Detroit's Michael Fulmer Beats Out Bombers' Gary Sanchez For AL Rookie Of The Year
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager is the unanimous winner of the NL Rookie of the Year award, and Detroit right-hander Michael Fulmer beat out New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez for the AL honor.
Seager is the 17th Dodgers player to earn Rookie of the Year honors _ easily the most of any team _ but the franchise hadn't had a winner since Todd Hollandsworth in 1996. Seager hit .308 with 26 home runs and 72 RBIs this year.
Fulmer went 11-7 with a 3.06 ERA, establishing himself as a Rookie of the Year candidate early on and holding off a late challenge from Sanchez. Fulmer received 26 of 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers' Association of America. The votes were announced Monday night on MLB Network.
In Sanchez's first extended stay in the big leagues, the 23-year-old catcher used his powerful bat to etch his name into the record books. In just 53 games, he batted .299 with 20 home runs and 42 RBIs. He became the fastest player ever to hit 19 homers, doing it in 45 games, and matched the record set by Wally Berger of the 1930 Boston Braves for reaching 20 home runs -- 51 games.
While Sanchez left many observers in awe as he made history, some analysts argued he did not play enough of the season to deserve Rookie of the Year honors. Sanchez was not called up for good until Aug. 3, after the team had traded star players such as Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller and Carlos Beltran.
(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
