, 3 losses and an ERA of 1.96. Although the number of games is small, his outstanding pitching quality has caught the eye of the baseball community. The power of the light speed ball crossing 100 miles per hour (161 kilometers) and the main weapon splinter + sinker was also powerful.
The 토토사이트 league already drew keen attention. Even though he failed to meet the stipulated innings, he was selected as the starting pitcher of the National League at the All Star game and was among the three final candidates for the Cy Young Award.
Even so, the award could not be guaranteed. According to FanGraphs, Skinny’s contribution to victory was 4.3. It was considerably lower than that of rival Merrill (5.3). In the Baseball Reference, Skinny’s 5.9 was higher than that of Merrill (4.4), but his limitation could have been that he was the starting pitcher who failed to meet the required innings. Merrill’s performance that led his San Diego Padres to the postseason could have also attracted attention.
However, local public opinion did not change their support for Skinns and gave him more overwhelming votes than expected. It is the first time that a pitcher has won the Rookie of the Year award since pitcher Devin Williams of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2020. Considering that it was a shortened season at the time, it is the first time in eight years that a pitcher has won the Rookie of the Year award since Michael Fulmer (then the Detroit Tigers) in 2016. It was difficult to win the Rookie of the Year award because the management of innings for rookie pitchers was getting stronger, but Skinns broke the record with overwhelming performance.
Meanwhile, surprisingly, there were not many nominees who received the Rookie of the Year award. This year’s Skins is the fifth of its kind after Bob Horner in 1978, Daryl Strawberry in 1983, Bryce Harper in 2012, and Carlos Correa in 2015.
Meanwhile, New York Yankees pitcher Lewis Hill was named the Rookie of the Year in the American League. Hill recorded 15 wins, 7 losses and an earned run average of 3.50. Hill is also the first full-time pitcher rookie of the year in eight years since Fulmer. It is the first time that both leagues have won the Rookie of the Year award since Jeremy Hellickson and Craig Kimbrel were elected in 2011.