Tapp-ing into the Numbers: Can Aaron Judge become third rookie to win ROY and MVP in same season?
By JERRY TAPP
One of the big stories (pun intended) of the 2017 baseball season is the New York Yankees rookie Aaron Judge. The six-foot-seven Judge currently leads the majors with 23 HRs, 60 runs scored, and tops the bigs in the on-base percentage stat.
Judge, who plays the outfield, has been receiving attention as the odd-on favorite to win the A.L. Rookie of the Year this season and has been mentioned as a leading candidate for the league MVP. With the Yankees sitting atop the A.L. East, Judge has been a major reason for their resurgence this season and would receive significant consideration.
Should Judge win the A.L. ROY and the A.L. MVP in 2017, he would become only the third player in baseball history to win both those awards in the same season. The others: Boston’s Fred Lynn in 1975 and Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki in 2001.
Let’s take a quick look at the players who won a league ROY Award and finished in the Top Five in the league MVP that same season. All total, there are 13 players who fit the category.
Won league ROY and won league MVP
1975: Fred Lynn, A.L.
2001: Ichiro Suzuki, A.L.
Won league ROY and finished second in league MVP
2012: Mike Trout, A.L.
Won league ROY and finished third in league MVP
1948: Alvin Dark, N.L.
1952: Joe Black, N.L.
2016: Corey Seager, N.L.
Won league ROY and finished fourth in league MVP
1964: Tony Oliva, A.L.
1972: Carlton Fisk, A.L.
2001: Albert Pujols, N.L.
2014: Jose Abreu, A.L.
Won league ROY and finished fifth in league MVP
1947: Jackie Robinson, N.L.
1960: Ron Hansen, A.L.
1981: Fernando Valenzuela, N.L.
Gery Woelfel
Gery Woelfel is an award-winning reporter and columnist. Gery has covered a wide-range of sports over his three decades as a professional journalist. During his career, his primary beat has been the NBA and has been a recipient of the Pro Basketball Writers Association of America award. Gery has conducted one-on-one interviews with numerous legendary sports figures like Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He has also been a regular contributor for HoopsHype.com and Lindy’s Pro Basketball Magazine and been on various sports talk shows around the country while serving as a pro basketball insider for WSSP (105.7 FM) in Milwaukee. Gery has covered every one of the NBA pre-draft camps, dating to the early ‘80s, along with numerous NFL combines.