ESPN MLB insider Author of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports”
Five years after they played together in a showcase of the best high school baseball players in America, Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll and Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson won the Rookie of the Year Award on Monday, only the fifth time both leagues’ winners have been unanimous.
Because both started the season in the major leagues and were ranked among the top 100 prospects in baseball, their teams will receive an additional first-round pick in 2024 as part of the Prospect Promotion Incentive that the players’ union pushed for in collective-bargaining negotiations to discourage service-time manipulation.
Carroll, 23, is expected to finish high in National League Most Valuable Player voting that will be revealed Thursday after he hit .285/.362/.506 with 25 home runs and 54 stolen bases, the second most in the major leagues behind NL MVP favorite Ronald Acuna Jr.
The 22-year-old Henderson, who helped lead the Orioles to a 101-61 season and American League East title, rode a combination of power and smooth defense to the award and became the Orioles’ first Rookie of the Year since Gregg Olson in 1989.
The last time both Rookies of the Year took 30 of 30 first-place votes was 2017, when New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge and Dodgers first baseman Cody Bellinger won the awards. The other seasons with two unanimous winners were 1997 (Boston’s Nomar Garciaparra and Philadelphia’s Scott Rolen), 1993 (California’s Tim Salmon and Los Angeles’ Mike Piazza) and 1987 (Oakland’s Mark McGwire and San Diego’s Benito Santiago).
Carroll led off and Henderson hit sixth in the Under Armour All-American Game, played July 20, 2018, at Wrigley Field, on a team that also included Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe. Carroll went 2 for 3 with a run scored, and Henderson was 1 for 3 with a pair of RBIs.
“So many of the young, exciting players in our league happened to be from that year,” Carroll said. “I’m fans of them as well.”
With 6.0 FanGraphs wins above replacement, Carroll turned in one of the 10 most productive rookie seasons in the last half-century — no surprise to Arizona, which locked Carroll up to an eight-year, $111 million contract in spring training after he had excelled in 115 plate appearances during his debut late in the 2022 season.
The Diamondbacks snuck into the NL playoffs with 84 wins this year and ousted Milwaukee, Los Angeles and Philadelphia on the way to the World Series, where they lost to the Texas Rangers in their first appearance in more than two decades.
Carroll, a first-round draft pick in 2019, took pride in adding another pick — and the corresponding bonus-pool money of around $2.5 million — to the Diamondbacks’ coffers with the award.
“That’s probably what brought the most weight to chasing something like this for me,” he said. “Not for the personal fame or attention but that ability to benefit my team. I’m hoping to be here long enough where that draft pick is hopefully a star player on the Diamondbacks alongside me. Just being able to reward the front office’s belief in me in this way is really special.”
The last unanimous winner in the NL was Bellinger, and Carroll is the 14th since Rookie of the Year became an official award in 1949.
Senga, 30, thrived in his first MLB season after 11 years with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in Nippon Professional Baseball. With his baffling Ghost Fork, a split-fingered fastball that disappears from the strike zone as it approaches the plate, Senga was one of the few bright spots for a Mets team that faltered.
The 26-year-old Outman is the latest Dodgers development success story, holding down center field and hitting .248/.353/.437 with 23 home runs, 70 RBIs and 16 stolen bases.
Henderson debuted toward the end of the 2022 season, falling just 14 at-bats shy of exhausting his rookie eligibility. He had rocketed through Baltimore’s system after signing for $2.3 million as a second-round pick out of high school in Selma, Alabama.
After spending most of the first half of the season as Baltimore’s third baseman, Henderson shifted to shortstop — his natural position — and paired with Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman to form perhaps the best young duo in baseball.
A wrist injury hindered Henderson over the first month, but he healed and illustrated why he entered the year, like Carroll, as the betting favorite for the award.
“It all worked out,” Henderson said.
Among shortstops, only Corey Seager and Francisco Lindor — both of whom have contracts of $325 million or greater — hit more home runs than Henderson’s 28. Henderson also drove in 82 runs and scored 100.
“We got a taste of it being in the [ALDS],” Henderson said. “Just to hear the crowd’s energy for that, I’d love to experience that, especially at Camden Yards.”
Henderson was the 13th unanimous selection in AL history and the first since Seattle’s Kyle Lewis in 2020.
The 24-year-old Bibee, who joined the Guardians in late April, finished the season 10-4 with a 2.98 ERA — the fourth lowest in the AL among starters with at least 140 innings. A fifth-round pick in the 2021 draft, Bibee joined right-hander Gavin Williams and left-hander Logan Allen as one of the best trios of rookie starting pitchers on one team in baseball history. Bibee received 20 second-place votes and appeared on 27 of 30 ballots.
Casas, 23, beat a crowded field for third place. His 24 home runs ranked second behind Henderson among AL rookies, and his .367 on-base percentage was behind three Minnesota Twins: Edouard Julien, Royce Lewis and Matt Wallner. Casas beat out Rangers third baseman Josh Jung for third place.
Henderson and Carroll will receive $750,000 for winning the award as part of the pre-arbitration bonus pool in the CBA. Bibee will get $500,000 for his second-place finish, while Senga will not receive a bonus because he was previously a professional in Japan.
