Seager unanimously named NL Rookie of the Year
Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager was named the National League Rookie of the Year on Monday after a 2016 campaign in which he helped the Los Angeles Dodgers win their fourth consecutive NL West title and advance to the Championship Series.
Seager was named the winner unanimously, garnering all 30 first-place votes. Washington Nationals speedster Trea Turner finished a distant second, while Seager's Dodgers teammate Kenta Maeda placed third.
| Player | Pos. | Team | 1st-place votes | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corey Seager | SS | Dodgers | 30 | 150 |
| Trea Turner | CF-SS-2B | Nationals | - | 42 |
| Kenta Maeda | RHP | Dodgers | - | 37 |
| Trevor Story | SS | Rockies | - | 24 |
| Aledmys Diaz | SS | Cardinals | - | 14 |
Seager is the 17th Dodgers player to win Rookie of the Year since its introduction in 1947 - the most of any franchise in baseball - and the first since Todd Hollandsworth in 1996. He joins Mike Piazza and Raul Mondesi as the only Dodgers to win the award unanimously, according to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
The 22-year-old Seager swatted .308/.365/.512 with 26 home runs, 40 doubles, and 72 RBIs, breaking Steve Sax's single-season Dodgers record for most hits by a rookie (193) in the process.
His 193 hits were also the tied for third-most all time by a Dodgers shortstop during a single season.
| PLAYER | YEAR | AB | HITS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maury Wills | 1962 | 695 | 208 |
| Rafael Furcal | 2006 | 654 | 196 |
| Cesar Izturis | 2004 | 670 | 193 |
| Corey Seager | 2016 | 627 | 193 |
Seager, the younger brother of Seattle Mariners third baseman Kyle, was selected by the Dodgers in the first round - 18th overall - of the 2012 amateur draft, and was baseball's top prospect before a September call-up in 2015.
After batting .337 with a .986 OPS to end last season, he appeared in the postseason before tearing up baseball this year to the tune of a .877 OPS, the highest among all qualified shortstops in the majors.