Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena was named the American League Rookie of the Year for the 2021 MLB season. Arozarena beat out his teammate Wander Franco and the Houston Astros pitcher Luis Garcia to claim the honor.
Arozarena got 22 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America voters and finished on top with 124 points. Garcia was second with two first-place votes and 63 points in total, while Franco rounded up the top three with 30 points.
Besides the trio, Texas Rangers outfielder Adolis Garcia and the Cleveland Indians pitcher Emmanuel Clase also received first-place votes.
Arozarena was a postseason standout for the Rays in 2020, hitting 10 home runs and breaking the MLB record. He also claimed the ALCS MVP honors while helping the Rays to reach their second Wild Series appearance. Despite this prominent role, the 26-year-old kept his rookie eligibility intact, considering he only had 84 at-bats appearances during the 2019 and 2020 regular seasons.
“I know I was favored to be the rookie of the year,” Arozarena said after receiving the award. “But for me, my mind wasn’t set on the award or winning the award. My mind and my goal was to have another good season and continue what I had done the year before.”
Arozarena definitively continued in the same fashion in 2021, posting a .274 batting average while hitting 20 home runs and stealing 20 bases. He became just the third rookie in the league history to post 20-20 season, joining Mike Trout and Andrew Benintendi.
