Jose Abreu Named American League Rookie Of The Year

Jose Abreu of the Chicago White Sox was named American League Rookie of the Year on Monday night and Major League Baseball starts to hand out its hardware for the 2014 season.

The Chicago White Sox took on a fairly significant amount of risk when they signed Cuban first baseman Jose Abreu to a six-year, $68 million before the 2014 season. One season later, it is clear that the White Sox made the right move and now have one of the best bargains in baseball.

Abreu was named the Jackie Robinson American League Rookie of the Year by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA). The BBWAA announced the award on Monday night.

For the first few months of the season, Abreu looked like he would be caught in one of the tightest Rookie of the Year races we have ever seen with Masahiro Tanaka. Once Tanaka lost a chunk of his season to injury, however, it was clear that Abreu was going to win the award. He wasn’t just one of the best rookies in baseball, he was one of the most dominant hitters in all of baseball.

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At 27 years old and having played professionally in Cuba, Abreu was only a rookie in terms of Major League Baseball. Even still, his transition to MLB pitching upon arrival and his ability to adjust over the course of the season was ridiculously impressive.

All told, Abreu batted .317/.383/.581 with 36 home runs and 107 RBI in 622 plate appearances.

The other two finalists for the American League Rookie of the Year award were Dellin Betances of the New York Yankees and Matt Shoemaker of the Los Angeles Angels. They both enjoyed solid seasons, but this race was over before it started.

The voters have some tough calls this year for MLB’s awards, but Abreu as American League Rookie of the Year was not one of them.

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