North Shore Nine

“Rookie of the Year” is the award given to the best rookies in each league since 1949. MLB defines the award as such: “Given to the top rookie-eligible players in both leagues, the Rookie of the Year Awards are voted voted upon by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America prior to the beginning of the postseason and are based on a weighted points system.” (Point of clarification: the “voted voted” in the above definition is an error currently on the MLB website.) For this definition, they call rookie-eligible as those who did not exceed the rookie limit in a previous season/collection of seasons. However, this needs to be amended to include seasons played at other similar-level professional leagues. Of the 154 winners of the Rookie of the Year Award, four have had brilliant careers before joining MLB. Those four players are Hideo Nomo (1995), Kazuhiro Sasaki (2000), Ichiro Suzuki (2001), and Shohei Ohtani (2018). In those years they beat out Chipper Jones, Terrence Long, CC Sabathia, and Miguel Andujar respectively. It is not that these four players did not deserve the award, they did. However, the current “incentives” to win the RotY Award in the form of additional 1st round draft picks and draft pool money creates an issue. By spending the most money on “Rookie” talents from other professional leagues it can create an issues. When these players potentially win this award, it keeps other teams from benefiting from the PPI that has been put into place. International Free Agent “Rookies” cannot earn their team the PPI from the Rookie of the Year award, a good rule to have. However, if they do win the award then no PPI is granted that year, which hurts the teams that are playing their true rookie talents. This not only cheapens the award to an extent, but it also subevents a system that was clearly put into place to encourage smaller-market teams to play their talent and not hold them back to save money. When you look at each of the four players who have had professional experience before coming to MLB, you can see why this is an issue.

Hideo Nomo:
In 1995 Hideo Nomo joined the Los Angeles Dodgers after spending 5 seasons in the NPB. During his time in the NPB he was 78-46 with a 3.15 ERA and a 1.317 WHIP averaging 10.3 K/9. He threw 1051.1 innings in Japan’s best league for baseball where he had 80 complete games and 13 shutouts. He also won the NPB Rookie of the Year Award in 1990, was a 5-time All-Star, and won an MVP Award, a triple crown, and the Best Nine Award. Nomo had a very good 12-year MLB career after his 5 seasons in the NPB. However, with his prior history at a top level, he was far from a rookie when he came to MLB.

Kazuhiro Sasaki:
In 2000 Kazuhiro Sasaki joined the Seattle Mariners after spending 10 seasons in the JPCL. During his time there he went 42-33 primarily as a reliever. He had a 2.31 ERA and a 1.045 WHIP and managed 229 saves, striking out 828 while walking 225. He won the Central League MVP in 1998. Being already 32 when he joined the Mariners, he only played four seasons in the Majors but was very effective. Regardless, he’d already had a brilliant 10-year career when he came to the majors, very far removed from “Rookie” status.

Ichiro Suzuki:
In 2001 Ichiro Suzuki moved to MLB from the NPB league in Japan after 9 seasons. In those seasons in Japan, he collected 1,278 hits, 118 home runs, 529 RBIs, and 199 stolen bases. Additionally, during this time he was named to the All-Star team 7 times, won the MVP Award 3 times, and received 7 Gold Gloves and 7 Best Nine Awards. Suzuki was already 27 when he came to MLB, he won the RotY Award in 2001 as well as the MVP Award. In his first ten seasons in the Majors, he was named an All-Star and won the Golden Glove each year. He ended his 19 years in the majors at age 45. During that time, he collected 3,089 hits, 117 home runs, 780 RBIs, and stole 509 bases. He was one of the greatest players in MLB history by a wide margin. However, it is hard to consider him a rookie at 27 after such an illustrious career in Japan.

Shohei Ohtani:
In 2018 Shohei Ohtani moved to MLB from JPPL after five seasons. In his time in JPPL, he had a triple slash of .284/.356/.498 with a .854 OPS, he also hit 48 home runs with 166 RBIs. As a pitcher, he was 42-17 with a 2.79 ERA, a 1.094 WHIP, and a 10.4 K/9. Furthermore, he was an All-Star in each season, named to the Best Nine as a pitcher twice, and as a DH once. He won an MVP Award in 2016 and was named WBSC Player of the Year in 2015. While he has dealt with some injuries in his time in the majors he has still managed to begin a phenomenal career. He was named an All-Star three times and won two MVP Awards, a RotY, and several other awards. However, much like the other three, he had such a great track record in professional baseball before coming to MLB that it is hard to consider him a “rookie” in his first year in the league.

This brings us to the 2024 Rookie of the Year Award. While there is nearly 3/4 of a season left to play, the two individuals most likely to win in the National League are both “Rookies” as discussed above; Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shota Imanaga are the two players in question. They have spent 7 and 8 years in NPB respectively. Yamamoto was a 5-time All-Star in the NPB and won 3 MVPs, 3 Gold Gloves, and 3 Best Nine Awards. Imanaga did not have as many awards, only being named an All-Star two times. Regardless, both are just short of a decade in a level of baseball similar to MLB, as opposed to players like Jared Jones, Paul Skenes, Joey Ortiz, Jackson Merrill, or Masyn Winn.

It is unfair to allow players with professional experience to win Rookie Awards over players who have had no prior professional experience. That being said, it is very good for the game to have these players come to MLB and play at a high level. Therefore, a middle ground must be created to ensure the integrity of the Rookie of the Year Award, while allowing new professional players a chance to also measure their worth. While MLB might need another award like the Oscars need another hour of coverage, it might be what is best for the league. First, reclassify the Rookie of the Year Award to only be eligible for players who have no professional experience. Then, create a new award titled “Best Major League Baseball Newcomer” or some such. This would allow players with previous professional experience a chance at an award that is more to the level they have played at previously. Regardless, something should be changed, or else this is just another way for the big market teams to keep the small market teams down.