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Kyle Lewis led the Mariners with 11 home runs, 34 walks and a .801 OPS. (Getty)
Mariners outfielder Kyle Lewis’s awards season has ended where it belongs – with his biggest rookie trophy of the year.
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Lewis was announced as the Baseball Writers Association of America’s choice for the Jackie Robinson Award for AL Rookie of the Year in a ceremony that aired Monday afternoon on MLB Network.
As he did in several other ROY Honors races from various outlets, he beat White Sox outfielder Luis Robert to win the award. Astros pitcher Cristian Javier was the third of three finalists for the BBWAA award.
Making the honor all the more impressive, Lewis was the unanimous choice.
UNANIMOUS Rookie of the Year.
The future is bright in Seattle. pic.twitter.com/BbiicaY6py
– MLB (@MLB) November 9, 2020
Lewis will join Danny and Gallant from 710 ESPN Seattle on Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. to discuss winning the award. Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto will also meet with Tom, Jake and Stacy at 1 p.m., and manager Scott Servais will be at 3:30 p.m. with Bob, Dave and Moore.
In his first full season with the Mariners, Lewis led the team with 11 home runs, 34 steps and a .801 OPS. He was second on the team in RBI at 28, tied for third in stolen bases with five, and finished the year with a .262 / .364 / .437 slash. Lewis also led all rookies in points (37), total goals (90) and steps.
The 25-year-old showed during the shortened 60-game MLB campaign that his incredible first month on the big leagues in September 2019 was no mirage. And he wasted no time doing it, sending a message with a 111 mph rocket off reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander in his first fight of the season.
As important as Lewis’ bat was to the Mariners, placing him firmly at the heart of Seattle’s batting order, he also proved to be a star with his glove. Lewis has had a good season in center field having struggled a bit in the outfield corners in 2019, even going over the wall to steal a few home runs like another young phenomenon who played at center field in Seattle.
What makes Lewis’s emergence all the more impressive is that he was seemingly a forgotten prospect for some time before jumping onto the scene last year. Mercer’s 2016 Golden Spikes Award winner was the Mariners’ first choice under general manager Jerry Dipoto as the No.11 overall selection in this year’s MLB Draft, but a few months later suffered a serious injury. knee sliding in marble. a game while playing for the short Single-A Everett AquaSox season. He wasn’t considered fully recovered from injury until 2019, when he opened his eyes with an impressive spring training from the Mariners.
Lewis becomes the fourth Mariners player to win BBWAA AL Rookie of the Year and the first in 19 years, joining first baseman Alvin Davis (1994), closest Kazuhiro Sasaki (2000) and right fielder Ichiro Suzuki (2001 ). The Snellville, Ga. Native also becomes the fourth Georgian to win, joining the award’s namesake (1947), Jerome Walton (1989) and Buster Posey (2010).
Follow Brent Stecker on Twitter.
Further reading: From neglected to “ the guy ”, Kyle Lewis always in fashion
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