Yesterday, the Rookie of the Year awards were announced. As you all know, Kyle Lewis won for the American League, while Milwaukee’s Devin Williams edged out promising Phillies prospect Alec Bohm and seeming shoo-in Jake Cronenworth from the Padres. While Lewis’s win was expected, the NL award wasn’t nearly as clear-cut. All other things being equal, the recent trend in end-of-season awards tend to reward players who play every day. The last time a reliever won the ROY was almost a decade ago, when Craig Kimbrel won for Atlanta in 2011; fellow reliever Neftali Feliz had won the AL award the year before, and Andrew Bailey the year before that.
Kyle Lewis, Devin Williams make history as first Black players to sweep ROY awards in 35 years
