Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees (Image: Getty)
The MLB Rookie of the Year Awards were handed out on Monday night, and Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger were the unanimous AL and NL winners, respectively.
Judge is the ninth Yankee to win the award. Derek Jeter was the last Bomber to win it in 1996.
The 25-year-old right fielder is having an excellent year that includes winning an AL Silver Slugger award, the Home Run Derby and a rookie-record 52 homers — a mark that passed former record-holder Mark McGwire’s 49 homers more than 30 years ago.
“It’s quite an honor,” said the 6-foot-7, 282-pound Judge after the announcement was made Monday night. “I’m still sitting back trying to think about what happened this first year. It’s been quite a journey — from battling in spring training, to the highs and lows throughout the season, the run we had, coming up short. You dream about playing your first year in the big leagues, and I wouldn’t change a thing. It was an incredible year.”
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Judge — a Fresno State product — also led all AL players in runs (128), walks (127) and strikeouts (208). Judge finished second in the AL in RBI (114) while triple-slashing .284/.422/.627.
Bellinger, like Judge, was the favorite in his league to win the award. He smacked an NL rookie record 39 homers this season. He hit .267/.352/.581 overall.
This is the second straight season a Dodgers player has won Rookie of the Year unanimously. Corey Seager did it in 2016.
Judge beat out Boston’s Andrew Benintendi and Baltimore’s Trey Mancini for his award, while Bellinger beat Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong and Pirates first baseman Josh Bell.
Here is the full schedule for the rest of this week’s MLB Awards ceremonies:
BBWAA Manager of the Year Awards: Tuesday, Nov. 14, 6 p.m. ET, MLB Network
BBWAA Cy Young Awards: Wednesday, Nov. 15, 6 p.m. ET, MLB Network
BBWAA Most Valuable Player Awards: Thursday, Nov. 16, 6 p.m. ET, MLB Network
Esurance MLB Awards: Friday, Nov. 17, 8 p.m. ET, MLB Network
NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 16: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees hits a 3-run home run during the fourth inning against the Houston Astros in Game Three of the American League Championship Series at Yankee Stadium on October 16, 2017 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
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