Others who received votes in the AL included Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz, Boston outfielder Masataka Yoshida, Julien and Volpe, who won the Gold Glove last week.
Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani joined David Ortiz as the only players to win four straight Outstanding Designated Hitter awards. Ohtani and the New York Yankees‘ Aaron Judge won Hank Aaron Awards as the outstanding offensive performers in their leagues.
Major League Baseball made the announcements at its All-MLB Awards Show.
Sale, 35, was 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts in 177⅔ innings for the NL’s first pitching triple crown since the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw in 2011. He earned his eighth All-Star selection and first since 2018.
Sale helped Boston to the 2018 World Series title but made just 56 starts from 2020-23, going 17-18 with a 4.86 ERA, 400 strikeouts and 79 walks over 298⅓ innings. He was acquired by Boston from the White Sox in December 2016 and made nine trips to the injured list with the Red Sox, mostly with shoulder and elbow ailments. He had Tommy John surgery on March 30, 2020, and returned to a big league mound on Aug. 14, 2021.
Sale fractured a rib while pitching in batting practice in February 2022 during the management lockout. On July 17, in his second start back, he broke his left pinkie finger when he was hit by a line drive off the bat of the Yankees’ Aaron Hicks. Sale broke his right wrist while riding a bicycle en route to lunch on Aug. 6, ending his season.
Crochet, 25, was 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA over 32 starts for a White Sox team that set a post-1900 record of 121 losses, becoming a first-time All-Star. He struck out 209 and walked 33 in 146 innings.
He had Tommy John surgery on April 5, 2022, and returned to the major leagues on May 18, 2023. Crochet had a 3.55 ERA in 13 relief appearances in 2023, and then joined the rotation this year.
Sale and Crochet were chosen in voting by MLB.com beat writers.
Clase and Helsley were unanimous picks by a panel that included Hall of Famers Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera, Dennis Eckersley and Rollie Fingers, along with John Franco and Billy Wagner. The AL award is named after Rivera and the NL honor after Hoffman.
A three-time All-Star, Clase was 4-2 with a 0.61 ERA, 66 strikeouts and 10 walks in 74⅓ innings, holding batters to a .154 average. The 26-year-old converted 47 of 50 save chances, including his last 47.
Voting was based on the regular season. Clase was 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in the playoffs, allowing three home runs, one more than his regular-season total.
Helsley, a two-time All-Star, was 7-4 with a 2.04 ERA and 49 saves in 53 chances. He struck out 79 and walked 23 in 66⅓ innings.
Ohtani became the first player with 50 or more homers and 50 or more stolen bases in a season. A two-way star limited to hitting following elbow surgery, Ohtani batted .310 and led the NL with 54 homers and 130 RBIs while stealing 59 bases.
Ortiz won the DH award five years in a row from 2003-07.
The DH award, named after Edgar Martinez, is picked in voting by team beat writers, broadcasters and public relations departments. MLB.com writers determined the finalists for the Aaron awards, and a fan vote was combined with picks from a panel of Hall of Famers and former winners to determine the selections.
Judge led the major leagues with 58 homers and 144 RBIs while hitting .322.
College football reporter; joined ESPN in 2008. Graduate of Northwestern University.
Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos, who lost his starting job earlier this week, will not be returning to the team, he announced Thursday night.
Castellanos, who started 12 games last season and retained the top job under new coach Bill O’Brien, wrote on X that “unfortunately, all good things come to an end, even though it’s sooner than I would like.” He did not mention the transfer portal in his departing message and has not officially entered it. The junior from Waycross, Georgia, started his career at UCF and appeared in five games in 2022.
O’Brien said Tuesday that Grayson James, who replaced Castellanos in last week’s win against Syracuse, will start Saturday when Boston College visits No. 14 SMU. Castellanos “wasn’t real thrilled” with the decision, O’Brien said, adding that the quarterback decided to step away from the team for several days.
Castellanos had 2,248 passing yards and 1,113 rushing yards last season under coach Jeff Hafley, passing for 15 touchdowns and adding 13 on the ground. He had 18 touchdown passes and only five interceptions this season, but his accuracy dipped in recent weeks, and he completed only 2 of 7 passes against Syracuse before being replaced.
In his statement, Castellanos thanked both coaching staffs he played for at Boston College and wrote that he had “some of the best experiences of my life in the Eagles Nest and I will truly cherish these memories forever.”
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida quarterback DJ Lagway is “ready to play,” coach Billy Napier said Thursday on his weekly radio show.
Napier removed Lagway from the team’s injury report and penciled him in to start against No. 21 LSU in the Swamp on Saturday.
Lagway practiced every day this week while progressing from a strained left hamstring. The highly touted freshman was carted off the field against Georgia on Nov. 2. Tests revealed a “less significant” injury than initially feared, and now he’s back in time to face the Tigers.
The Gators (4-5, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) need him. They have to win two of their final three regular-season games to become bowl eligible.
LSU (6-3, 3-2) has struggled mightily against dual-threat QBs, including Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, who ran for 185 yards and four touchdowns last week.
Lagway returns after walk-on and Yale transfer Aidan Warner started in his place against Texas. Warner threw two interceptions and was 12-of-25 passing for 132 yards in a 49-17 loss.