Athletics 1B Kurtz, Braves C Baldwin named rookies of year - ESPN

LAS VEGAS — Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz was the unanimous choice for the American League Rookie of the Year award, and Atlanta Braves catcher Drake Baldwin took home the honors in National League, Major League Baseball announced Monday night.

Kurtz, 22, earned 30 first-place votes after hitting .290 with 36 home runs and 86 RBIs. His 1.002 OPS ranked third in baseball behind Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, though he fell short of qualifying for the batting title because he was called up in late April. Despite the later start, Kurtz also ranked 25th (4.6) in fWAR.

Kurtz's signature game came against the Houston Astros on July 25 when he hit four home runs, becoming only the 20th player all time to achieve the feat. Later in the season, he had a two-homer game, also against the Astros. All told, he finished first among rookies in home runs and RBIs, second in on-base percentage and third in hits.

«It's a great ending to the first year,» Kurtz said in an interview with MLB Network. «I'm going to use this, and keep on grinding, and come out better next year.»

Kurtz, the 14th unanimous winner in AL history, finished ahead of teammate Jacob Wilson, who earned 23 second-place votes, while Boston Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony finished third.

«It showed that every person felt the same way,» Kurtz said of the unanimous selection. «It was really cool to see 30 votes for me. It was pretty remarkable. I'm happy about that and proud of it.»

Kurtz and Wilson are the first teammates to finish first and second in AL Rookie of the Year voting since Alvin Davis and Mark Langston did so with the Seattle Mariners in 1984.

«It was something we wanted to do together,» Kurtz said of the 1-2 finish on a media conference call after the