Coming as no surprise, we found out Monday evening that Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager unanimously won the NL Rookie of the Year vote.
Seeing a Dodgers player win this award isn't anything new. Dodgers Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson was the first rookie of the year in 1947, and the award now bears his name. Over the years, the Dodgers have dominated the history books when it comes to having Rookie of the Year winners.
When Robinson won in 1947, it was for all MLB, as it was in 1948. In 1949, the award was split off into leagues and Don Newcombe of the Dodgers won it. In 1952 (Joe Black) and 1953 (Jim Gilliam), the Dodgers again had winners, taking the award four of the first seven years.
Seager is the 17th Dodgers player to win Rookie of the Year. No other team has even won half as many, with the Yankees and A's each having pulled in eight winners.
Here are the Dodgers winners:
- Jackie Robinson, 1947
- Don Newcombe, 1949
- Joe Black, 1952
- Jim Gilliam, 1953
- Frank Howard, 1960
- Jim Lefebvre, 1965
- Ted Sizemore, 1969
- Rick Sutcliffe, 1979
- Steve Howe, 1980
- Fernando Valenzuela, 1981
- Steve Sax, 1982
- Eric Karros, 1992
- Mike Piazza, 1993
- Raul Mondesi, 1994
- Hideo Nomo, 1995
- Todd Hollandsworth, 1996
- Corey Seager, 2016
So Seager snaps the longest drought the Dodgers have ever had.
The streaks there are impressive, with Sutcliffe jump-starting four in a row and then Karros starting a run of five straight.
Did Seager just start another streak? That's a tough call. Julio Urias exceeded the rookie limits in 2016, so he's not an option. Will Jose De Leon get a full-time shot at the rotation? It doesn't seem likely, but it's possible. He was 7-1 with a 2.61 ERA in Triple-A this season. Cody Bellinger (1B/OF) and Alex Verdugo (OF) are other names to watch, but the Dodgers won't enter the 2017 season with any of the favorites to take the Rookie of the Year.
If they do somehow win it, we shouldn't be all that surprised. This award goes Dodger Blue far more often than for anyone else.
