New York: Chicago White Sox slugging first baseman Jose Abreu and New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom won Rookie of the Year honours in their respective leagues in voting results announced on Monday.
Abreu, 27, was a unanimous choice for the American League award, capturing all 30 first-place votes for 150 points from members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
DeGrom, 26, won with 26 first-place votes of 31 cast in a decisive victory over Cincinnati Reds speedster Billy Hamilton, who received the other five top votes.
Abreu proved himself as a bona fide slugger after signing as a free agent from Cuba last year, belting 36 home runs, driving in 107 runs, and logging a Major League Baseball-leading .581 slugging percentage with a strong .317 batting average.
The Cuban native became the first MLB rookie to rank among the top five in his league in each Triple Crown category — home runs, runs batted in and batting average.
Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Matt Shoemaker was second in the voting with 40 points, followed by New York Yankees reliever Dellin Betances with 27.
DeGrom, who switched from playing shortstop to pitching in his junior year in college, seized a spot in the Mets’ starting rotation in mid-May and went 9-6 with a 2.69 ERA, striking out 144 in 140-1/3 innings.
During one September outing, the long-haired deGrom struck out the first eight batters he faced in a demonstration of his brilliance.
Hamilton, 24, batted .250 with six home runs and 48 RBIs while stealing 56 bases to rank second in the league. Hamilton, a defensive force in centrefield, had the highest rookie stolen base total since Ichiro Suzuki in 2001.
Third place went to Hawaiian Kolten Wong, 24, whose post-season heroics for the St Louis Cardinals did not count toward the voting. The second baseman had 12 home runs, 42 RBIs and batted .249.
